The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-10-27

head on these lands will be greatly re-
duced in effectiveness and value.
The destruction Of the producing
value Of the land itself, however, is
acres of land, capable Of growing
from $4,000 to $4,000 worth Of tim
Der a year, to be made absolutely |
nOn-prOductive, means a very serious
loss. not only to the owners them
selves, but also to the Whole State.
The taxable valuation Of the property
will become nothing. and the avail
dustries need more and more each
year, will be reduced by that much.
What Can BE Done?
The question is: What is to be
done? It is easy enough to say: Cut
n must be regulated and fire pre-
vented! But how is this to be &C
complished and who Is to o. it?
With the exception Of q few acres
on the top of the mountain all the
land In question now belongs to two
large companies, who together own
some $1,000 acres on the heads of
Cane and South Toe rivers on either
slope of the Black Mountains. Be-
cause OF the good quality of the tim
Der and the rapidly growing scarcity
OF such tracts, exceptionally high
price; are sail to have been paid for
A" A"HU' IepoflS are true, the
operating company purchased all the
spruce and balsam timber on these
two tracts, paying the landowners an
excessive price per thousand feet for
the Logging over 20 miles
OF narrow gauge railroad is very ex-
penslve, which is added to by the diff
fculty OF the country; SO unless log
g1ng costs a be kept down to-a
minimum not only will no money be
made. but heavy losses will be sus-
tanned. Under these circumstances
the operating does not feel
able to incur any great expense to
protect from fire lands which it does
not own.
The company has, however, itself
suffered severely from fire. especially
during the past In May a
ire destroyed six or eight thousand
dollars worth of logs and two or
three workmen's shacks. Again in
June fire got out from one OF the en-
gines and burned up $4,000 worth
Of logs already skidded into piles, and
destroyed the commissary with q
$4,000 stock Of goods, a boarding
house and seven shacks. The two
fires caused a loss of at least $40, 900
to the company.
It would not be fair to say that this
loss could have been prevented if fire
protective measures had been adopt
SOS Oot IL 10 IN uOODL (I1dl ndO
an adequate fire preventive system
been in operation the risks Of such
damage would have been much
, smaller.
!; In the absence Of any agreement to
that effect, the operating company
cannot be required to protect the
2 lands of another company from fire
eve though it incidentally protected
it's own property, when. as has been
f seen, it would mean virtual confisca-
: ton. The only practicable plan is fol
the State itself to organize protection
This company and others like it could
e then be induced to join with the State
; In protection work.
In practically all parts Of the Unit
S ed States, as we'll as in Canada, where
spruce forests occur, the State and
the private owner cooperate In fire
e protection. Such cooperation ir
many regions includes a third party
9 the National government; and il
: western North Carolina the Fedora
e Forest Service stands ready to assis
as soon as the State takes hold.
e FEDERAL Purchase Not Possible.
C 1t has often been suggested that tn
d Federal Government buy these land
:. for incorporation in the Appalachian
l. National Forest The purpose of tn
h Weeks law is to provide for the pur
y chase of just such lands, for 1.-The pro
lection OF the watersheds of navig
y able streams The ~governn1en ha
Ie already secured large a of fores
is land on each side Of the areas il
Is question, so that it seems the simples
= and most natural thing fer it to blu
le these. This would certainly be a mos
lie desirable solution Of the problem. O,
all our National Forests thorough fir
S. protection is maintained, and cuttin
n is regulated according to the variou
l. types of forest and the purpose 70
e. which it is maintained. If the Fores
r Service could secure these lands the
le would Immediately go under the hes
te kline of forest management
Id The government has already az
I'd proved for purchase about 24O, 90
I'd acres of forest land in North Caroline
Sc yet no spruce lands are included i
these reserves. This is because spruc
DIS timber has been sold and is still he
i'll at such very high prices that the Na