Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-10-13

most every year tnOuSdluS VI uoioiS
worth of timber have been swept out
because of carelessness or neglect.
Probably, every year, campers ana
sportsmen are using more precautions
in the care of their fires, and the f1re
patrol service is perfected to SOME. eX-
tent. But there is still room for pre-
caution and care in the disposal OF
fires, as we'll as in the throwing away
of cigar stubs and flaming tobacco
bits from an overfilled pipe. Campers
should never leave their fires without
being assured that every spark has
been destroyed, either by water or by
the throwing of dry earth upon the
embers. A single live coal. famed by
"a sudden breeze. may create a con-
fagration, and to see to it that every
last one of these live Goals is put out
before the camper leaves for the day
may save many thousands of dollars
to timberand owners and perhaps
the lives of human beings and game
animals.
Minnesota has upward of twenty
million acres of territory subject to
fire of this description, and her stand
ing timber was last year estimated to
be worth one hundred million dollars.
To defend this property the state al
lowed the commissioner to expend
$4,000. This is indeed a small sum
to save at the expense of one hundred
or more lives. and possibly $25,0o0,OO0
worth of property. Will the law
makers and the people of the Pine
Tree State take advantage of this les
son, and see that ample provision is
made for prevention Of such devasta-
ton? In this we ought to see that
IAN ounce of prevention is worth
pound of cure" and that Minnesota
gave only small part of the required
ounce.
The United States has just brought
suit for fire trespass against the Mis-
souri, River g. Northwestern railroad.
and the jury awarded damages to the
government not only for the loss of
understandable timber, but also for the
destruction of understandable young
growth. This is regarded by govern
ment officials as establishing a very
important precedent So far as is
known by the L. S. Department of
Agriculture, it is the first time that
any court has recognized what forest
young growth as furnishing basis
for the award of damages. The diff
Guilty in the way of such an award in
the past has been that there was no
way to prove to the satisfaction of the
courts the money value of the loss
suffered.
The award in the South Dakota
case followed the presentation of evil
dence as to the cost Of work in refor-
esting which the government is ac-
tually doing in the Black Hills. The
amount claimed for the young growth
was ST. an acre, and the claim was al
lowed in full by the jury.
1t is recognized by foresters that the
always furnish fair basis for esti-
mating the damage to forest repro
duction. Where new growth can be
expected by natural sowing from seed
trees on the ground within short
time, artificial planting or sowing is an
unnecessarily expensive method To
meet such cases what are known as
yield tables" are being prepared. BY
the use of these the loss can be shown
in terms of the final crop and the time
necessary to produce it.
Thus. if it is known that ten thous-
and feet of timber per acre can be cut
once in seventy years. it is easy to cal
culate the value Of the crop when it is
value when mature In European
countries where forestry has been long
practiced this method is regularly APP
piled in selling. condemning. or esti-
mating damages on forest property.
1t is also used abroad in insurance,
which would be impracticable if there
were not both an accepted basis for
determining the loss suffered and a
reasonably accurate knowledge of the
hazard involved.
At Williamsburg, n. Y, a bad boy
OF sixty-two years has been sent to
Jail because his father cannot manage
him. The parent, who is eighty -four.