Bismarck daily tribune., 1908-12-09
THREE

or, after all his life making his living
from his farm, will, if he is an expert
farmer, leave 1t as an asset OF increas-
ed value to his son, so we should leave
our national domain to our children
increased In value and not worn out.
There are small sections OF our own
country In the east and In the west, In
the Adirondacks. the white mountains
and the Appalachians and In the
Rocky mountains. where we can all
ready see for ourselves the damage In
the shape of permanent injury to the
soil and the river systems which comes
from reckless deforestation. 1t mat
ters not whether this deforestation Is
due to the actual reckless cutting OF
timber. to the fires that inevitably fol-
low such reckless cutting Of timber or
to reckless and uncontrolled grazing,
especially by the great migratory
bands Of sheep, the unchecked wan
dering Of which over the country
means destruction to forests and dis
aster to the small homemakers, the
settlers Of limited means
4 Shortsighted persons, or persons
blinded to the future by desire to
make money in every way out of the
present, sometimes speak as IL no
great damage would be done by the
reckless destruction Of our forests.
It is difficult to have patience with the
arguments Of these persons. Thanks
to our own recklessness in the use Of
our splendid forests, we have already
crossed the verge Of timber famine in
this country, and no measures that we
now take can, at least for many
years, undo the mischief that has AL
ready been done. But we can prevent
further mischief being done, and it.
would be in the highest degree repre-
hensible to let any consideration Of
temporary convenience or temporary
cost interfere with such action, espe-
cially as regards the national forests,
which the nation can now at this very
moment control
All serious students Of the question
are aware of the great damage that
has been done In the Mediterranean
countries Of Europe, Asia and Africa
by deforestation. The similar dam
age that has been done in eastern
Asia is less well known. A recent I'M
vestigation into conditions In north
China by Mr.. Frank N Meyer of the
bureau Of plant industry of the Unit
ed States department of agriculture
has incidentally furnished in very
striking fashion proof of the ruin that
comes from reckless deforestation of
mountains and of the further fact that
the damage once done may prove prac-
tieally irreparable. So important are
these investigations that I herewith
attach as an appendix to my message
certain photographs showing present
conditions in China. They show In
vivid fashion the appalling desolation,
taking the shape Of barren mountains
and gravel and sand covered plains.
which Immediately follows and de-.
pends upon the deforestation Of the
mountains Not. many eenuries ago
the country of northern China was
one of the most fertile and beautiful
spots in the entire world and was
heavily forested. We know this not
only from the old Chinese records, but
from the accounts given by the trav-
eler Marco Polo. He, for instance,
mentions that in visiting the provinces
OF Shansi and Shensi he observed
many plantations of mulberry trees.
Now there Is hardly single mulberry
tree in either Of these provinces, and
the culture Of the siIkworm has moved
farther south, to regions Of atmos-
pheric moisture. +.
Change Brought by Deforestafion.
As an Illustration of the complete
change in the rivers we may take
Polo's statement that certain river.
the Hun Ho. was so large and deep
that merchants ascended it from the
sea with heavily laden boats. Today
this river is simplysa broad sandy bed,
with shallow, rapid currents wander
ing hither and thither across it, abb
soiutely unnavigable. But we do not
have to depend upon written records.
The dry wells and the wells with wa
ter far below the former water mark
bear testimony to the good days of
the past and the evil days of the pres
ent. Wherever the native yegetation
has been allowed to remain-as, for in
stance, here and there around a sacred
temple or imperial burying ground
there are still huge trees and tangled
jungle, fragments Of the glorious an
cient forests. The thick, matted for
est growth formerly covered the noun
tatns to their SUBMITS. All natural
factors favored this dense forest
growth. and as long as it was per-
mitted to exist the plains at the foot
OF the mountains were among the
most fertile on the globe, and the
whole country was garden. Not the
slightest effort was made, however,
to prevent the unchecked cutting Of
the trees or to secure reforestation.
Doubtless for many centuries the tree
cutting by the Inhabitants of the
mountains worked but slowly in bring
ing about the changes that have now
come to pass. Doubtless for genera
uons the inroads were scarcely no
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