The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-20

Westeiuhy WIN our trees, Coionei
Greeley says.
When the PuritAns landed there were
822 ,000, 600 acres of forest In this coun-
try. OF that area 5000, 900 acres are
now as barren a. q stone-pile. The
trees were cut off, burned off, the soil
was washed off, 30 that the land is
almost yalueiess today. Centuries may
be needed to restore some of 1t to use
Two hundred and fifty million acres
have been cut over, but ID returning to
forest status again, there are loo. 0OO.-
600 acres in the farm w0odlot and pos
sibly $4,000, 900 acres that were once
wooded have been cleared for cultiva-
ton, for the building Of cities, the lay
ing out of roads and the like. And
there still remains to us 1873, 600, 600
acres Of forest that are still virgin.
No doubt We had to cut off our for
ests at the rate we did. just as we had
to kill the buffalo and thin down the
vital statistics Of the Indian. Now
adsys lumber 10 costing 80 much, and
the end Of our forests 10 so definitely
in sight that every one is agreeing that
it is necessary to conserve our forest
resources.
Even the big lumbermen, once we'd
ded to a policy of cut and run and the
most violent opponents of any effort
to save the forests, are one by one Civ
ing their support to the governments
policy. But that policy is not merely
to save the trees, but to consider the
forests as farm lands from which a
crop can be taken annually
Just as they do in Sweden;
Just as they do in France:
''Or in Germany"
If that policy had, not been adopted
we would have seen the end of our
American cut lumber in 35 years. Now
there really is no reason why we ever
should see the end of 1t. IL farmers
and lumbermen use common sense. BY
the time the area now virgin is fully
cut over the area now coming up in
second growth will come on, and that
should carry until new second growth
comes into the market. All that, of
course, IL all hands preserve instead
of sauander. Colonel Greeley thinks
they will. He is an optimist. He
thinks we will soon be as smart as the
Swedes.
LumbeTmen Changing Their Policy
Down in Louisiana a great lumber
company has changed its policy. Where
it used to cut over and then sell its
land, it is now cutting carefully and
holding on. It's forests, handled in
that way, will pay increasing profits
to the end of the world Other CON-
panies, elsewhere, are doing the same
thing. The little town of Cloquet,
Mimi, was burned over and COM
pletely destroyed along with its sur.
rounding forests few years ago. Far
sighted men backed its rebuilding and
mills are doing a profitable business
there on the scraps that had never be-
fore been considered, and on soft woods
that had never before been cut. Paper,
pulp. compressed boards, toothpicks,
clothespins,. all sorts of things, are
being made from material that had al
ways before been waste. And the bust
ness should go on forever.
But how about the farm wood
lot%' I asked. "Can the farmer make
an annual profit from his little patch
of woods?'
He can if he will. In fact, he can.
not afford not to watch his woods.
Mortgages are being lifted from what
we used to call the abandoned farms"
Of New England by the neglected wood
lot. Farmers. living about Winchester,
Mass, have been trained to make an
ahnual cutting from their woodlots,
taking only the mature trees, and
thereby enabling prosperous box fac
tories to operate. Woodland il in
in value everywhere, for our
use OF wood products is increasing
ratably.
''It pays to grow timber now" said
Colonel Greeley. "As a crop. or
course, it pays more or less according
to locality"
In Alaska there is a reserve of pulp
wood that will, when put under con-
tribut D., be good annually for a mil
lion aud half tons of paper until the
end of time. Our national forests,
guarded and cropped, will produce T.
0OO 100000 board feet each year for
ever. That isn't much, maybe, in face
of the fact that our annual production
now is $4,000, 100000 board feet, but
it will help. And then, of course, there
is the chance that we may wake up to
the profit to be found in saving tim
Der.
The Swedes learned" said Colonel
The French learned. Why
shouldn't we?' d
But are we? That is the big ques-
ton.
Slowly" said Colonel Greeley.
uEl0SrIV Rnf NO 0re JAArnin1 "