The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-05
BUILDING UP WORK NEEDED TO SAVE
 WANING FORESTS
Burden of Message From Ex- perts of the Yale For
 estry School.

l Bedding; Oct. 5-That the wood
 land tracts in this section are on the
 down grade and that this decadent
 trend can be reversed only by restora-
 tive measures was the substance of
 the message which experts of the Yale
 Forestry school conveyed to the audi
 ence which gathered in the-Sanford
 school gym on Saturday, afternoon. They further declared that the proper methods to accom- plish the restoration was repIanting and skilled supervision tthe latter to be secured by co-opera- ton on the part of the land owners. The combination might include sev- eraI towns and thereby the cost would be distributed not to be burden lsome in fact not more than five cents yearly per acre.
 | The meeting had been planned to take place at Putnam Park in con inection with a, basket picnic, but the weather necessitated change of pro- gram D. s. Sanford of the Park Commission was chairman and in his 1 opening remarks said that the people lof Bedding and the adjacent towns
 should gather at the park, one day in
 the year and there emphasize and e1S-
 act the sentiment of civic responsi- bi1ity. c. III. Plump, who prepared
 the program. acted as secretary. State Forester w. O. Fi1ley's opening ad-
 dress was devoted to a summary of !
 forest survey in Bedding, the initial
 step in a work which is to be extend ed over the state. Referring to the
 towns topography he said the average height of the three ridges which 1n-, tersected it was 500 feet and the greatest 800 feet. The chestnut blight had been more deadly here than in any part of the state and had brought the chestnut type of tree nearly to extinction. Formerly it represented 56 per cent. of the total The largest woodland tracts were known as the Gallows Hill and TO acre tract, these sections having <an area, of about 1000 acres. Ten per cent. of the entire total was old field area, which meant. land formerly used for pasture. Of the entire tree. growth TO per cent. was mixed hard wood. The average age of A per cent. was less than 20 years and 38 per cent. was less than 40 years, a fact which showed that the growth had not kept pace with the cutting. An estimate of the present total was s3, 300 in cords and 3,199,00O feet of lumber. Timber cutting had been wastefu1 because the tops were mostly left on the ground to decay. In six years thereN had been 38 forest fires burning over 1,500 acres. Twenty of these fires started from railroad loco motive sparks.
 Altogether the towns woodland area was 58,85o acres or 3 per cent. of it's territory.
 Five suggestions were advanced as means of conserving and improving present conditions. they being: Pro- teet from fires, Most fires were pre- ventable, and patrol system gave thes best protection. Transform pres ent types by replacing those yielding timber Of greater value such as white
 = = sfrab1e to retain and replant some of ] the present types, >jnc1uding white wood. Insist that numbering be done l in more conservative way. The days | of large numbering operations for this l section were over. Cooperative man l agenent, starting with forestry su- pervision of all operations by a com l munity forester having the requisite | technical training. He would assist | in the buying of young stock and in | it's planting in trimming, in estimat- ing timber, and in roadside planting. The Connecticut Agricultural Station would eco-operate in carrying out all his ideas
 Prof. J. w Toomey, head of the Forestry school, was the next speak CT. He said that the facts presented/I showed that if local forest interests were to have a future 1t must be one of reconstruction. Throughout the
  as fast a a. market could be found for 1t, the result being that our woods were in a poor condition This called for present expenditure if we were to. get satisfactory returns later on. The whole question depended on the at titudeS of the individual owner. If they became imbued with the spirit of forestry the reconstruc- tion called for would be undertaken and the situation saved with increas- Ing profits as the ultimate result. returns would steadily di- ninish.
 In response to request for his views J. H. Ferry, the lumber mill man of Bethel said there seemed to j De little future for Bedding timber interests, one reason being that the oy-products, consisting principally of z he tops, had practically no value. He [ aad started to clear up tract of f about 300 acres of inferior wooded { growth, removing the brush and un- { promising saplings, but the job prov d so expensive that he abandoned it. 1 Prof Toomey inquired the cost. 'I nm almost ashamed to teI1,' replied Adr. Terry ..but it was about $10O an tcre."
 Such an expenditure was ridicu- l ous,'' rejoined Prof. Toomey Done :. n a way to answer all purposes it :, mould not have cost $10 an acre.
 Mr. Terry went on to say that he F ladn't seen sufficient development r rom pine tree planting to form an opinion as to what might be expected rom it. "I can refer him. spoke up Prof. Haw1ey, also of the Yale For | sfry School, ttto an example. At Greenfield Hill there is a, three acre ract of pines planted 30 years ago. 7his will now yield from 12,OOO to 5000 feet of lumber. Ten or fifteen ears hence it will produce 35,OOO aef P .