The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-12-14
EUROPE RECLAIMS
WASTE LAND
FRANCE FOREMOST COUNTRY IN
REFORESTATION.
The Karst i'll Austria Is IA Striking
Example of the Planting of Waste
Lands-Prussia Has Acquired
100000 Acres in This Way.


Every year thousands of acres of
land are being reclaimed in this way
by the leading countries and put
Din a condition preparatory to a prof
liable timber harvest in the years
to come
Not only many previously fOrested
areas which have been cut over have
been planted up, but a number OF
the countries are also devoting their
energies to establishing a forest Gov
er on dunes and other waste lands,
and in fact, On all land which IS
more valuable for producing timber
than for other purposes.
France has been one of the fore
most European countries in refOres-
tatiOn, especially in the mountains,
where planting has been a powerful
factor i'm controlling torrents and
regulating stream flow The State
each year buys uncultivated lands
in the mountain regions, and up to
January 1907, il had acquired SOB
coo acres in this way COmmunes,
associations, and private individuals
are also assisted in reforestation
work by grants of money, and by
supplies OF plants and seeds. Alto
gether 249, 900 acres have been
planted through this public assis
lance Complete exemption from
taxation Tor a long period OF years
is granted in the case OF plantations
made on the tops and slopes Of
mountains. * reduction Of three
fOurths for al land planted or sown.
whatever its situation, is also made
One of the most striking exam
pies of the results OF planting waste
lands is furnished by the refOresta-
ton OF The "karst i'll Austria
The karst was q stretch of barren
limestone lands comprising some
100000 acres in the billy country
along the Austrian shores of the Ad-
riatic Sea For centuries it had
furnished the ship timber and other
wood supplies of Venice, but exces-
siYe cutting, together with burning
and pasurine, had left it a waste
almost beyond recovery. IN 1863,
the government began TO offer help
to land owners who would undertake
forest planting there. faxes were
RENTED for periods of years, techni-
cal advice was given, and plant ma
terial as we'll as money were sup
Piled.
AT present over 100000 acres, or
tWo-thirds of the karst are under
forest. partly as q result of planting
at q cOsJ OF eight or ten dollars an
acre, ana partly as result OF pro
lection which made natural recu-
peration possible In 1884, Austria
also passed a refOrestatiOn law to
control torrents. This law carries
an annual appropriation Of 100000,
and extensive planting work has been
successfully carried OUT under it.
Germany as whole does not have
much waste land which it is nee
sary to plant The Germans have
been protecting forestry for so Ions
d time that the greater part of the
available land is already covered with
forests. Some work, however, is
done along this line. During the
SIX years from 1901 to 1906 about
3OO.0 acres of land suitable for
forestry were acquired in Prussia,
although a part of this was already
wooded All possible assistance is
also given to cOmmUnes and private
owners in planting work. and in
1905. $4,000 was appropriated for
this purpose. Baden endeayors to
encourage forest planting by proVld-
ing that all private waste lands, pas
lures, fields, and uplands planted
with timber, remain free from taxa
ton for q period OF twenty years
from the beginning of the first year
of planting
In Denmark no fixed apDroprla-
ton is made for acquiring waste
lands, but in the last Twenty-Five
years over $4,000 acres have been
purchased and recently the annual
cost for planting has amounted to
over $4,000. Tree planting on the
dunes along the coast OF Jutland
FOR the purpose of protection from
drifting sand is continuously going
ON. in addition to the work which
the state is doing, annual grants are
made to the Danish Heath Society,
encourage tree planting IN Jutland-