El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-22

mountain regions to acquire suffici-
ent lands to save the s., OOO. 900 apprO-
priation made Dy congress for that pur-
pose, promise to succeed. Negotiations
have been under way for some time,
and it appears that prices have been
agreed upon in a sufficient number
of instances to take up the bulk Of
the congressional appropriation for the
current year. When congress decided
to create the Appalachian and White
mountain forests it undertook to ap-
proprlate S2,OOO,OOO a year for five
years, but a provision was written
into the law requiring all unexpected
balances to be- covered back into the
treasury at the end of each year.
Delayed Progress.
This provision has very much de-
layed the program of watershed acqui-
SltlonS in these regions. The authOIl-
ties charged with negotiating and ap-
! proving the purchases have been con-
stantly between two horns of a d.
lemma. As soon as the land owners
learned that Uncle sam was in the
market for their property, lands that
yesterday were worth less than a dol
lar an acre, came TO be held at high
prices. The authorities were not will
ing to pay those prices, and yet If they
did not the money was covered back
into the treasury Last year all but
about hundred thousand of the two
million dollars was covered back. This
year some reasonable land owners have
been found and it is probable that the
bulk of the two million made avail
able this year Will be paid out
L. 5. Bound to Gain.
In order TO put them in better shape
to drive bargains with the land owners
in the affected region. the authorities
are now urging congress TO amend the
act making the unexpected balances
available until used. In this way they
hope to show the price boosting land
owners that the government can out
wait them, and with this talking point
to get the lands at a fair and reason
able price. 1t is urged that there can
be no reasonable objection to this
course, but that the United States is
bound to be the gamer.
Forests Embrace 2OO,OOO,OOO Acres.
1t is only when one surveys the
whole field Of forest work that he re-
allies what strides have been made
in the spread of the forestry idea in
a few short years. The national for
ests alone now comprise nearly 2O0,-
GOO, 600 acres of land, and dozens Of
states have adopted the forest reserve
idea, with the result that today full
" one fifth of all the forest area Of
the United States is dedicated to the
public and to pOsterity. Twenty three
of the IS states now maintain active
departments of forestry, while II OF
them employ technically trained fOres-
tiers to head their forestry activities
Great Increase In Product.
The annual cut of timber in the
United States now amounts to about
$4,000, 0O0,0 900 board feet a year, an in
crease of about 43 percent in a single
decade. Leaving out of the reckoning
the immense cut Of wood pulp timber,
and counting only that utilized as
manufactured lumber. the annual cut
would suffice to make a board walk
three quarters of a mile wide, the
planks being one inch thick that would
reach around the world at the eQua-
tor.
New York Leads.
New York is taking leading place
among the states in the movement
for the rehabilitation of ruined forests
by a program of reforestratiOn. 1t
now has about 100000 baby trees to
send out to the people of the state,
and Is selling them at four dollars
per thousand The inmates of one
of the big prisons are being made to
help in this work of conservation by
doing the manual labor in the big state
nurseries. The tees that are thus
transplanted give excellent results.
New Zealand was early in the field in
the utilization of prison labor in the
extension of forest interests. 1t has
distributed more than 10000, 600 trees
already and millions more are grow
ing in the prison conducted nurseries
Of the state.
To Hold Conference.
An event in forestry circles this
year will be the annual forestry can
ference to be held at Breton Woods,
New Hampshire, the middle of July
One of the leading factors in this con-
ference will be the National Forestry
association, the leading organization
devoted to the work of fostering for
est preservation sentiment in this
country. 1t has a magazine devoted
to forestry prOPa ganda, and It IS prov
ing such a popular publication among
all who are interested in woodcraft
and related subjects that 1t IS COM
ing to be one of the most widely cir
culated of the class publications OF to-
day.
Educating People.
The younger generation is not being
overlooked in the nation wide effort to
arouse the people to the possibilities
of forestry. In Pennsylvania 100000
circulars are being distributed to the
school children of the state. Each IS
a four page six by nine inch folder
containing cuts and cartoons, with
instructions as to what to do to check
incipient fires in the woods and a lot
of dOn'ts to prevent them. One car
toon shows a group of fools-the TOOL
who rocks the boat the fool who
didn't know it was loaded, and several
others.
Wants Trees to Transplant.
The growth of tree culture senti-
mcnt is nowhere evidenced better than
in an advertisement now running in
forestry publication. 1t announces
that the advertiser "a New York tree
grower) wants white pine trees from
six to Is feet high with full lower
branches. They must be growing from
six to 20 feet apart, in loan or sandy
loan, and preferably not more than
four miles from a railroad. The trees /
are to be moved with balls of earth
attained, from two to five feet in di-
ameter. The nurseryman takes the
trees and transplants them on the es
tates of men who want forest in a
hurry.
Forest Made Profitable.
A farmer in Center county, Pennsyl- |
vania, seems to have solved the forest
problem by making his forest pay bet
ter than wheat or corn land He has
about a hundred acres of this land. !
which is generally too rough for farm !
ing During the past winter he segre- |
gated five average acres, and kept an
account of all the lumber he took off. |
naTa 4 H-4AH-