The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-03-06
VERM0NT'S WEALTH
IN HER FORESTS
Considered in Article Written for the
Vermont Conservation Com
mission.

Fletcher on "Nermont's Wealth in Hel
Forests" for the Vermont commission OF
the conservation of natural resources i,
as follows:
"Our forests by reason of mismanage
ment are SO rapidly disappearing that
any estimate of the wealth we possess in
them to-day will be valuable tomorrow
only as the record Of conditions already
changed. However a comparison OF the
| condition of our forests to-day with
| those of 80 years ago shows conclusiyely
| that if we continue our present method
or lack of method in dealing with them
we shall in another so years have few
forests on which to place a value.
Therefore a question of far greater
! Importance than the value of Vermont's
| forests to-day is, what her forests are
! to be in the future. And this suggests
both the extent and the quality OF our
| future forests and whether or not the
state and the individual or both are war
ranted in attempting to preserve their
present and to increase their future pro.
ductive power.
There are two ways Of increasing pro-
I
paintings. and to increase the output OF
the original area by care in management.
Now, if a man has an acre in potatoes
and wants big crop, would it not be
better policy for him by careful cultiva-
ton to make sure of good crop on his
first acre rather than to neglect that
acre and plant a seconds In other
words, it will pay the farmer to resort
to planting only in cases of waste land
which is not reproducing itself by nat
ural methods.
"Some of the benefits to the state of
good forests are: Sources OF useful
products, conservation of water, protee.
tion against erosion, increased ability of
the soil to hold water, and these benefits
have been conceded to be of sufficient
Importance to warrant the state in
adopting an official policy of forestry
which provides for acquiring and main
tanning state forests and for instructing
NTmonters in forest management
Let us then consider the benefits of
a good forest policy to individual owners.
Ii every farmer in the state felt salts.
fled that in return for proper manage
ment his forest would assure him a year
~ revenue, how long would il take him
TO decide on such a policy A great ma
jority of the forests in this state are in
farm woodlots. These woodlots should
supply wood for the farm and timber
for repairing the buildings. furnish wood
or lumber to bring in little ready mon
ey annually and give winter work to the
farmers team. ANY natural woodlot of
average or reasonable size would. under
proper management, and If not already
too badly injured, make this return to
the farmer; for our soil is one in which
the reproduction Of trees is natural and |
rapid.
"The reason so many woodlots do not |
now yield regular dividends is because
they have already been injured by in
discriminate and haphazard cutting. Two |
instances of extreme abuse have come to |
my attention. Ten years ago one lot had /
a fair growth of maple and beech. with I
old growth spruce; there wau
an underground of suppressed and scrub 1
by hardwoods, we'll sprinkled with spruce
seedlings. The large hardwoods and /
spruce We're cut; some of the small /
spruce were cut because they We're in
the way and more because the choppers
thought they were in the way, Others
were taken for Gushing" roads and the
rest for banking houses. Last year the
farmer wanted cord wood TO sell. lie
found the scrubs so tangled in a network
Of hardwood sprouts that cutting was
not a paying proposition. The inevitable
result is that the land will be left idle
for 10 or 10 years, while the inferior
.rees and the inferior sprouts battle with
oh - m al nd Na-tfb h. u
lut return. the farmer will have poor
growth Of hardwood In this case, the
much decried "landsknning" of the lum-
1erman would have been preferable, for
[ would have removed the scrub hard
woods or forest weeds and given the
sprouts chance
Suppose the farmer with an eve for
reproduction, had begun ten years ago by
utting the scrub underground to market
Is firewOod, then year by year had felled
lis hard and softwood logs with ear,
lot to disturb the growing spruce, and
old them for profit; he would now have
eft fair stand of second growth spruce
which if properly managed might con
inue to yield yearly revenue.
another instance of mismanagement;I
Christmas tree dealer persuaded one
armer to sell all spruce in two pastures .
or 5000, using the argument that cut ,,
ing would clear and improve his pas
IRE. Now in the first place the land
fas too rough and Wild TO be tit for pas
ure. furthermore the trees were cut 50
Ugh that their lower limbs still cover
3 much ground as before. leaving the :,
md uneIeared and the spruce crop
uined Twenty thousand trees were
hipped from the two lots. A lumber
IAN who saw them loaded estimated /.
hat in 20 years each tree would contain
0 feet of lumber a total of 500 00u .
eet. / think, after looking the ground
yer. that half of the trees might have
cen killed or suppressed and that 900.
30 feet is therefore fairer estimate.
t present prices the farmers 5000
hristmas trees would then be worth {
? 500. a good investment for 20 years. o
n even larger revenue might come to il
he farmer if after, say ten years, he a
ook cash dividend by wedding out s
he inferior trees. This is improyethin 4
ing as it gives the larger trees room in {
hich to develop more rapidly and per G
city. Y
"W'hile the two cases Just cited may Z
,em to be extreme, / feel satisfied that 3