The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1909-10-22
THE IMPORTANCE OF
EXPERT FORESTRY
And What it Means to Country
in Dollars and Cents.
ADDRESS BY DR.. HERBERT SMITH

| Representative of Bureau of Forestry
Gave Interesting Discourse in Grange
Hall Tuesday Evening-Subject Only
Recently Considered Important.
Though the lecture did not receive the
advertising that was intended fair-sized
audience greeted DR.. Herbert A. Smith in
Grange hall Tuesday evening to listen to
his address on the conservation of the for
ests. DR.. Smith came to Brattleboro from
the bureau of forestry in Washington as
substitute for the director of the bureau,
Clifford Pinchot, who was to speak before
the local grange. Mr.. Pinchot was Obliged
to change his plans at the 18th hour, so to
speak, and sent DR. Smith here in his
the speaker, who expressed regret that his
chief was unable to be present. His lee
ture was illustrated by series of so lam
tern slides. DR.. Smith said in part:
| am delighted to have the chance to
come back to Brattleboro, of which have
the most pleasant memories. When l was
here before it was as college student on
vacation. That was over 20 years ago.
At that time if any one had come to speak
Oh tHe subject Ol forestry you Woulu nv.
have known what the word meant and /
doubt if anyone would have come to lis
ten. Mr.. Pinchot, then in college, was the
first American who ever sought an educa-
ton in forestry. To get it he had to go
to Europe, for no one here could teach it:
Now forestry is recognized as a subject of
important general interest-of practical in.
terest to every owner OF woodland and OF
vital interest to the nation at large. Many
of you are owners of woodland. You want
your land to produce for you all that 1t
will-to put money in your pockets: 4ou
cannot afford to neglect your timber. J
have known men to burn over land COW
cred with the growth of years, thinking it
of no value because it had not reached
understandable size. Such course is as
foolish as it would be to let child burn
up five dollar bill because he did not
know it was worth anything You have
a state forester here in Vermont and 1T Is
his business to help the people of Vermont
find out how to make their woodland most
profitable to them. This is the business of
the expert forester, as it is the business
of the expert in various lines OF agrlcul-
ture to tell you how to make most profit
able your dairy, your orchard or what
ever else. | believe there is a great open
ing for the grange to benefit its members
by seeking the advice of the state for
ester, as to how the enlightenment OF
members of the grange in this matter
might be made part of your regular pro
gram.
But the nation at large has more at stake
in this matter of forestry than probably
any one of you has as an individual.
The prosperity of great parts OF this coun-
try is closely and essentially tied up with
the question of forestry. You as Amerl-
can citizens are share holders in prop
erty of enormous value, value far greater
than that of any private corporation IN
the land Are you interested to know
about this property? Let us go
together and take look at some of it.
To reach it we must journey west-west
across the rich farming regions east OF the
across the prairie states also
with their farms and orchards and groves
that makes us feel near at home, because
the people here are living the same sort
of life that we do in our own New Eng
land. And then we run out upon the
settled land where once the buffalo roamed
at will in countless myriads, and where
now the stockman herds his cattle, horses
and sheep This is the real west, the west
which differs from the east most OF all
and essentially in it's lack of water. Here
on the plains turf is replaced by bunch
grass because there is so little moisture, in
the ground, and the farms leaVe OH pe-
cause the edge of the desert has been
reached.
Yet this desert needs only, water TO
make it most fertile, a verltable garden,
and the water. comes from the mountains.
Heading among the high peaks, fed from
the melting SHOWS and hidden waters
which the soil stores gather the rivers
which lower down are turned upon the
sagebrush desert by irrigating bitches, and
thereupon change it as by magic stroke
from worthless land to the most valuable
of our farm lands. But much of the water
which would otherwise be available runs
away in freshet time, and so escapes with
out yielding to man its tribute of service,
but on the contrary acts perhaps as an
agency of wide destruction. To hold back
these flood waters that they may be fed
,ut gradually in the season of low waters,
The reclamation service of the government
S building great reservoirs with dams of i
,olid masonry. But the forest is natural
reservoir, storing water without the need
If any artificial works of man. Yet it does