The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-09-21

Sweeney McNary bill during the late
hours of congress marks for the first
time national effort to provide for
scientific program of forestry study
through a long period of years. We
need this research because we forest
ers have really no answer to many
questions.
Cooperation is becoming the key
word in forestry today. Under the
Clarke-McNary law cooperative for
estry has made progress. This law itself
provides a powerful impetus toward
bringing together the state and fed
eral government and the private tim.
berland owner in joint effort to pro-
mote forestry. 1t is just making be-
ginning in providing for adequate pro-
lection against forest fires. 1t is study
ing the perplexing problem of forestry
taxation under a committee headed by
Professor Fairchild of Yale. 1t is sup
plying farmers, under certain condi-
tions, with small trees to plant on
their idle lands and it is advising
farmers as to the best way to handle
their woodlands
All this has not come day too soon.
We are a rapidly growing nation. An
increase in population means an in
creasing need for wood and the census
bureau tells US that this country is
increasing at the rate of one million
inhabitants a year. This means popu-
lation of 150,000,000 in 1853 and about
200,O00,000 in the year 1000. Over
against this is the stern fact that al
though our population may increase,
the amount of land in this country GER
tainly does not. Our only way out of
the problem of supplying continually
increasing demand for wood-a demand
that is being made upon a continually
decreasing forests to put every acre
of available land to work growing
trees.
For the problems of forestry are by
no means all solved. Even though in
terest in forestry is increasing and
effective forestry is being enacted, pro-
ductive forests in this country are still
rapidly decreasing while the waste
acres are growing larger. 1t is not un-
likely that in 1850, at the present rate,
we may have an area of idle land
larger than New York, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Vir-
ginia and all the New England states.
How, in the face of all this wastage,
shall we satisfy the wood needs of
those hundred and fifty million people
the census bureau tells us we will have?
We still fall far short of providing
for the future productiveness Of the
24O,0O0,000 acres of forest land that is
in industrial ownership.
In the life of a tree the year 1000
is not very far away. Indeed, in our
own shorter human lives that date
is not so far distant that we need
disregard it. Time goes hurrying by.
There are children in our schools today
who will write that date. Today is not
a day too early for us to be thinking
of the welfare of those who come after
US For shortage in our wood supply
is in no way comparable to a shortage
in our supply of cotton and wheat
These may be grown in few months
but our great timber crop-on whose
existence our civilization today is based
requires many years to reach matur-
ity Whether or not the year 1000 is
to be blessed with a supply of rea-
sonably priced timber must be decided
within the decade. We cannot always
reap without sowing. We must grow
trees for our growing nation.