Evening star., 1924-07-16

assistant chief of the forest service,
Mr.. Sherman. If it take 100 years to
mature a forest, and the trees burned
are only twenty years. though 1T be
eighty years away. divide that value
by five. in computing what today's
fire costs. Add to that the loss Of
the burned-up humus OF the soil and
the probable abandonment of the acre
age, which Is then added to S1,000,O00
acres already idle. Consider the re-
duction of the total supply OF tim
Der, OF pasturage, or retardation OF
food waters, of the fertilization and
irrigation OF farmlands along the
gently flowing streams which alter
nately become raging torrents and
dry beds. Fertility of farms Is thus
affected. food production liz reduced
and cost of living enhanced; even
across the continent Who happens to
hold title to the burned forest is of
no economic interest. We are all for
est guardians OF our great heritage
of the ages.
A few days ago logging en-
gineer connected with the United
States Forest Service was quoted as
saying that the lumber famine pre-
dicted as coming within the next
twenty years was not likely to ma
terialize, since lumber companies. al
though discouraged from reforesting
the north, where it takes century
to mature most trees for saving.
were Systematically planting trees in
the south, where they mature in forty
to fifty years. He said that in Ore
gon and Washington there is stand
ing timber enough to run the mills
seventy years, and before that can be
exhausted the new reforested woods
would be ready to cut hence the
"scare" is unfounded.
Chief Greeley Of the Forest Service
says that the lumber famine is not q
thing Of the future, it Is here. We
are using soft wood eight times as
fast as it is growing. and all woods
four times as fast.
t'The retail price of construction
lumber has doubled within a little
more than a single decade; during
the last eighty years the price of
times as fast as the average price of
all staple commodities. The cost of
lumber has already become SO high
that the per capita consumption has
decreased 40 per cent.
This country now uses 53,00o,-
100000 board feet Of lumber annually.
and forest fires destroy about 6,0O0.-
100000 board feet Fires alone
growth of our forests, in spite of all
the protection and watchful care of
the rangers and scouts. To the alert
ness Of the lookouts in their towers,
with a telescope range of about
twenty-five miles each. is now added
the scouting of airplanes.
X y X y
In pamphlet by the chief of the
Forestry Service, Col. Greeley. this
statement is made:
Lumber has become dear TO the
eastern consumer not because virgin
forests were freely cut. but because
the land which the logger left be-
hind rs so largely without crop.
The idea prevails that much more
forest land will pass INTO tillage.
The main increases in I'M
proved farm land during the last ten
years came from non-forested regions.
= The idle acreage in many
Eastern states has been swelied BY
abandoned farms.
"Our remaining forests of all sorts
are being cut at the rate Of 10000, 900
acres a year A million acres are
being stumped and put under plow
each year, but nearly an equal area
of old plowed land at one point or
another revertS.
The Government forests, if COM
pacted into one tract would cover
from Maine to North Carolina and
west to include a quarter OF Ohio.
Not until the passage of the Nc
Nary-CIarke law at last session had
the Government undertaken .syste-
matte protection of this most impor-
tant asset. And the work is only
begun.
' fCopyright, 1884, by Paul v. Collinsl