The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-01-25
Stale Showing that Planting of
Trees Prevents Wasting of Soil

waste lands pay. The state is not
to plant but it is showing some of
the indirect benefits of planting trees.
No Wasting of Soil.
There is a fine example down there
of how planting trees prevents the
wasting of the soil. There is a hill
side which has been planted to black
locust and the work of erosion has
been entirely stopped, the soil not
only remains where it is formed but
the little field at the foot of the hill
does not have it's surface soil covered
up by the wash from every rain. For
these reasons the state should &C
quire lands in various parts of its
area so that demonstration might be
seen by all who own land
Indiana has nearly % million acres
of land and instead of two thousand
acres of reserve she should have 20
thousand and in various parts of the
state, and demonstration carried on
in all. for outside this two thousand
acre tract all our forests are in
farmers wood lots and the farmers
do not know how to manage them,
but would manage them if they knew
how and if it could be shown that it
would pay
When Indiana was first entered by
| the pioneer, it was practically all
| forest, about 80 per cent. 1t was the
center of the great central forest re
glon and contained dense forests Of
walnut, yellow poplar, white oak and
linden. These forests are all gone,
only about IA per cent of the wood
lands remain. The agricultural lands
have been made into fine farms and
| the non agricultural lands have been
robbed of their forests and are prac-
tically worthless.
Acquired by Spectators.
Forest destruction in this country
has been but little short of criminal.
Our forest lands have somehow been
acquired by spectators and land
srabbers until nearly all of our vast
timber lands have passed out of the
hands of the government 1t began
in the east and with the advent of
steam and electricity has swept with
astounding rapidity westward to the
Pacific.
But the states, one by one have
taken up the business of reforesting
out over lands, and herein lies at
| least some hope, not of providing
timber for the present or future, but
of saving lands, ruined by the effects
of deforestation. New York, in 1880,
was the leading timber state in in
the union, but her forest lands have
been cut over and left, then came
Pennsylvania with the same result,
then Michigan and Wisconsin, and so
on the work of destruction has
swept like a scourge across the con-
tlnent; following in the wake of the
axe and saw came the forest fire,
we'll nigh completing the ruin.
But the work which the states are
doing is good. New York has bought
back and taken for taxes an area OF
nearly two million acres which she
is planting to forests as fast as she
can. Pennsylvania has $50 thousand
acres, Michigan 80 thousand, Mime
sofa 43 thousand, Maryland $500,
New Jersey 5000, Massachusetts
10000, Indiana 1000, etc, all are do
| ing practically the same thing: re-
planting and protecting them from
fire.
These small state forests can never.
or not in the near future produce
much timber for the market, but they
are great institutions in that they not
only protect the soil and prevent
floods but they are forest laboratories
where owners OF private forest lands
in these states may learn how to
manage their holdings Each state
forest should show the owners of
non-agricultural lands how such lands
will pay better if planted to trees