Cornell University Library OF THE Mew Work State College of Agriculture Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu3 1924002966467 FOREST PLANTING A TREATISE ON THE u7 CARE OF TIMBER LANDS AND THE Restoration of Denuded Wood-Lands on Plains and Mountains BY H. NICHOLAS JARCHOW, LL.D. ILLUSTRATED ** God gave us mother earth full blest * With robes of green in healthful fold; _ We tore the green robes from her breast! Wesold our mother’s robes for gold! We sold her garments fair, and she Lies shamed and weeping at our feet. \ In penitence we plant a tree; We plant the tree and count it meet."” ; —Joaquin MILLER. PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY THE ORANGE JUDD COMPANY NEW YORK 1893 @ SD 331 gag neces Copyright, 1893, by H. NICHOLAS JARCHOW. PREFACE. THE act of the New York State Legislature, passed on the 15th day of May, 1885—which may justly be considered as inaugurating a new era in the forestry matters of the Empire State—directs the members of the Forest Commission “to prepare tracts or circulars “of information, giving plain and concise advice for “the care of wood-lands upon private lands, and for “the starting of new plantations upon lands that “ have been denuded, exhausted by cultivation, eroded “by torrents, or injured by fire, or that are sandy, “marshy, broken, sterile, or waste and unfit for other “use.” This well-meant instruction has not, to my knowledge, been carried into execution, very likely because we have no literature of any importance upon this subject—for forestry with us has not been regarded as being a branch of rural economy worthy of literary treatment, and, therefore, this field of cul- ture has been left nearly untouched. In this limited work I have attempted to bring within as small a compass as is consistent with clear- ness of statement the salient points of systematic forestry and its application to the restocking of de- nuded wood-lands on plains and mountains. Ameri- can writers on forestry have mostly confined them- selves to the treatment of forest trees as single trees, and not as masses of trees raised for the purpose ot producing crops of wood or timber. They thought that forestry was an art of tree planting, destined to create, by artificial sowing and planting, new forests; and that, as we are still in the possession of many and large natural forests, the creation of new forests was to us a foreign matter. This is entirely wrong, IV FOREST PLANTING. for if we really will freserve our natural or wild forests—and this is undoubtedly a much better and cheaper policy than to continue destroying them, and to later raise, at an enormous cost and loss of time, artificial forests—we have to care for our woods just as fully as the artificial forests in the European countries are treated ; for in the preserva- tion of forests it makes no difference at all whether they are originated by nature or by human art, be- cause both are subject to the same dangers and injuries. Unless the natural forests are managed systematically, we cannot but expect that the repara- tion of damages done to a forest either by accidents or elementary forces, or by the natural course of tree life, will take as many centuries as it would require decades for this purpose, if we assist nature in its regenerating endeavors through the means suggested by scientific forestry. The condition in which our forests are now, is not such as to warrant us in “ pooh-poohing ” the idea of looking forinstruction inthis matter to the European nations, and to only glance at their methods of treating forests, because we have a different form of govern- ment (see Report of the N. Y. Forest Commission, 1886, page 67), or because “the entire condition of things here differs so materially from that in the old world.” (See Report of the Forest Commission, 1887, page 17.) Certainly there is a great difference be- tween our government and that of most of the Euro- pean nations, and politico-economical matters are often treated here differently from what they are there ; but this does not affect the question of pre- serving to the succeeding generations the zatural resources of a country necessary for the welfare of its inhabitants. If we cannot invent better methods of preserving forests than those we have practiced PREFACE, v up to the present time, and by which our forests will soon be doomed to total extinction, we should not only glance at, but study European systems closely, and inquire into the possibility of adopting them to some extent, if necessary. If we do that we will find that, without “ making the elaborate science and intricate machinery of European forestry available in this State” (see Second Annual Report of the Forest Com- mission, Albany, 1887, page 17), the preservation of our woods can be accomplished, and at the same time acontinued and even enlarged exploitation may be secured by applying some similar methods, subject of course to such changes as are rendered necessary by a diversity of climate, soil and local influences. Although twenty years’ experience in forestry in northern Germany, combined with personal observa- tion in this country, during a like period, would seem to justify me in urging the practicability of intro- ducing systematic forestry into the United States, I do not intend to express here a positive opinion on this point. During the course of my experience in this State, I have heard and read so much regarding the necessity of arresting the reckless use and destruction of ourforests, that thought the time had at last ar- rived to answer the question, “‘ How shall we preserve our forests?” with a practical work. In the following pages I have endeavored to furnish sufficient hints to those who are interested in this important matter, to form a correct opinion in regard to the requirements of the culture of forests, and to apply the acquired knowledge to the proper preservation of wild or natural forests, and the restoration of wood-lands which have been denuded. In the arrangement of the chapters, I have been led by a desire to give not only reliable information upon the subject, but also to furnish teachers in forest cul- vI FOREST PLANTING. ture a more practical guide than they have found hitherto in American books. No claim for complete- ness is made, the less so as it is only a pioneer des- tined to invite better and more experienced men to treat more fully upon a subject, the importance of which is more and more felt every year. The enum- eration and description of our common forest trees has been omitted intentionally, as these topics are treated by others with great thoroughness. The Diagrams given in Chapter IX, Part II, and in Chapter III, Part III, explain themselves, and show the engineering work to be done in covering downs on the sea-coast with trees, and in reforesting mount- ains when their slopes have been cleared of natural woods, and torrents with deep ravines have been formed. The views showing the gorgeous scenery of the Adirondacks are not, perhaps, necessary to the book ; but they are given to arouse those who are unaware of the beauties of our native mountain for- ests, and to create a spirit of enthusiasm which shall not only help to prevent further devastation of our State forests, but also may assist in restocking the wantonly denuded wood-lands. Toa good agriculturist with sufficient experience in the nature and behavior of the principal forest trees, it will not be difficult to apply the given instructions 80 as to accomplish the principal objects of modern forestry in the preservation of wild or natural forests. Although the present book is written only with regard to the requirements of the State of New York, there is no reason why the instructions given in its pages should not be applicable to other localities, where the same conditions exist, if the proper allow- ance is made for diversity of climate, soil and topo- graphy, THe AUTHOR. CONTENTS. PART I.—Forest Cutture. CHAPTER I. Introductory Remarks---.__...............__-.2-.----.----- eee 9 CHAPTER IL. Importance of Forest Culture__........ 22. 222-222--2eee20----- ee 15 CHAPTER III. Proportion of the Wooded Lands of a Country to its Total Area... 19 CHAPTER IV. Relations of the Government to Forests—Protective Forests.....__. 22 CHAPTER V. Governmental Assistance to Forest Culture — Establishment of Forest Schools for Training Foresters............--...--__.- 29 CHAPTER VI. Forest Planting-~Preparatory and Precautionary Measures.....---- 36 CHAPTER VII. Methods of Culture and their Success..............---.----------- 38 CHAPTER VIII. Cultivation of the Soil. -...-..2-_2_2 2.002222 e eee eee ee 41 CHAPTER IX. Drainage and Irrigation. _....---.-.2.--2--------22 2-2 -eee-ee---e ee 43 CHAPTER X. Selection of Trees.......... 222-222-222 ---eeeee eee eee eee eee 47 CHAPTER XI. The Various Systems of Forest Management..._...._._--._..._.__. 54 CHAPTER XII. ~ Raising Forest Trees by Natural Reproduction. .-..........2...--.- 64 CHAPTER XIII. The Collection and Treatment of Seeds for Forest-Trees .-..._____ 68 CHAPTER XIV. Raising Forest Trees by Seeding. ..-.....-.-.-------------------- 74 CHAPTER XV. Planting Worest Trees osc. c2c sstec meine seenceancesse sess eet eee 90 CHAPTER XVI. The Care of Young Plantations... -....-..--------------------..---- 109 CHAPTER XVII. Protection of Forests against Animals and Elemental Forces-_--_---- “118 CHAPTER XVIII. The Conversion of the Wild or Natural Woods into Cultivated Forests—What the American Forester should do next_...._.- 138 VIII FOREST PLANTING. PART II.—Forest PLANTING ON PLAINS. CHAPTER I. Forest Planting on Lands with Alluvial Soil_.-.---.-.------------- 147 CHAPTER II. Forest Planting on Marshy or Swampy Lands. --------------------- 150 CHAPTER III. Forest Planting on Moorlands.--.-------------------------------- 153 CHAPTER IV. Forest Planting on High Moors... .--.---------------------------- 156 CHAPTER V. Drainage 2-22 2sss-esseese ses ces tcc ccesenecueemesceomscccsemscsas 160 CHAPTER VI. Buraing over the Soil for Cultivation......-...------------------- 165 CHAPTER VII. Forest Planting on Sand-Wastes or Pine-Barrens_--...-.----.------ 168 CHAPTER VIII. Forest Planting on Inland Sand-Drifts........--------------------- W71 CHAPTER IX. Covering Downs or Sand Dunes on the Sea Coast with Trees and Shrubs—With Diagrams--.......--.------------------------- 174 PART III.—Forest PLantTiInG on MounNTAINS. . CHAPTER I. The Objects of Covering Mountains with Forest Trees_......------ 182 CHAPTER II. Selection of Trees—Replanting Forests on Mountains—Planting or Seeding) a. esisnecenswacesasesecnsenescevageon spose secmeaees 184 CHAPTER III. Restocking Denuded Woodlands in Mountains—Preparatory and Protective Measures—With Diagrams-..-.----..--.---------- 190 CHAPTER IV. How to Arrest and Bind the Shifting Sand on Mountains_.------._- 204 CHAPTER V. Replanting Forests on Mountains of the Sandstone Formation-- .--- 207 CHAPTER VI. Replanting Forests on Mountains of the Limestone Formation-.---- £09 CHAPTER VII. Re-stocking Mountains having Rocky Surfaces-_.......-.-..------- 213 CHAPTER VIII. Re-stocking Denuded Woodlands on High Mountains. ---..--. ---- 217 CHAPTER IX. Concluding Remarks—1. State Forest Nursery. 2. Forest School in the Adirondacks. 8. Forest Experiment Station. 4. Asylum for Game to Rest and Breed --. wwe- 222 PORES) PLAN TING, PART I.—Forest Cutrure. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. ABOUT sixty years ago, Governor DeWitt Clinton, in a message to the Legislature of New York, urged the fostering of forest planting, and declared that the repro- duction of our woods was an object of primary import- ance. This sensible advice did not receive that legisla- tive consideration which the great interests involved therein merited. The devastation of our forests, especi- ally of those situated in the Adirondack region, went on as before, nay even increased from year to year, so that now the formerly densely wooded summits of those mountains are nearly denuded. We will not expatiate here on the calamities which have already befallen the country by the continual deforestation of our mountains, and which undoubtedly will in time grow to much larger dimensions ; we only point to the fact that since the axe of the tanner, lumberman and miner has reached the previously well-stocked high plateaus on the Adirondacks (whence the sources of the Hudson, the Black River, some tributaries of the Mohawk and other rivers take their rise), our noble Hudson river has lost nearly five feet in its average depth. This fall in the level of the (9) 10 FOREST PLANTING. river will undoubtedly continue, unless an effective stop is put to the further deforestation of the Adirondacks, and the reforestation of the denuded wood-lands thereon is begun. But here we encounter difficulties which apparently are scarcely to be overcome. For it is not so much the inclemency of the climate, or the exposure of the location, or the poorness of the soil, which prevents the restoration of our mountain forests; it is the fact that of the four millions of acres covering the Adiron- dacks, only eight hundred thousand belong to the State, while the remaining three millions and two hundred thousand acres are the property of private owners—and these, in general, have neither the intention nor the de- sire to be troubled with forest planting. They strip off every valuable tree, and when their lands become un- profitable allow them to be sold for taxes. In this way a great many acres reverted to the original owner, the State, as nobody found it desirable to buy denuded or devastated wood-lands. In 1872 the ‘‘ Park Commissioners,” it is true, recom- mended that in the mountainous regions of our State no more State lands should be sold, and that, as lands reverted from non-payment of taxes, they be held for future forest management. This advice, however, was not acted upon until 1885, when the State, notwithstand- ing the sales that had been effected during the interval, had again become the owner of about eight hundred thousand acres of wood-lands. To the Legislature of 1885 is due a new and sound departure in the forestry interests of our State; for by the act passed on the 15th day of May, 1885, a Forest Commission was established, whose duty it was to preserve the State forests, and the former recommenda- tion of the “‘ Park Commissioners” was made obligatory. At present none of the State lands situate in the coun- INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, 11 ties embracing the Adirondack and Catskill mountains can be sold or leased; but every piece of land situated in those counties which may in the future be acquired by the State, shall be added to the State lands and for- ever kept as a forest preserve. From the first annual report of the State Forest Com- mission, published at Albany in 1886, it appears that the gentlemen forming that Commission had at that time a correct. view in regard to the extent of their duties, for on page 12 they declare that they not only must protect the preserve against ravages by the elements (fire), and against the army of thieves and trespassers who are plundering the State forests, but that there should be devised a system “‘which would, in time, make these forests not only self-sustaining as to cost of management, but, in addition, a source of wealth and revenue to the commonwealth.” With these words the Commissioners expressed an idea the proper consideration of which would ensure the introduction of systematic forest culture. For it was not so much the decreasing area of woods, nor the in- creasing demand for forest products, which led in the Enropean territories to the introduction of the present so highly esteemed forest culture ; it was the necessity of deriving the highest possible permanent revenue from the forests. And this dire necessity performed what for want of means and knowledge could not be done in former times. But as soon as the owners of large forests, especially the corporations, possessors of entailments, and governments in Europe, were forced to look upon the forests as a perpetual source of revenue, there were found the means and the knowledge of scientific or systematic management of forests. In order to avoid any misconception in regard to the words “scientific forestry,” it may here be observed that 12 FOREST PLANTING. this expression does not designate any exact science ; but just such management of forests, the practical results of which had been retraced to their scientific basis, and were found to be in harmony with scientific principles. For this.reason the advanced forest economy of to-day is called scientific or systematic forestry, and this means: First, to continually have a sustained forestal production Srom a certain area; Second, the natural regeneration of the forests ; and, Third, a progressive improvement of the forests, instead of former deterioration. That the introduction of systematic forestry into our State forests would lead to a revenue for the State there can be no doubt, provided the management should be entrusted to experts. But at present we must drop this question entirely, as we have to concentrate every effort to the restocking of the many denuded public wood- lands in the State, and to inducing owners of the adjoining private woods to enter into a combination among themselves and with the public officers, in order to protect their wood-lands against damages, and to im- prove them by adopting the same measures which ought to be maintained in the State preserve. For it is a great drawback to the effective management of our State forests that they are not compact bodies of larger extent, but mostly disconnected plots, situated in different counties, ranging from a few acres up to many thousands, and usually surrounded by private lands, and, therefore, in- accessible by roads. As systematic forestry cannot be advantageously applied except on larger areas of compact bodies of wood-lands, it is evident that means must be devised to urge upon the adjoining owners of those private wood-lands, the necessity of entering into a com- bination with the managers of the State forests, and of a preconcerted action with them in regard to the pre- servation of their forests. There is no doubt that in INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 13 the future such a combination will be agreed to, but not until the managers of the State forests upon the larger tracts have shown that a systematic forest cconomy is more profitable than the reckless felling of trees now going on in the private forests. It might be advisable for the State to buy up small plots in limited numbers for the purpose of rounding off the boundaries of one or the other of the larger wood tracts owned by the State. But to obtain control over all the Adirondack forests by a general purchase—as is recommended by some—would be for many reasons very objectionable. Owners of those forests in the Adirondacks which are necessary for securing a continual fluw of water to the rivers and streams could—as we will see in Chapter IV—be compelled by legislative measures to manage their woods so as to keep the grounds corered and protected against the influence of sun and air; and this is the only object it is desirable for the State to control the man- agement of private forests of that character. But even if this question was, from the standpoint of the “right of eminent domain,” decided in favor of the State, our government would not be able to undertake the exercise of this privilege unless there were secured for the service of the State men who understand how to systematically manage those mountain forests, which are called pro- tective forests. ; Jf we want to do our full duty toward those who are to come after usin this richly endowed country, we must repair, before it is too late, the damages done to the mountain forests in our State by the avarice and ignorance of the last two generations ; and if the Forest Commission adhere to their programme, outlined in the cited first annual report, we will succeed in the restora- tion of the old, splendid wild forests of the Adirondacks. For properly preserved forests have : 14 FOREST PLANTING. (1) To be guarded by officers from the encroachment of persons who have no right in them, and from abuses and infractions of the law by those who have. (2) To be protected from injury of various kinds, as for instance, from fires or other elementary damage, from destruction caused by pasturing farm animals or game, and from injuries caused by insects. (3) In a properly conducted forest preserve there must be performed the following principal labors : (a) Annual felling of mature, defective or dead trees, and their transportation in such a way that no damage shall be done to young growing trees. (6) The periodical thinning out of places where the trees have sprung up too thickly, in order to effect a more vigorous growth to the remaining trees. At the same time the worthless kinds of trees are cleared out to give room for the more valuable. (c) Vacant spots have to be filled out by natural reproduction of the trees, either by shoots, sprouts and layers from the stumps. and roots, or by the natural sow- ing of the seed of the parent trees ; or, finally, if in the way mentioned a reproduction of the trees ix not prac- ticable, artificial replanting, such as sowing the seed or planting young trees raised in forest nurseries, has to be resorted to, although this should be done as rarely as possible. From the foregoing we perceive that the duties of the authorities in charge of our State forest preserve do not end when the grown up or planted trees have been cared for and protected to their full growth, but when they have been cut down and others started in their places. If our forest preserve were conducted in some such way we should not any longer be compelled to witness every year the dying away of the enormous masses of trees and going to rot, killing young saplings and pre- IMPORTANCE OF FOREST CULTURE. 15 venting others from springing up; besides furnishing the materials for originating and maintaining destructive forest fires. These dead trees are the headquarters for breeding beetles, bugs and other insects which prey upon the sound trees and destroy them long before they have reached their maturity. Under all circumstances steps should at once be taken to establish on a proper place in the Adirondacks a nursery for raising the principal common forest trees, to be used upon the denuded State lands. This institution could later on be enlarged and also serve both the pur- poses of an experimental station for forest trees and a forest school for training and educating good foresters. The best crude material for this class of men our Forest Commissioners will undoubtedly find among the inhabit- ants of the Adirondacks, and if they will give those men an opportunity to become conversant with the practical instructions approved by systematic forestry, they will no longer ridicule the possibility of finding scientific foresters among the denizens of the North Woods. (See Second Annual Report of the Forest Commission, Albany, 1887.) CHAPTER II IMPORTANCE OF FOREST CULTURE. THERE are over six million acres of wood-lands in the twenty-six million acres of land in our State. The great interests involved in such a vast area should in them- selves lead to a close study of everything pertaining to the nature of forests, and their influence upon the welfare of our commonwealth. Moreover, the State being an 16 FOREST PLANTING. owner of about 800,000 acres of those wood-lands,* the revenues of which would amount to a considerable sum, if the forests were properly managed, and every tax-payer should look into the matter and endeavor to help in in- troducing a system by which the State forests could be made profitable. Up to the present time they have not yielded any income to the State, but are considered by the people living in their neighborhood as a piece of “Commons,” from which they have a right to cut down, and take away what pleases them. It was a good step in the right direction when the Forest Commissioners hunted down the thieves and endeavored to put a stop to that disgraceful traffic. + Another reason why we should pay more heed to the forest matters of the State arises from the circumstance that agriculture and industry are daily increasing their demands for certain kinds of wood, and that there is no likelihood of obtaining any material which could be entirely substituted for these woods, as is the case with coal and iron, which have encroached for some time upon the old privileges of certain kinds of trees used formerly exclusively for fuel and timber. True, for a certain period we can, after the exhaustion of our own resources, import lumber and timber from other states, especially from Canada. But, as the same mania of destroying the forests from which our own State up toa recent date hag suffered, is raging in that country, we cannot for any considerable length of time rely upon importations, * The State forests are situated in the Adirondack wilderness, except- ing about 50,000 acres in the Catskill region, most of which are in Ulster Co. ¢ It is a sad but true observation that the moral views of our people in regard to public property have a much lower standard than is enter- tained in the transaction of private business. This deplorable neglect of the duties owed to public affairs on the part of the people can only be remedied by giving to them the same supervision as to private affairs, IMPORTANCE OF FOREST CULTURE. 1? and, therefore, we should prepare to satisfy as far as pos- sible the demands of our people by home production. Ii is very fortunate that coal and iron now cover many demands, which otherwise would have to be satisfied by still more recklessly cutting down our forests. And it is very favorable to our growing industries that we can, at present, easily import from other States nearly any kind of wood now in use. However, we should not trifle with the time that is thus left to us for considering and changing the modes of the present treatment of forests; but utilize it for the introduction of systematic forest culture, although the benefits of which will not be fully enjoyed save by future generations. The present indications are that in the further develop- ment of our State the demand for those kinds of wood which are especially used in our industries, will be always on the increase. And, therefore, these indications must guide us in many other questions which will arise, when it is to be determined what kind of forest trees to grow in the various localities. We may follow this guidance the more safely, as with the decreasing stock of wood for industrial purposes, there will be undoubtedly a cor- responding increase in its price, and, therefore, presum- ably the net revenue from systematically managed forests will in the future be much larger than we are at present able to imagine. As to the revenue derived from well managed state forests, the official reports published yearly by the vari- ous German governments are very instructive. They give not only full information in regard to the average production of wood and the income from the forests, but also explain the particulars of the management by which their success has been attained. These publications have greatly encouraged the introduction of scientific forest culture in wood-lands belonging both to corporations and private persons in Germany. From one of the last 18 FOREST PLANTING. publications, we see that the yearly average increase in wood to the acre was : Lumber and Timber. Smaller Wood. In Prussia-...----------- 0.84 cubic yard. 1.04 cubic yard. “ Bavaria -...---------- 1.34 cf 1.60 a * Elsace-Lothringen.... 1.20 ss 1.68 ss Baden sascecsesumcune 1.24 se 1.80 bh SO FOSSC oc. cnceecsiceuae 1.60 66 2.06 ae SC SAXONY ec coceecinn sas 1.78 ns 2.16 ce “ Wurtemberg -.....--- 1.86 2.22 ce The yearly average income was to the acre: Gross Amount, Net Income. I Preis ccscack aces onwone ae $1.60 $0.70 “ Bavaria ---- 2.90 1.22 ** Baden - . . “ Wurtemberg ---- 4.65 2.79 (, Hlsace-Lothringen 4.75 2.69 * Saxony --..----..-- 4.85 3.50 As to the condition and productiveness of forests, much certainly depends upon soil and climate, and, therefore, the southern German states with their more congenial climate and soil are expected to yield a larger crop of forestry products, and consequently greater revenues than the northern states. But the marked difference in the proceeds of the named states is caused by the fact that scientific forest culture was introduced in the southern German states much earlier than in the northern, The treatment of the forests in the Kingdom of Saxony is conceded to be superior to any other, and, therefore, the output and net increase there is the largest. - To the private owner the revenues from forests are of course still larger, he being able to make of every forestry product a much more profitable use than the state, while the expenses of a private management are far below those of the government or corporations. Under these circumstances, it is no wonder that forest culture on the eastern hemisphere of our globe is making great advances. For centuries there progressive science PROPORTION OF WOOD-LANDS. 19 advocated only one side of field culture, viz., the agri- culture ; but now it is also vindicating the natural rights of the other side, viz., the forest culture. The combina- tion of these ideas is expressed by the principle that wherever agriculture does not prove remunerative, while the cultivation of forests would indicate material profits, there is the proper place for sylviculture. Finally, it may not be amiss to call attention to the fact that fine forests, besides giving inexpressible charms and attractions to the country, and thereby exercising a refining influence upon the moral and esthetical senti- ments of the people in general, serve as a resort for in- valids, owing to the air which imparts vigor to the re- cuperative powers of those who are weak of nerve and broken in health. This is especially applicable to the Adirondack and Catskill mountain forests, whither every year hundreds of thousands of those who have lost their energy in the daily battle of city life flee to seck restora- tion Ly inhaling the invigorating mountain air, and enjoying out-of-door life. CHAPTER IIL. PROPORTION OF THE WOOD-LANDS TO THE TOTAL AREA OF A COUNTRY. THE influence of forests upon the climate of a country is undoubtedly important, and it cannot be denied that forests exercise also a marked effect upon the aqueous conditions of a certain territory. But, as far as experi- ence in this State goes, the devastation of the forests on the plains isas not essentially diminished the an- nual guantiiy of rain, although the general decreasing depth of the Hudson River convincingly tells of the 20 FOREST PLANTING. losses caused by devastating the head waters of that stream at the summits and slopes of the Adirondacks. The destructive methods of forest exploitation with us are felt by the increasing abrupt changes of cold and heat, and of dry and wet spells. Forests retain much longer the humidity received in the shape of rain, snow, dew, etc, than the open fields, and they, therefore, pro- mote the frequency of showers when a current of moist air strikes them. Owing to this peculiarity we justly consider the forests as equalizers in the distribution of rainfall during the seasons, and, as the fury of the violent winds which cause the abrupt changes of temperature can only be broken by a mass of elastic trees, we cannot deny that woods located either on the plains or moun- tains are the only means to mitigate the sudden changes from heat to cold.* But the most beneficial influence is exercised by the forests to the neighboring territory, as their capability of receiving great quantities of moisture, and retaining them by protecting the soil against swift evaporation, renders them the most reliable reservoirs for the water in the subsoil, an element of the greatest importance for a successful pursuit of agriculture. It is a fact that wherever large tracts of woods have been cut down, the level of the ground water has been lowered sometimes to ten inches and more, and by that the cultivation of many plants which formerly thrived in such places has been made impossible. Clover, for instance, was raised in ancient times in Greece. After the country became denuded of forests, the culture of clover, requiring a moist atmosphere, had to be abandoned, and passed from * Unfortunately our principal mountains extend from north to south. If they ran from east to west, we should have a climate such as Italy enjoys, as the most troublesome winds come to us from the northwest, against which the present formation of our mountains offers no protection. PROPORTION OF WOOD-LANDS. 21 there to Italy. But the devastation of the forests dur- ing the period of the ‘ migration of the nations” caused such droughts that the culture of clover had to be given up in Italy,and it found a new start in southern Germany. Here clover has been cultivated for centuries with the most pronounced success. But during the last century the wooded area has been much encroached upon, and since that time clover culture began to decrease there, and to move into the moister climate of north Germany. The consideration of the importance of the woods for a country has led to the question as to the proportion the wooded area of a country should bear to the whole territory, in order to secure the full benefit of the forests for the state. The economists generally contend that for this purpose twenty to twenty-five per cent of the total territory should be kept in wood. If this be true, our Empire State would come up fully to this standard, as she comprises 6,257,684 acres of wood- lands among her total of 25,659,266 acres. But it isa sheer impossibility to determine once for all upon such a general rule. The proper answer depends upon the pur- pose for which the question is raised. If it be intended to establish a normal proportion between the wooded and the not wooded area of a country in regard to its general culture, and especially to its climatic and agricultural conditions, much will depend upon the geological formation and situation of the territory. The fertile sites along the shores of the oceans need no woods, as the air currents laden with moisture from the sea regulate, in the most beneficial way, the climate of such country, and the easy access of vessels from all lands secure the importation of whatever wood is wanted. Just the reverse is it with mountainous regions. There nature itself has necessitated a much larger percentage of wood-lands than the above named, while in the broad plains of the interior of a large country that percentage 22 FOREST PLANTING. might be sufficient to retain the good effects of forests, especially if they are properly distributed over the country. But if the question be how to determine the portion of the wood-lands of a country to the not wooded areas, in order to raise a quantity of wood for fuel, timber and lumber, sufficient for the wants of the inhabitants, the proper answer cannot be given without the help of a statistical bureau for forest matters. The duty of such a bureau should be to ascertain the quantity and quality of the wood which annually can be cut without injuring the sustained growth of the forests, and to compare this amount with the demands of the population for the different kinds of wood. If the coun- try be able to meet the requirements of the inhabitants, we call the proportion adequate, otherwise there must be importation. Entirely excluded from the question regarding the proportion of the wooded area of a country to the not wooded are the so-called ‘‘ protective or shelter-forests,” 7. @., Such as would, when cut down, cause irreparable damage to the public. These forests, which will be treated of in the next chapter, must be preserved at all events, and be managed in the public interest. CHAPTER IV. RELATIONS OF GOVERNMENTS TO FORESTS. Tue necessity of forests to the permanent welfare of the commonwealth on one hand, and the rapid destruc- tion of the woods by private owners on the other, led in the old world many economists to the assumption that it would be better for the prosperity of a state if all forests RELATIONS OF GOVERNMENTS TO FORESTS. 23 were owned, or at least controlled, by the governments, To the American mind this view seems incredible, as our opinions regarding the administration of private property are just to the contrary. We insist upon the least interference from public authorities with the man- agement of private property. But when we consider that the benefits derived from the forests consist not only in revenues drawn from the forest vegetation, but also in the advantages bestowed upon the development and prosperity of the country by the influence of the forests in regard to climate, weather, protection of the soil, regulation of the flowing waters, etc., we cannot deny that certain forests should be considered as public entailments, given to us for our own use with the direc- tion to transfer them in the best possible shape to the generations that will live after us, and who will, like us, be compelled to make the same use of their beneficence. For this reason it is claimed that the State should own: (1) The forests and areas surrounding the water- sheds of the navigable rivers and their tributaries, in order to secure to the country a continual and undisturbed water supply, on which not only depend navigation and commerce, but also agriculture and manufacturing in- dustries. * (2) The sand-downs or dunes along the sea coasts and all infertile tracts containing shifting sands which en- danger the adjoining fertile lands, unless kept continu- ally in wood. (3) Every area unfit for agricultural purposes, but well adapted for forest culture, if the owner should not be able or willing to plant forest trees thereupon. * The adage, ‘the forest waters the farm,” is not a mere saying ; it is undeniably true that without a proper management of forests in civil- ized and densely populated countries no remunerative agriculture is practicable ; nay, without a proper preservation of certain forests, none of the several branches of the politiso-economical household of a people can be in a prospering condition. 24 FOREST PLANTING. If this theory be accepted as correct, and justified by the principles governing our law in regard to the right of eminent domain, at least the claims sub 1 and 2 would bring the entire sea coast of our State, the Adirondacks, and Catskill mountains, wnder the control of the State, those mountains enclosing the head-waters of nearly all principal rivers of our State, especially those of the great Hudson River. The forests belonging to these first two classes are called ‘‘ protective forests,” because they have proved necessary for averting irreparable damages, which would befall the commonwealth if they were cut down at once. In the interest of the public welfare and the general culture of the countries, the European gov- ernments have obtained, if not the full property, at least such control of those classes of woods as to force the owners to manage their property without hurting the public interests. Should the present policy of our State Government, outlined in Secs. 7, 8 and 9 of the Act passed May 15, 1885, be strictly enforced, there is a good prospect that the Empire State in due time will be the undisputed owner of the denuded wood-lands in the higher regions of the Adirondacks. These lands are only capable of bearing—if anything at all—slowly growing forest trees. As the expenses of reforesting such tracts would far surpass the income derived for several genera- tions to come, it is easily understood how private owners are inclined to abandon such property, allowing the State by tax sale to come again into possession of lands, the ownership of which never ought to have gone to private parties.* The State can safely take in hand the replant- *The State of New York has also had the advantage of formerly owning most of the wood-lands in the Adirondacks. But the particular notion, entertained still by our Federal Government, that public lands, without much discrimination in regard to economic value to the coun- try, should be disposed of as quickly as possible, led to the complete sale of the most beautiful wooded tracts, at prices ranging between five RELATIONS OF GOVERNMENTS TO FORESTS. 25 ing of those lands, as it is not looking upon the forest products as a source of immediate profit, but upon the important economic effects which well cared for forests of this kind contribute to the general weal and pros- perity of our country. Moreover, there is no doubt that the State, by introducing a systematic cultivation and exploitation, will be enabled to cover—without prejudice to the sustained growth of the woods—the actual ex- penses incurred in the difficult operation of reforesting the denuded areas of the high mountains. In this connection it may be proper to call the atten- tion of the reader to the difference between net proceeds obtained in a business which is conducted by a private party, and that which is managed by the commonwealth. The general economy of a people, it is true, consists of the total of the households of the single individuals, but this fact does not justify the conclusion that the highest success with the former is attained when the net proceeds (or rents of the soil) in the management of the private households have reached the highest point. For the determination of what are considered expenses incurred by the production is different in the two kinds of manage- ment. While the private person puts every expenditure for the production to the debit account of his business, the management of public property considers only such disbursements as real expenses (7. ¢., as diminution of its income) as do not afford an immediate benefit to the people. For instance, if a private person possesses a mine which cost every year $100,000, in order to obtain its yearly output, valued at $100,000, there is no net profit, and the owner of the mine would hardly be inclined to and ten cents per acre, with easy terms of payment at that. Both houses of the last Legislature passed a bill empowering, with certain restric- tions, the Forest Commissioners to buy up wood-lands situated in the Forest Preserve at figures not excecding $1.50 per acre. This bill has now vecome a law. 26 FOREST PLANTING. continue the enterprise, unless prompted by the charita- ble desire to give some men employment. From a quite different standpoint would in this case the question of the profitableness be considered, should the government take this work in hand. The $100,000 paid for labor, machinery, ete., would then be looked upon as benefiting the people, and the nation would have by the continued exploitation of the mine a profit of $100,000 every year, that being the sum which had been distributed for labor, etc. The same principles govern the profitableness of State forests, unless a State is forced or willing to use them a3 a source of revenue. If after all expenditures and re- ceipts there be a surplus, all the better. But even if, after paying the salaries of the officers, the wages of the laborers, the cost for cultivating, planting, etc., nothing of the receipts be left, those items would not be regarded as expenses in the same sense as a business man would view them, but would represent a real gain for the com- monwealth. In other words: owners of private forests endeavor to obtain from their property the largest possi- ble income; whereas the managers of State forests should aim at the highest possible gross amount of revenue from the wooded public domain. The advocates of state socialism use this maxim for justifying their theorem that every business which is car- ried on with the intention of accumulating wealth, should be conducted by the government or public authorities, and all net proceeds should be distributed among the employees. But in the public economy the natural prin- ciples are only effective and applicable as far as they are not modified by such laws as are acting alongside with them, or which are even opposed to them. In our democratic republic the doctrine that the State must only interfere ‘‘to protect freedom of labor,” is in regard to the social question considered a corner-stone of our government, and therefore we do not allow the public RELATIONS OF GOVERNMENTS TO FORESTS. av authorities to undertake any enterprises, except such as are necessary for the promotion of the public welfare ; and to this certainly belongs the care of the areas which secure to our navigable rivers a constant flow. As for 3, the time has not yet arrived with us, in which we have to be so sharply on the lookout for utiliz- ing every piece of land. But it is not to be denied that something should be done to make useful the 3,526,030 acres of the State lands which are by the last census registered as wild and uncultivated. This area comprises more than one-eighth of the entire territory of the State, is mostly hilly or mountainous, has been stripped of all trees by their owners, and, after having been used for a few years as pasture, became barren by the sun, which burnt the grasses up, and by the rains, which washed the fertile surface soil down the hills. There is no doubt that were these three and a half millions of acres planted with forest trees, the country would receive a great benefit, and by a proper management, the lands would yield a satis- factory revenue. However, this does not furnish the State with sufficient reasons for exercising its right of resumption by eminent domain; but there is a good opportunity for the Croesuses of our country to combine business with beneficence to- ward the people. For whoever is able to spend 100,000 dollars without being compelled to look eagerly for any revenue from this money during the next generation, can make no better investment and bequest to his heirs, than to buy up large tracts of the wild landsin our State, and plant forest trees thereupon. By a sound systematic management, the purchaser may safely expect that in the course of time the net proceeds of his investment will at least equal the amount he would receive, if the invested money was entrusted to a savings bank. In the ‘‘old world” large tracts of forest lands are principally select- ed as family entailments, both on account of the safety of 28 FOREST PLANTING. such investments, and the increase of the revenues in the future time. With us, entailments, containing provisions beyond the second generation, are against the law. But, unless the Legislature should find it advisable to exempt this special case for economical reasons from the general rule, the members of a family in a corporative capacity could attain the desired object, and the very rich men could in this way provide for their posterity, and at the same time benefit their country and fellow men. There are in the State of New York many hundreds of thou- sands of acres of sandy lands which scarcely return the cost of cultivation for agricultural operations. For five acres of sand need five times more outlay than one acre of good land, they require nearly five times as much seed and manure as one acre of good land, but they yield not a larger crop than the one acre of good land; in other words, sandy lands, or such infertile lands as are de- ficient in the principal constituents of a fertile soil, do not pay at all to the farmer, because to fertilize them, there would be involved more expenses than in the pur- chase of the most fertile grounds. An exception could only be stated, if the farm be situated in the vicinity of a large city, where additional manure can be procured cheaply, and where the farm products can be sold ata much higher price than in the distant country. Were all the unprofitable sand lands in our State to be planted with forest trees, the owners of them need fear no more disappointments in regard to the crops of sandy soil, but could confidently hope that the future would reward their efforts ; under all circumstances they could be assured that their forest planting was a permanent improvement to the farm, and would show its full value at a sale of the farm, this being the time when every farm improve- ment is realized financially. GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO FOREST CULTURE. 29 CHAPTER V. ASSISTANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO FOREST CULTURE—ESTABLISHMENT OF FOREST SCHOOLS FOR TRAINING FORESTERS. THE American theory of State activity does not favor any system of a paternal nature. We therefore would not be inclined to encourage forest growing by awarding pre- miums or other pecuniary benefits to those who under- take the restocking of their denuded woodlands. How- ever, there can be no doubt that it is the duty of the gov- ernment to furnish the facilities by which the citizens may acquire the necessary knowledge for enabling them to secure all the advantages which arise from the scien- tific treatment of forests. This view on the subject has been taken by our Legis- lature and framed in Sect. 18 of the Forestry Act as fol- lows : “‘The forest commission shall take such measures as “‘the department of public instruction, the regents of “the university and the forest commission may approve, ‘for awakening an interest in behalf of forestry in the “public schools, academies and colleges of the State, and “‘of imparting some degree of elementary instruction ‘upon this subject therein.” If this provision were carried out, the Empire Statewould inaugurate a new era in political economy, and would lay the foundation upon which to build the science of sys- tematic forest culture. Then we would be inspired with the hope of having called into productivity the 3,526,030 acres of wild lands lying within our State, and which do not contribute one tithe to its wealth. Experience teaches us that in whatever country profitable and systematic management of the forests has been successfully intro- 30 FOREST PLANTING. duced, the first step to it was the establishment of schools of forestry. For men educated in such schools become not only fit for their vocation, but consider their position asa trust, and perform their duty to the Government, in- stigated not only by their fealty to the public authorities, but bya professional pride which makes dear to them the forests given to their care and protection. From unskilled, hired men you cannot expect such devotion to the in- terests of the position as is developed in the trained for- ester. That man will always do his full duty even at the peril of his own life. Whether our public schools are the proper places for awakening interest in behalf of forestry, we will leave out of this discussion, but our Agricultural Colleges should consider it incumbent upon them to impart not only ele- mentary but full scientific information upon this subject. By pursuing this course, they would follow the example of similar institutions in Kuropean countries a century ago. For although it is true that in matters pertaining to forest culture much depends upon experience, and that the first impulses to an improved management of forests were given by practical woodsmen, systematic forestry did not make its appearance until the learned men at the univer- sities took the matter in hand, and applied the prin- ciples derived from mathematics, natural philosophy, political economy and public law to forestry. After hav- ing found the teachings of the practical foresters to be in harmony with the principles of science, the learned men did not stop work, but continued their efforts to improve the method of managing forests, and built up a system of managing forests, which, although it cannot be declared yet. perfect, has contributed much to the amelioration of the economical condition of the European nations. Prominent teachers in forest culture are still at variance in regard to the aims and ends of their endeavors, but all concur in this that Lxperimental Stations are neces- GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO FOREST CULTURE. 31 sary to help science in determining the correct methods of managing the ferests advantagously and successfully. In Europe, colleges of forestry and agriculture are most- ly combined, and require two years of study to complete the forestry course alone. During six of the winter months instruction is given in the several branches of forest science, while the summer months, after deducting some weeks for vacations, are employed in making excur- sions to places where forest operations are going on, or where the students have an opportunity to practise what they have learned during the winter time. The full win- ter course gives instruction in : (1) Cultivation of the forest trees and the uses to which their woods may be applied, with the mode of propagating them upon different soils ; (2) Forest exploitation and the managment of forests according to the various systems now in use ; (3) Forest taxation and mensuration ; (4) Surveying, draining, and embanking ; (5) The methods of resisting the encroachments of shifting sands ; (6) Care and chase of game ; (7) Laws and regulations governing the forests. For practising these studies, excursions are arranged during the summer months, and the students are trained in making topographical sketches, surveyings, openings of roads through unbroken forests; and in every kind of forest operation, which may occur either on plains or mountains. The examination, which the candidates for appointment to a position in the management of forests have to under- go, is very strict, and the result of this system has proved eminently beneficial to the European forestry interests. But of much greater advantage would it be at present for our State to establish a simple forest school in which young men could receive the p-oper training for render- 32 FOREST PLANTING. ing them fit for the position of foresters. The French government has done much 1o educate good foresters by purchasing the well known forest-farm ‘‘ Barres,” which is situated 1,000 feet above the sea level near the great Orleans forests. This farm had been used already for fifty years as a private Experimental Station for forest trees. The objects of this Station were : 1. Investigations in regard to the most profitable use of certain soils for raising the most valuable kinds of wood thereupon. With this department there were connected experiments for acclimatizing useful foreign forest trees. 2. Raising at the least possible expense the greatest amount of good seedlings, combined with observations in regard to the yearly increase of wood in the various forest trees. 3. Producing and closely examining the seeds used in the State forests. The French government bought this farm in 1873, not- withstanding her great financial trouble at that time, for the purpose of establishing there a Government ‘“‘ school of forestry.” This was done without interfering in any way with the objects to which the farm had been during half. a century so beneficially subservient. There was simply added to this establishment the “ school of for- estry,” in which young men obtain such information as to enable them, after the completion of the full course, to act as foresters. The course lasts through two years and is more calculated for a practical instruction than a high scientific education. ‘To impart the latter, and to raise the higher officers in the department of forestry, the widely known Institution at Nancy is destined, and con- sidered amply sufficient for all France. At ‘‘ Barres” instructions in certain sciences are given only in order to accustom men brought up in common schools to concen- trate their mental power more upon practical subjects. Therefore, only during four winter months is elementary GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO FOREST CULTURE. 33 enlightment given to them in mathematics, geometry, surveying and leveling, forest botany, zodlogy and ento- mology, while they are thoroughly instructed, first, in the management of forests, with special reference to both the artificial and natural restocking of forests; and second, in the laws and regulations by which the ad- ministration of forests is governed. The institution at Barres is a public one. A certain number of young men between the age of nineteen and twenty-four years are received every year, and after two years of study, having passed the examination, get an appointment for the lowest position among the forest officers, advancing to higher positions after some years’ service and having passed further examinations. The pupils are, similar to our West Pointers, educated entire- ly at public expense, receiving even a small salary as pocket money. But they have during the eleven working months of the year—one being devoted to rest and vaca- tion—to perform every manual labor required on the farm in cultivating the soil, raising seeds and seedlings for nearly free distribution among the French farmers, and all other work connected with the Institution. Be- sides this, they have to do every kind of labor in the adjoining State forests, which is needed to preserve the woods and retaining them in a first-rate condition ; they, therefore, have to personally do the seeding, planting, thinning and cutting of trees, making roads, openings, ditches, etc., in order to learn practically every work that may occur in the course of systematic treatment of forests, as these will come under their care and guidance. To establish in or near the Adirondacks a school like this one, would be a move in the right direction for bringing into effect the well-meant instructions of the cited Section 18 of the Forestry Act. It is true that the Report on Forestry published at Washington in 1884 recommends very strongly the establishment of schools 34 FOREST PLANTING. of forestry by the Federal Government, but to wait until this sensible advice should be acted upon, would show too much faith in the activity of Congress regarding affairs other than those merely political.* It is entirely a matter for each separate State in the Union to take care of its forestry interests and to educate its own officers, the more so as diversity of climate, situation and other economic reasons will make the proper training of the foresters in the various States in certain respects a di- versified one. As for the cost of establishing and maintaining such an institution, it would not be very large, especially if adjoining States of similar climate and topography would unite, and contribute in proportion to its support. In fact, the labor performed by the young men of the Institu- tion would make it nearly self-supporting, and the de- mand for trained foresters in the United States would bring more students to the Institution than could be ac- comodated. But the benefit which the commonwealth would derive from the introduction of a systematic treat- ‘ment of the State forests would be so great as to make it *In the First annual report of the Ohio State Forestry Bureau for 1885, p. 20, we find the following well founded complaint on this point: ‘When a few years ago the St. Paul, Minn., Chamber of Commerce petitioned the Congress of the United States to establish a National School of Forestry at St. Paul, the subject of forestal education, and more especially its necessity in this country, was discussed by the friends of forestry. “Five years have elapsed and many of the warm advocates of the pro- ject have died. The subject seems to have been stricken from the pro- gramme of subjects at forestry conventions ; the press too is silent on the question, and yet the subject has lost none of its great importance. No one who has studied the extent, the distribution and condition of our forests, and who has inquired into the prospet of a renewal of our forests, will hesitate to assert that the need of instruction in forestry is an absolute necessity. : “The objection that there is no need of trained foresters in this coun- try, which was urged some years ago, was not based upon a knowledge of the extent and true condition of our forests, but rather upon a blind- ness to the best interest of our land.” GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO FOREST CULTURE. 35 nearly impossible to give at present a faint idea of its value. Besides a considerable income to the State, the army of laborers who are now used by unscrupulous lumbermen and their agents in illegally cutting timber on the State lands, and who are becoming every year more depraved on account of the unpunished continu- ance of their public plundering, could then be made to return to an honest and well paid activity, as a great many hands would be required in bringing the State forests into such a shape as to produce the largest possi- ble output.* The moral standard of the laborers living in or near the State forests would rise again to the level of honesty, and the ‘‘State Troops” or “The Grena- diers” + would give up their dishonest ways and become * Although the work to be performed in the management of forests does not require so many hands as in the management of farms, there is always so much to do that most of the laborers, who have settled in the sparsely populated wood countries, can find profitable employment. In Germans, the management of the forests is so conducted that a tract of from 40,000 to 80,009 acres of wood-lands—the greater number of acres being alloted to the mountainous regions—is given to the care of an “