The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-02-17
ENGLISH OUTLINES
FOREST AND LAND POLICY

After negleoting her forests for
| hundreds of years, Great Britain
has come to the front with the most
far-sightel proposal for forest work
and land improvement ever advanc-
ed by any nation i'm a single plan.
| The recommendations just made
to the British Government by the
ROYAL Commission on Afforestation
and Coast Erosion VIII make Eng
IGand self-supporting in the produc-
Ition of timber If successfully car
ried out.
The report embraces two separate
propo ais, involving the forestation
in one case of 100000, and in the
other OF 6,0000 900 acres. The former
proposal calls for the forest planting
of 10000 acres a year for sixty years
at an annual cost of $450,OO0 at the
beginning TO over $15,000000 at the
end of the period. After the fortieth
year, however, the forest would be-
come self-supponing. After eighty
years, the forest would have a value
of $2,S1O,OOO,OOO, which is S535OOO-
900 in excess of the cost OF produc-
ing II, and would yield a net annual
revenue of SS7,500,O00 or $9.73 per
Iacre from land now barely producing
80 cents per acre. While these esti-
mated returns are more than half
again as much as the highly de-
velCped forests Of Saxony yield, it
h. considerably less than the net rev.
enue from the historic town foresl
of Zurich, Switzerland, the Sihlwald.
In volume, the annual estimated wool
production would exceed the present
annual wood imports to England by
500 900 'Tloads."
Great Britain has long been de-
pendent upon outside sources for her
wood supplies. But the constantly
Idncreadng demand for wood. to-
gether with the overdrain already
made upon these sources, indicates
a world shortage of wood unless
those countries which now have to
import are able to establish and
maintain their forest independence
and grow the needed wood at home
Most of the countries OF Europe have
taken care to keep up the home wood
output by looking after their forests
before they were destroyed or hope
lessly depleted, and managing them
for a Sustained annual yield about
equal to the demand. The British
Isles, however, are practically strip
ped Of Rroductive forests. II Great
Britain Is to grow her own wood,
she will have to begin at the be-
ginning, set out the seedlings on
| treeless ground, and wait for them
TO reach marketable size. The Com
mission recommends that this work
of starting future national forests
| from the seed be undertaken Gas a
sound and remuneQanfve investment. 3"
There is no question, the report
says, that substantially the Anticipate
ed results can be obtained Experts
testified before the Commission that
the production of timber in Great
| Britain will be more rapid than in
SaNony,' which was selected for COM
paIison on account OF the close
resemblance between the economic
and phyical conditions in the two
countries.
Yet In SaXony the net annual
profits per acre from the National
forests has Increased 4l2 per cent
in 80 years. mainly, II was testified
because of "the more systematic and
careful management. The lack of
forests in Great Britain is the re-
suit, not OF natural conditions, but
OF bad national economy. This is
further proved by the fact that
there are a number of private forests
which, though brt indifferently man
aged, are netting their owners hand
s,me revenues.
! The proposal of the commission is
Especially interesting to Americans In
view of the fact that the measures
that are now being proposed in the
| United States are so much slmplei
and less expensive. In this country
THE forests are already on the
ground. All that is necessary is to
bring them TO a state of full pro-
duchveness. The present annual pro-
duction Of forests ian the United
States Is scarcely more than twelve
cubic feet per acre of all kinds Of
wood. The centuries or experience
IN Saxony, Switzerland and France
show THAT the same kind of land
will grow three to eight times as
much wood under wise forest man
seement Protection and proper cut
ting begun now and steadily follow
ed as policy will keep America
from reaching a point, where, like
Great Britain, 1t will be necessary,
except in the prairie region, TO start
the forests Of the future from the
seed, and want for them to grow.
A tithe OF the great outlay which
the British Commission .sontemplates
would easily guarantee this coun-
try's forest independence for all
time. And the wood needed each
year ccnld be got out of the forests
right along.