Evening star., 1948-04-22

This Arbor Day season foresters and nur-
serymen report greater interest in forest tree
planting than ever before In the Nations his
tory. State foresters In 40 States, Hawaii and
Puerto Rico declare that the demand by farm
ers and others for planting stock at State
nurseries, financed in part by the Federal
Government under the Clarke -McNary Act Of
1924, far exceeds the supply. Last year these
nurseries produced and distributed 90,0OO00O
seedlings; this year they aim to produce 22O,-
600 600, according to figures given the Division
Of State Forestry in the United States Forest
Service.
Behind this increasing demand for planting
stock, of course, Is growing public realization
that the United States Is nearing the end OF
its once-vast supply Of virgin timber so fast
that from here out we must more and more
RELY on what timber trees we can grow. Many
lumber, pulp and paper, public utility and
other companies and thousands OF farmers
and other owners already are planting steadily,
and planting techniques and equipment have
been vastly improved-much progress having
been made, for example, in the development
of tree-planting machines. This activity has
behind it tradition of pioneering and per-
sistence in the face Of obstacles distinctly
American in character.
Morton and His Crusade for Planting.
Outstanding among the early planters was
Julius Sterling Morton who was born In
Adams. N. Y, April a. 1882, and who migrated
to Nebraska soon after that territory was
opened up in 1854 On Nebraska's treeless
plains Morton missed the trees Of his boyhood
home. So he not only tried to grow them on
mis- Nebraska property, but campaigned for
tree planting in his newspaper, the Nebraska
City News. Finally, in 1879, he induced the
Nebraska State Board of Agriculture to otter
cash prizes to the individual or society who
ION April 10 shall plant properly the largest
number of trees" This was the first Arbor
Day, and it saw million or more trees planted
throughout the State Now Arbor Day is OBJ
served everywhere in u the United States.
Observance ranges from November IN Hawaii
to MAY in Maine. In honor of Mr.. Morton,
who became United States Secretary Of Agri-
culture under President Cleveland, Nebraska
observes Arbor Day on his birthday, April ~.
Broad-scale planting of thousands OF forest
acres for the production Of timber and forest
products was begun by the old Bureau OF For
estry, forerunner of the United States Forest
Service, in 1908. Fittingly, this beginning was
made in Nebraska, and the writer had the
story of 1t, recently, from Ira N Bovee who
was camp cook when Uncle Sans foresters
began their forest-making three or four miles
west of the village of Halsey-population 147-
on.the middle fork of the Loup River.
Seventy-six years old, Mr.. Bovee sat In his
blue overalls on a cracker box in Wirzs grocery
store His apple-red cheeks were remarkably
unwrinkled, his forehead serene and white;
his blue eyes twinkled amiably. He "remem-
bered 1t alp rs If 1t were yesterday. Yes, he
I.l. hn
and he still did.
Oh, surely, the Nebraska forests came along
nne The trees cover more than 10000 acres
now. Jack pines Mr.. Bovee himself planted
40 years or so ago are 40 feet up and 1914
inches through. But they had their troubles
In the beginning-the foresters. First they
planted "wildlings," little trees dug up in the
woods of South Dakota and Minnesota, but
these didn't do very we'll in Nebraska. So the
foresters narrowed ten acres and tried sowing
the seed like you do grass. And was that a
caution! The mice, ground squirrels and birds
got the seeds at one end OF plot while
forester was scattering the seeds at the other.
Pioneer Nursery Started.
After that, the foresters built one of the
first two or three federal tree nurseries in the
United States and began growing seedlings
from seed in the beds and after year or two
transplanting them to the forest area. These
seedlings were stronger than the "wildlings,
with well developed root systems. The forest
grew steadily after that. Surely, there were bug
epidemics and fires, but the foresters kept
watch and put them down. On sunny Gays,
now this old man of the forest lived by cutting
dead sickly or crowded trees. marked by the
foresters, and selling them to farmers for 10
miles around for poles, fence posts, turkey
roosts or farm lumber. And every one was
sold" on the forest, coming from miles around
In that treeless country for family plcnlcs
and the like. One time or other. Mr.. BoVee
guessed, pretty near every man in the county
had worked there. Did see the women weed
ing, down there in the nursery beds?
With Mr.. Bovee much in mind the writer
next day went with Jay Higgins first super
visor of the Nebraska National Forest now
retired. to Scott Lookout, which towers 30 feet
above ground almost in its center. Over the
low, rolling plains in every direction were the
planted pine and cedars, criSs-crossed with
broad fire lanes. Beyond on all sides the tree
less plains stretched away to the horizon.
Voices OF swimmers at the pool In. the grove
down by the nursery came family IN the wind
deer moved lazily out of sight among the
sun-spIashed pines A youthful bride and
groom climbed the tower; they had camera
and Jay took their picture against the sky. He
said, TITS q custom for newlyweds to come up
here. You can't realize what these trees mean
to folks out this way OF course, We can't
grow timber like the Northwest and from that
standpoint this isn't much of forest but
there's q whale Of = lot more than timber in
trees"
Today National Forests have thousands OF
| these man-made forests, occupying IA the
-