The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-02-22
SHORT SIGHTED. NUMBERING.
Article on Conservation Prepared BY
State Forester HAYES.


State Forester HAYES.
] prepared at the request of the Ner-
mont commission on the conservation OF
natural resources.1
The subjects upon which the conser-
| walton commission has asked me to write
may be discussed under two headings;
| /, Are the present methods of lumber
ing short sighted from the stand point
| OF the lumbermang
| g Or are they simply short sighted
| from the stand point of the state?
| | think there can be no question in
any ones mind that the present meth
DDS are short sighted from the states
stand point and, therefore, from the
stand point of the public and especially
of the next generation OF Vermonters.
The most obvious evil of the present
methods is gradual depreciation of real
estate throughout the mountainous dis
tricts. To be sure the rise in stumage
values owing to the growing scarcity of
i lumber, have in measure, Offset this
depreciation, but with growing area of
waste lands the taxable property in
many of the back towns must decline
This results necessarily in an increased
idlF Vi ldAdLlUu vi idi ilis NOpuidIu
and other property.
Another direct result is the decline of
industry in many of the towns. Not
only are farmers dependent upon woods
work for remunerative labor in the win
ter, but many villages are largely de-
pendent upon wood working industries.
With the decline of these industries the
most progressive people usually move,
while the Others remain in partial idle
ness, which of course, is dangerous
condition. The conservation of the for
ests is, therefore, intimately linked with
the conservation of character.
II will be readily seen that a decrease
in population such as is still taking
place in many parts of Vermont, and
falling off of remunerative labor due
to forest destruction, combined with an
increasing tax rate, is situation any
thing but encouraging. The situation
is similar to the one which has long OBJ
taiLed in Italy and which has driven
millions Of Italians to North and South
America In Vermont the people are
driven in to the better agricultural
towns or to the cities.
There are indirect evil results of the
present methods of numbering An inn
portant one is the effect of deforesta-
ton on the drying up of springs and
the run off of our brooks and rivers;
with the damage which these do to
water powers; the hardships which they
enforce on farming; and the destruc-
ton of our fish. The summer resort
business, which ought to be OF increas-
ing importance to Vermont can only be
developed in we'll forested region.
In these and other ways the present
methods OF lumbeting are short sight
ed from the public standpoint. Are
they short sighted from the stand point
OF the lumbernan himself? We have
not yet come in this country to any
permanent system OF land ownership.
The great tracts of land, with the eX-
ception of the national forests in the
West. belong at present to lumber COM
panies who acquired them cheap when
lumber values were rising rapidly. In
the past, these concerns have found it
paid best to skin these lands. give them
up and acquire others covered with tim
Der, The day of great bargains in
timber land in New England has passed.
The incentive will be stronger continual
" for concerns to maintain their lands
in a growing condition. if they wish
to continue numbering. Many small mill
men will naturally change their bus
mess when the available tracts of TIM
Der have been cut. For the large con-
Germs with big investments in manufac-
turing plants, it is absolutely impera-
tive that they maintain a growing sup
ply of timber sufficient to keep running
at their full capacity This is espe-
cially true OF pulp companies, which
have the most expensive manufacturing
plants, and it is the reason why these
concerns have taken an advanced posi-
tion in conservative cutting and planting.
1t would appear at first that the pres
ent methods of numbering are not short
sighted for the man who intends to give
up his land and go out of business, as
soon as it is stripped This, however,
must be considered strictly as a bus
mess proposition. Can he get more
for his small growth by cutting it, or
By selling it standing? Every Mm-
herman knows that there is eompara-
lively little profit in removing small
.rees which require thirty or forty to
make thousand board feet. I'm many
asses the profit from such trees is less
Ian fifty cents per thousand board feet.
often times that number of small trees
II well located clumps scattered over
IN acre would make the difference in
ceiling price of land from 81 to SIS per
lcre. The United States forest service
.eeently won damages of Sl2 an acre
or the destruction of immature trees
~ fire, and more and more as time goes
N, viii such growth have a sale value
tanding, far in excess of its present
nerchantable value.
| believe that in the foregoing brief
rticIe | have shown that present meth
ds of numbering are short sighted as
veil for the lumbermen as for the pub
ie Many lumbermen are now begin
ing to adopt advanced methods, and
he state forest service is always ready
o advise as TO the best methods of
permanent growth.