The Washington herald., 1913-11-23
By JAMES r. MORROW.

Two demonstrations are thus kept oul
of the figares-ripened. fell from theil
brown cups to the ground. germinated
rooted themselves into the earth and, liv.
ing through the battling period of youth
became trees.
after the two acorns had begun tt
sprout, farmer put his ak on the grind.
stone, 'whetted it to a keener edge and,
going into the woods. cut the trees
down.
The trunks Of the trees were hewn into
i've cross-ties, such as are used by rail-
roads. One tree was larger than the
average OF the forest; the other was
smaller. Saws economize timber bur
there was no mill in the neighborhood
Axes waste timber. So many huge chips
were gathered up for frewood.
Then one day the farmer loaded the
five ties on his wagon and hauled them
with others many miles through the mud
to a village where he sold them to the
station agent of a railroad. If of white
oak, the farmer received $3.50 for the
five ties; if of red oak. which is more
likely, he received only $3.50.
Nsture working for 125 years, in the
case Of a single tree. to which must be
added the final and finishing strokes of
the farmer, had earned LIS centsi Hew-
ing is hard work, as is hauling. The
labor of the farmer alone was beggarly
cheap considering the money he received
His timber, it might be said, was the
bonus he gave the railroad for the
privilege Of earning little ready cash in
its employment.
The personal recollections Of the two
rec oak trees, could they be obtained
and written, would make the matter look
much worse, merely as a business trans
action. Their perils and struggles as
Dsaplings would again prove that only the
f1ttest survive among plants as well as
among animals, man included. Perhaps
1000 acorns fell from the parent oak
Trees Are Always Fighting.
Others beside the two passed through
the mysterious processes of termination,
only to perish and fertilize the spots on
which they stood. Later came the bat
tie of crowns, the contest for room
among the opposing branches and the
death of the trees too weak to stand
the strain of the everlasting combat
waged in every forest. Some were riven
by lightning and some were blown down.
Two among multitude Of brothers and
sisters-and sex is not limited to things
which creep, fly, swim, and walk-defeat
the elements, repel the attacks of in
sects, and proudly conquering all their
enemies for more than a century, fall
finally by the ak Of a farmer and fetch
$e5e, after being hewn into cross-ties and
hauled to market, Their story. could
they tell it, would sound like a tragedy
in sensible economics
Some of these days wood will be
wood in the United States" said John
Foley, forester of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road. James ]. Hill, the prophetic and
constructive genius of the Northwest,
told the Governors of many Common
wealths several years ago, at a meeting
in Washington, that I'VE are now using
annually 500 feet, board measure, of tim
ber per capita, as against an average of
90 feet all over Europe" Also that we
are consuming yearly three or four times
as much timber as forest growth re-
stores" Mr.. Foley, a scientist and not
ar ar q TSrOr,haf foil
to the same effect. Wood will be wood,
and frame houses once the homes of the
poor, will become too dear except for the
opulent-