New-York tribune., 1909-03-14

The effect as regards the soil of the low lands
first enrich it with that of the hisides; later,
to cover il with the detritus of rock from the noun
tains and hills and the sands the streams and
watercourses Then the country becomes. in time,
scene Of desolation with arid soil, punctuated by
the shallow and naked beds Of dried up water
courses land that knows either the fructifylng
showers or the notifying influence of the gentle
dews. but lies. stark and naked desert. under a
pitiless and scorching sun. unfit for habtation by
beast. and tenanted only by the creeping or
crawling things of nature.
But we shall not reach that stage for we shall
profit by the experience Of older nations. Indeed,
we have already begun to take steps to avert the
danger. II is true have been prodigal, reck-
lessy in the have made of the vast
natural resources of this country, and Of none
more than Of forest products; but there is
nothing to be gained by any attempt to make
scapegoat of industry when the people as a
whole have been blame.
PAPER MAKING THE LEAST DRAFT.
There is small doubt but that the latter be
leve-and naturally. owing to the vast amount
of false information that has been disseminated
that to the paper manufacturer is wholly due
our perous approach TO the danger line. Where
as. against the hundred million cords Of fire
wood the forty billion board Of lumber, the
more than billion posts. poles and fence raiiS'
the one hundred and eighteen million hewn cross
ties, and one-half billion slaves, the one
hundred and thirty-three million sets Of heading,
the nearly five hundred million barrel hoops,
the one hundred and siXty-hve million cubic Ieet
Of round mine timbers. and the one and one-quar-
ter million cords of wood for distillation, taken
from the forests of the United States in 1908, as
reported ly the National Conservation Commission,
last December. only three million cords Of native
pulp wood were cut In fact while 1t Is generally
estimated that the timber that goes into pulp IS
than per cent Of the annual cut % the
forests it is believed by very good authorities TO
be than per of all the native wood con-
sumed in this country; and 1t might be added that
much Of # is the least valuable growth OF the
woods used by the paper making industry spruce
constitutes about IS per hemlock Il per cent
and poplar per cent the remainder being relative
ly small amounts OF pine cottonwood. etc.
Then, too. the difference in the methods. and IN
the character Of their drafts upon the forests of the
pulpmen and OF all other of forest products
must be understood There is little waste of
material with the former, for he uses everything
except the leaves. the twigs, and the bark or the
tree he fells and. because he must look TO his
future supply he spares the nurslngs of the for
ests and usually nothing under ten inches
diameter. The purveyors Of 1rewood and the
lumbermen usually make clean sweep the first
taking kindling what IS not large enough
for cOrdwood and the second leaving practically 10
upon the ground all parts of the tree that are
represented in the timber Of commerce: while
the harvesters OF railroad ties, slaves, headings
barrel hoops and mine timbers make drafts upon
the forests choicest products. and are, all OF
them. wasteful, in that much material must be
sacrificed TO enable them get at the parts o1
value the service for which they are designed
And the posts, the poles. the fence rails and the
wood for dfstillation less eXhausting de-
mands upon the forests, some OF these even rob
bing the latter of its nurslings. And while the
| puIpman wastes nothing, one-fOurth of his felled
timber IS left in the forest otherwise lost in
logging by the lumberman: the turpentine workers
destroy boxing of the longleaf pine one-hfth
OF the forests worked and the loss in the sawmll
is from one-third two-thirds of the timber
brought to it-indeed only 320 feet of lumber are
used for Zoo feet which stood in the forest In It's
last analysis the stands thus: While the
naper maker has % economical methods in
cutting over his lands, because he must hold the
latter, and keep them in condition as source of
future supply all the others who draw upon the
forests find their interests in getting out the
product they after in the shortest possible
time and in the greatest possible quantities II pays
them best clean UP thoroughly, and then 10 go
on 70 the next forest 1t is nothing 20 them what
remains: they have left nothing behind OF the
least value 10 themselves Their cut over lands
may be used tillage, If sufficiently fertile but
r1,o, h-x.