Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-12-30
OUR FORESTRY PROBLEM.

tFfom the Rutland Herald)
In speaking of the American Forestry
association, \. T. Halves state forester
Of Vermont. says of the situation in his
state:
laundering in the old way is responsible
for the condition in Vermont The mount
ainous or central part OF tho State and
Essex county in the northwestern part
have been greatly injured by this method
of stripping the land clear of forest and
leaving it to take care of itself The new
growth can just az well be made to pro-
duce as valuable a crop of lumber as the
one removed, or even a more valuable one.
Not only does the thoughtless cutting Of
trees from the land without regard to the
future detract from the wealth and future
prosperity Of the state, which has found
numbering one of its NOS, profitable in
dustries, but it takes money out Of his
own pocket The floods which last week
overlooked the banks of the rivers IN
that State and caused a large number of
mills to shut down might not have oc.
CURED but for the stripping OF the mount
ain sides, thus letting the SHOWS melt
quickly.
One of the most important functions Of
the office Of the State forester Is that of
is the local warden, and they are all under
the direction Of the State forester. who,
with two assistants, last summer made
n thorough investigation throughout Yer
mont az to forest fires causes amount Of
damage. and means of protection.
The State forester will cooperate with
lumbermen and farmers Desiring to i'm
prove their lands and prevent them from
going to waste.--Press Dispatch.
The foregoing is the admirably con-
densed view Of a man trained to his trade
possessed of the latest expert information
thereon and thoroughly devoted to the in
terests of his profession ana of the State
by whom he is employed on the other
hand. we encounter such stuff as the fol-
lowing. which has appeared in several
state papers Of late:
a half column Of n State newspaper was
lately used to demonstrate what a desire
able thing It would have been to never
have cleared up the town of Mount Holly;
how valuable it would have become for
timber now II this conclusion it true OF
Mount Holly. why not Of other towns;
and II towns why not States? All n Wild
erness What would timber he worth
then? Exactly what it was to the fsi set
tiers. David Colburn of Mount Holly sold
his Chrctmas trees and had the stumps
cleared of ard the refuse carefully
burned; brought up his pasture to feed
the extra sock his improved meadows
were furnishing hay to winter.
! It does seem as though that time hon
ored argument about clearing up pas
lures grown w to spruce had pretty well
outlved its usefulness. 1t Is interesting
talk. that fairy tale about cutting out
Young spruce to entrance the value Of n
rock pasture-but the forester who has
imbibed even the rudimonts Of the mod
ern theory and practice OF tree culture
knows that even a meadow, adjoining
woodland, can hardly produce enough
hay. in regular rotation, to equal the
value of growing spruce.
The old fashioned idea of dairy farming
for Vermont-no matter what else suffers
is at the root of this prejudice against
growing trees. 1t is time that wider
view of the situation dawned on the
average Vermonter
Look also at this:
! word about cutting out only the
! large trees In forest. The small trees
in an old forest may be as old as the
large ones. Trees are like people, having
their own physiology and diseases. How
can the good physician prescribe with
out diagnosis? Trees are like men, Mr.
Editor | know men not so old as you
and | who are twice as heavy (by the
scales, OF course) You can sit in Lud-
low hotel parlor and certainly with a
field glass no.e a case CT putting out tie
lar1e timber while leaving the smaller
to grow" This was done years age
when the smaller spruces We're worth but
| ,l,nr 1nPt
ing Note the result. These standing
trees are still erect or falling over, but
dead; rotting, useless encumhrance; food
for fire, preventing all regular re-forest,
ing. Per contra at Healdville station
where the land was cut clean for railroad
wood, there Is nov a good growth which
might sell al $40 per acre. In Plymouth
where land was entirely cut over for
charcoal for the Tyson iron works thirty,
Ave years ago. now has come on a good
salable growth of spruce. Thus does ma
ture return a rotation Of crops from hare
to soft woods.
This example OF forest-if 1t is a fores
cut according to forestry rules-if IL wa.
cut that way-would be an interesting
study. The Herald leaves the problem t,
the local experts who are SO ready I,
rush into print with learned advice abou
science which demands the most exper
and exact technical knowledge Natural
ly, the home-grown scientists must know