Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1912-03-27
vermont's Wealth in Her Forests.

| (1ESQdICQ III tIC OOib
mission on the Conservation of Nat
ural Resources by Allen M. Fletcher.
Our forests by reason of misman-
agement are so rapidly disappearing
| that any estimate Of the wealth we
possess in them today will be valua.
| Bile tomorrow only as the record of
conditions already changed. However
| q comparison of the condition of our
| forests today with those of so years
| ago, shows conclusively 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 t. place value.
Therefore question of far greater
Importance than the value of Yer
mont's forests today is, what her for
ests 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 in
dividual or both are warranted in at
tempting to preserve their present
and to increase their future produc-
tive power.
The reason so many woodlots do not
now yield regular dividends is be-
cause they have already been injured
by indiscriminate and haphazard cut
ting. Two instances of extreme
abuse have come to my attention. Ten
years ago one lot had a fair growth
of maple and beech with scattering
old growth spruce there was an un.
dergrowth of suppressed and scrub
hardwoods we'll sprinkled with spruce
seedlings. The large hardwoods and
spruce were cut; Some of the small
spruce were cut because they were in
the way and more because the chop
perS thought they were in the way,
others were taken for flushing"
roadssand the rest for banking houses.
Last year the farmer wanted cord
wood to sell. He found the scrubs
so tangled in 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 Is years while the inferior trees
and the inferior sprouts battle with
each other, and after long period
without return. the farmer will have
poor growth of hardwood. In this
case the much decried 1andskinning"
of the lumberman would have been
preferable, for it would have removed
the scrub hardwoods or forest weeds
and given the sprouts chance. Sup
pose the farmer, with an eye for re-
production, had begun ten years ago
by cutting the scrub underground to
market as frewood, then year by
year had felled his hard and soft
wood logs with care not to disturb the
growing spruce, and sold them for
profit he would now have left a fair
stand of second growth spruce viii ch
if properly managed might continue
to yield a revenue.
III Another instance of miS-manage-
ment; Christmas tree dealer per-
1 10 70 80
in two pastures for 5000, using the
and improve his pasture. Now in
the first place the land was too rough
and wild to be fit for pasture, fur
thermore the trees were cut so high
that their lower limbs still cover as
much ground as before, leaving the
land uncleared and the spruce crop
ruined. 10000 trees were shipped
from the two lots. A lumbermar
who saw them loaded estimated that
in 20 years each tree would contain 81
feet Of lumber. a total of 1900, 00t
feet. / think, after looking the
ground over, that half of the trees
might have been killed or suppressed
and that $780, 900 feet is therefore
fairer estimate. At present price
the farmers $500 Christmas tree
would then be worth $500, a gooc
investment for 20 years. An ever
larger revenue might come to tn
farmer if after. say ten years, h
the inferior trees. This is improve
thinning; as it gives the larger tree
room in which to develop more rapiC
ly and perfectly. While the two case
just cited may seem to be e1
treme. feel satisfied that hundred
of woodlots IN this state are bein
just as severely damaged each year
You will naturally ask what is tt
cure for this unnecessary damage
our forests and financial loss to owl
ers with consequent business depre
sion to our villages during the wint
months. I answer that the cure is
get the people interested il forestr
How are we to interest them? I'll
state forester is doing excellent wor
in this line and we can help him
many ways. If one owner in ea
town would operate his woodlot und
the direction of the state forester t
town would soon become interested
the work for practical demonstr
ton is more convincing than a.
amount of discussion.
If our schools would give the CHI
dren knowledge of the products
the forest and of the great number
industries dependent on those pro
ucts, the younger generation wor
appreciate both the value and
necessity of good forests. While
is probably impracticable to init
duce complete course in forestry
to our already crowded public scht
curriculum, we should at least aft
awakening pupils interest in the i
portance of the forests, give tht
practical ideas about forest mainte
ance and preservation by impro,
ment, trimmings and reproduction CT
tings.
Now these two suggestions, pr;
tical demonstration of profit in 6
piled forestry and education to ava
en- an interest in and understanding
the resources of our environment. a
not offered as solution to the prt
lem of bringing about a general pr: