D 5/

[FROM THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT —
OF SCIENCE, Vol. XXIX; Boston Meeting, August; 1880:

a mance

REPORT OF THE CoMMITTEE Upon ForeEsTRY.

At the meeting of this Association held at Saratoga, in August
last, a Resolution was introduced, and referred by the Standing
Committee, to the Committee upon Forestry, in which, in view
of the great importance of the matter of Forest-protection and
Wood-culture, the desire was expressed, that some Report looking
towards definite action be received from this Committee, at the
next meeting of the Association. +f

Your published proceedings show, that two reports have al-
ready been made by the Committee upon Forestry ; but in order to
present the subject in a connected form, we will here briefly review
the action that has been taken in pursuance of the object men-
tioned.

At the session held at Portland, in 1873, it was

** Resolved, That a Committee be appointed by the Association,
to memorialize Congress and the several State Legislatures upon
the importance of promoting the cultivation of ‘Timber, and the
preservation of Forests, and to recommend proper legislation for
securing these objects.”

It was understood at the time, that an amendment was adopted,
directing this Committee to enter into correspondence with For-
estry Associations of other countries, with the view of more
effectually promoting the interests involved in this subject, but
the proceedings as published do not show this fact.

A few days afterwards, a preliminary meeting was held at the
house of Mr. George B. Emerson, in Boston, at which a majority
of the Committee was present, and an interchange of views was
had, as to the best means for carrying into effect the wishes of
the Association, in the matter under their charge. As the interests
involved concern no particular State, but pervade the whole coun- -

@)

2 REPORT OF THE .

try, it was thought proper to bring the subject first before Congress ;
and a sub-committee consisting of George B. Emerson and F. B.
Hough was appointed to give personal attention to this duty.

A memorial was prepared and sent in printed form to each
member of the Committee, and to other persons known to feel an
interest in the subject, inviting their suggestions, and asking
them to propose any modifications in the memorial that they might
deem proper.

In January, 1874, this sub-committee repaired to Washington,
and for preliminary consultation, a meeting was held at the
Smithsonian Institution, at which several members of Congress
and others attended.

As the result of this conference, it was thought best to ask for
the appointment of a Commission, similar to that previously
created in the interest of Fisheries, for the collection of facts,
and the publication of information upon the subject.

This being cordially approved by the President, the memorial
of the sub-committee was transmitted by him to both Houses of
Congress, with the strong approval of the Commissioner of the
General Land Office, and of the Secretary of the Interior.

This special message of the President was referred in each
House to the Committee on the Public Lands,! and an arrangement
was made between the Chairmen of these Committees, to the
effect that the Committee of the House should first examine the
subject in detail, and that the Senate Committee should reserve
its action until the former had reported.

At this stage of the proceedings, the senior member of the
sub-committee was recalled by private-affairs,—the other member
remaining until near the close of the session.

After unforeseen delays, caused by other business: having prece-
dence in the Committee, an opportunity for a hearing was given,
and the question was referred to a sub-committee, consisting of
Messrs. Dunnell of Minnesota, Phillips of Kansas, and’ Herndon
of Texas. These gentlemen, having faithfully examined the sub-
ject in detail, adopted a Report which, being presented to the gen-
eral Committee and approved by them, was laid before the House
with an accompanying Bill, on the 17th of March following.?

1Senate Ex Doc., 23; 1st sess., 431d Cong.
2 Report No, 259, H. R.; 1st sess., 43rd Cong. An extra edition of 5,000 copies of this
Report was ordered by Congress.

W
“J a
»
\ ‘S

Q \

~,

N e

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 3

A hearing was afterwards given by the Senate Committee, but
the subject did not reach them for their action, which would doubt-
less have been unanimously in its favor,—judging from the
opinions expressed in conversation by each of the members.

In this Report of the House Committee, they say :—‘* That they

>have given their attention to the subject, and learn that the me-

morial above referred to was prepared by a Committee of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, as the
result of a discussion induced by a communication read before
them at their annual session in Portland, Maine, on the 21st of
August, 1873, on ‘the Duty of Governments in the Preservation
of Forests.’

“A subject endorsed by an Association, embracing within its
membership the highest scientific talent of the country, must
commend itself to our notice as worthy of attention. More es-
pecially is this notice due, when their action takes the form of a
recommendation to Congress, upon a subject alleged to involve
the duty of the Government, upon questions that vitally affect the
interests of the whole country, and especially those of Agriculture,
Manufactures and Commerce.

‘¢ When it is further affirmed, that without timely provision of
law, these great agencies of civilization and elements of wealth,
will, in the near future, be materially impaired, we cannot hesitate
to give the recommendation a most careful examination, to the end
that, if well founded, the measures best calculated for averting
these injuries may be devised, and the remedies most effectually
applied.

‘“‘After as full an investigation of the question as present
opportunities allow, we are convinced that the statements of the
memorial are substantially true, and that it is the duty of the
Government to take immediate measures for ascertaining the con-
dition and prospects of our timber supply, to the end that the fu-
ture wants of the country, with regard to these great interests,
both in their scientific and practical relations, should be thor-
oughly investigated and made widely known.”

The Bill accompanying this Report provided for the appoint-
ment of a Commissioner of Forestry, and afforded facilities for
his researches, but failed at that session to become a law. It was
not opposed in any manner, but was simply laid aside by the pres-
sure of other measures then before Congress.

4 REPORT OF THE

At the Hartford meeting of this Association, held in 1874, a
Report, signed by a majority of your Committee, was presented
by Mr. George B. Emerson, and will be found to-give the above
proceedings in fuller detail.*

Early in the 44th Congress, the Hon. Mark H. Dunnell, who
had taken particular interest in this subject, introduced upon no-
tice, a similar Bill, which received the same reference as before.
An opportunity for a hearing was given, but no report was made.
Before the end of this session, this gentleman, however, secured
the adoption of an amendment to an act making appropriations
for the current expenses of the Government, in which the Com-
missioner of Agriculture was directed to appoint a person for
prosecuting these inquiries relating to Forestry, his powers and
duties being similar to those specified in the Bill just mentioned.
This appointment was given to Dr. Franklin B. Hough, and on the
8th of December, 1877, he presented to the Commissioner of
Agriculture a Report upon a part of the subjects specified in the
act under which this appointment was made. It was transmitted
to Congress by the President on the 13th of December, and re-
ferred to the House Committee upon Agriculture.

An edition of 25,000 copies of this Report was ordered, but
with a restriction introduced by the Printing Committee, which
limited its extent to 650 pages, and compelled the omission of a
part of the Report.‘

At the meeting of this Association held at St. Louis, in 1878, a
second Report, prepared by the Chairman of your Committee, was
presented, in which further details are given of these proceedings.°
It also embodies his views concerning the subject of Forestry, as
applied to the United States, and recites in detail the measures
already adopted in various states for the encouragement of plant-
ing, with such suggestions as to him appeared most effectual for
the promotion of these interests. ¢

The Commissioner of Agriculture, deeming the authority
granted under the act above mentioned, as sufficient, gave direc-
tions. for a continuance of these inquiries, and found means from
the funds under his control for defraying the expenses. A second

3 Proceedings of A. A. A. S., 23d meeting, Aug., 1874, pp. 36 to 45,

Report upon Forestry, prepared under the direction of the Commissioner of Agri-
culture, pursuant to an Act of Congress, approved August 15,1876. By Franklin B.
Hough. 8vo. pp. 650.

5 Proceedings of A. A. A. S., 27th meeting, St. Louis, pp. 29 to 40.

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 5

Report was presented in January, 1879, and transmitted to Con-
gress by the President early in February of that year. From
various causes, wholly foreign to the subject, but chiefly from the
occupation of the members of the Committee upon Agriculture
(to which it was referred), in other business more urgent, no
session was held by the Committee, at which a hearing could be
obtained, from the time when this Report was laid before them till
the end of the session. In fact, the Committee met but once for
business during this time, and then it was wholly occupied upon
another subject. The Report was therefore withdrawn at the last
moment of the session, and returned to the Department.

Early in 1880, a Resolution was introduced in Congress, calling
for a return of the Report above mentioned, and it was again
transmitted by the President, and at once ordered to be printed.

The Committee upon Agriculture, to whom it was referred,
gave the subject a prompt and attentive hearing, and agreed
unanimously to recommend the publication of 100,000 extra
copies. This resolution was still pending when Congress ad-
journed, and lies over till next session. In the meantime, the
stereotyping has been going forward to completion, making a
volume of 618 pages.

By the terms of law under which these labors have been done,
the Commissioner of Agriculture was directed, among other things,
to cause a Report to be made upon the *‘ Importation and Expor-
tation of Timber and other Forest Products;’ and the second
Report upon Forestry will be found to embrace an exhaustive
statement of the subject in its commercial aspect. It gives a
complete summary of the exportation and importation of forest
products and wood manufactures, through the period of ninety
years, beginning with the government in its present form in 1789,
and coming down to the close of the last fiscal year, June 30,
1879, as reported annually by the Secretary of the Treasury from
the returns of Collectors of Customs. The arrangement of the
tables will be found as uniform as the data would permit, and
ample summaries, percentages and deductions from these tables
have been prepared.

The intimate relation between the timber interests of the United
States and of Canada, scarcely allows us to consider one without
taking into account the other. It is well known that for many
years, the lumber products of Canada have found an extensive

6 REPORT OF THE

and ready sale within the United States, and at the same time,
that a large amount of the hewn timber from within the United
States, in the country bordering upon our northern lakes, and
intended for foreign markets, has been taken down the lakes and
the St. Lawrence, for shipment at Quebec. In fact, there has
always existed a certain community of interest in the forests,
between the inhabitants of the United States and of Canada, and
it may be reasonbly predicted, that, so long as lumber and timber
are produced in either of these countries, they will go to supply the
wants of both.

It has therefore been deemed advisable, in presenting a full
view of the commerce in wood-products for the United States,
and in order that this branch of the subject should be as complete
as possible, to enter upon a careful study of the Canadian timber
trade from data published by the Dominion and the Provincial Gov-
ernments, beginning with the date of Confederation in 1867, and
coming down to the end of the last fiscal year. In some branches
of this inquiry, the statistics are carried back to an earlier period,
especially in regard to the passage of timber through the govern-
ment slides and canals, and the inspection of lumber in the timber-
market of Quebec.

A careful analysis has been made of the results of inquiries
instituted in recent years by committees of the Dominion Parlia-
ment, with the view of ascertaining the condition and future pros-
pects of the timber resources of the country, and the means best
adapted for maintaining these supplies, and for economizing their
use.

A full account is also given of the systems of management,
with respect to the timber upon the Crown Lands, the results of
experience in former methods, and the modifications which this
experience has pointed out, in perfecting the systems now in use.
In this we may find suggestions applicable in some instances to the
public lands of the United States, in the methods of conservation
and management that may be hereafter adopted upon our public
domain; in fact, from a similarity.of circumstances, we have
more to learn from the experience gained in American forests
than from the Forest Administrations of Europe, where the ten-
ure of the lands, the systems of government, forest servitudes
and the rights of communes and of individuals, are so widely
different.

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 7

The Crown Lands of Manitoba and of the Northwestern Territo-
ries of Canada belong to the Dominion Government and are in
care of the Department of the Secretary of State, in a branch
of which there is a ** Dominion Lands Office.”

In other parts of Canada, the Crown Lands belong to the Prov-
inces in which they lie, and separate systems of management are
provided. In Ontario and Quebec these lands are in charge of a
Commissioner of Crown Lands; in New Brunswick they are
under the Surveyor General; in Nova Scotia, under the Attorney
General ; and in British Columbia, under a Chief Commissioner of
Lands and Works.

In perfecting the Report, application was made personally, or
by correspondence, to the several Departments of the general and
local governments of Canada, having official cognizance of the
subject, and full series of every class of Reports bearing upon the
forest-question were collected from them all. More than this,
substantial assistance was furnished in several cases, in the way
of copies of documents not published, and manuscript statements
explanatory of the reports. In short, these inquiries met with
the most courteous attentions, indicating the great interest which
the question of timber-supply is awakening in Canada, and afford-
ing the ground for hope, that effectual measures will ere long be
realized in that country for turning their remaining resources to
the best account.

If they will go a step farther, and secure adequate means for
re-production, the wants of the future will be assured. As an in-
dication that one of the means most certain to secure this desir-
able end is well understood, we may mention, that in the Province
of Quebee, it is no longer permitted to cut pine trees upon the
public lands, measuring less than twelve inches in diameter at the
stump. If they could, besides this, secure adequate measures for
the prevention of forest fires and other waste, and apply the reser-
vations to other kinds of timber, and especially the spruce, they
would have a useful system of Forestry in operation.

For this second Report that we are describing, a series of
graphic illustrations was prepared by a skilful draftsman at the
time when the statistical tables were first submitted to the Depart-
ment. They would fill about a hundred pages, and it was intended
to reproduce them by a photo-engraving process. The addition
of three more years, since made to these tables, would render it

8 REPORT OF THE

necessary to reconstruct these drawings, which cannot now be
done, at least for the first issue of the Report.

Besides the statistical details and generalities above mentioned,
the Report under notice embraces the recent legislation of the
General, the State and the Territorial Governments, upon the sub-
ject of timber-planting and other interests of Forestry, with state-
ments relating to the operation of these laws.

It is a significant fact, that in the three States where planting
is perhaps of greatest need, viz.: in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa,
the premiums formerly offered for planting trees upon prairie lands
were, after a few years’ experience, wholly or in part, withdrawn.
This should not be regarded as a sign that the interest in this sub-
ject is declining — but rather that a realization of the necessity for
plantations is increasing; and that, in fact, it has become so
evident and convincing, that it does not need a motive, beyond
the pecuniary interest of the owner of the land.

Furthermore, these acts, intended for encouragement, have
everywhere led to fraudulent claims for premiums and exemp-
tions, the work of planting being often done in the most super-
ficial and indifferent manner, by those whose chief object was to
secure the present benefit of these laws, rather than the more
remote but substantial profits of a successful timber-growth.

In the state of Nebraska, after repealing a law extravagantly
liberal in its provisions, and remaining some years without any,
the Legislature has recently enacted a new statute upon this sub-
ject which, after the experience of the past, may be presumed to
approach more nearly the standard of greatest utility at the least
expense. It is entitled *‘An Act to encourage the Growth and
Cultivation of Timber in the State of Nebraska,” and was ap-
proved February 27, 1879. Its leading provisions are as follows:

The sum of three and one-third dollars per acre is to be paid
annually for five years from the county treasury, to the extent
of not more than three acres, planted in belts of six rows of
_ trees running east and west, along the north or middle section
lines. The trees are to be four feet apart in the rows, and the
rows eight feet apart, the whole being under cultivation and in
good condition during the time this bounty is paid.

We deem this act altogether too specific; for it assumes that
shelter is needed only on the north side of lands, and that there
is no diversity in this need. It is quite evident that the aspect

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 9

and circumstances of some localities might render protection
desirable from other points besides the north, especially in the
remote prairie states, that often suffer from the dry and heated
winds from the southwest.

It would be better to leave the direction and density of these
timber-belts to the discretion of the planter, as his circumstances
might indicate.

By another statute of recent date, the State of Nebraska, in
pursuance of the authority expressed in its Constitution, now
exempts, from taxation, the increased value of lands by reason
of live-fences, fruit and forest trees grown and cultivated thereon,
without regard to the area planted, or the time that the planta-
tion is maintained. We deem this a simple and effectual mode
of encouragement, well worthy of careful trial in the prairie states ;
but there should evidently be some limit to the period of exemp-
tion, to prevent the public burdens from bearing unequally upon
property, for otherwise there would eventually arise a just cause
of complaint from other interests. The limit might perhaps be
extended to the time when the plantation would begin to bring
a revenue to the owner.

We may here remark, that this accumulation and comparison
of experience in the legislation of the country, for the benefit of
forest-culture, may prove one of the most effectual means for
bringing about that uniformity and that degree of excellence
that secure the best results. We should profit from experience,
where it leads to error, not less than when it is crowned with
success.

Without further notice of this second Report, which will soon be
before the public, we will only add, that Congress at its late ses-
sion, after due deliberation, made provision for the continuance of
these labors ;—that plans for special investigations in several
departments of Forestry are in progress, and that a third Report
is in course of preparation.

It will be seen from the foregoing, that prominence has been
given, in the Report now in press, to the practical interests of the
lumber trade. Although the question of supply is one of vital
importance to the country,—the one wherein most is demanded,
and the only one in which the country generally will take great
interest ; it should be steadily borne in mind, that the best service

10 REPORT OF THE

for the promotion of the material interests of Forestry can be
rendered through the aid of science. The prominent duties of
the branch of the public service, having charge of this subject,
should therefore be to advance, by every means of inquiry and
research within its power, our knowledge of the laws of nature
concerned in forest-growth, and carefully to investigate the various
circumstances that lead to best results. We should have definite
knowledge of the casualties that may happen, and the means by
which they may be mitigated or avoided, and upon all occasions
seek to utilize the discoveries of science, wherever they can be
applied.

In the national census of the present year, provision is for the
first time made for a special investigation of our forest resources,
and in the hands of Professor C. 8. Sargent and his assistants,
we may expect that this work will be well done.

The only State Forestry Association, yet organized, is that of
Minnesota, which is doing good service in the promotion of tree-
planting in the prairie regions of that State. The project of a
School of Forestry has been proposed in Minnesota, and a land-
grant for its endowment has been asked from Congress,— but
hitherto, as we understand, without success.

We deem it of the first importance that a better knowledge of
the principles of arboriculture should be more widely diffused. It
remains a question of the future, as to how far a special education
in this branch of applied knowledge would, at present, find ade-
quate remuneration, unless associated with capital, and sustained
by an intelligent appreciation of the importance of forest culture,
by those having money to invest in this enterprise, which is as yet
too seldom found.

In speaking of the results of associated effort, in the interest of
sylviculture, we should not fail to notice our State Agricultural
and Horticultural Societies, many of which now recognize the im-
portance of this subject, and admit discussions bearing upon tree-
culture, at their meetings and in their published Transactions.
This is particularly the case in Iowa, where much prominence is
given to questions relating to the planting of groves and hedges,
and premiums are offered tending to improvements in manage-
ment, and extension of amount done. In some of the older States,
and especially in Massachusetts, much attention has been given,

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 11

in recent years, to this subject ; but in none of the states have we
seen statistics of the results obtained by the offer of these premi-
ums of the later period.

Within the last three years, the Secretary of the Interior, in
whose Department is vested the care of the Public Lands, has been
making commendable efforts to arrest the unlawful cutting of timber
upon these lands. In this he has met with great opposition from
interested parties, through the political and other influences that
they have been able to bring in Congress, and from delays in the
courts.

The ‘shameful extent to which these depradations have been
going on, through a long period of years, and in fact, until the
practice had gained from long indulgence the semblance of a right,
will hereafter be looked upon as a striking evidence of the barbar-
ism of the age.

These efforts to repress a criminal practice, long sanctioned by
custom, have led to recent legislation in Congress upon the timber
question, some of which will tend to increase rather than prevent
the waste we have described. We refer particularly to an act
passed two years since, granting to the inhabitants of certain re-
gions, where conservation is of the first importance, the unre-
strained use of timber upon the public domain, for all mining and
domestic purposes, without so much as the pretext of a report as
to the amount taken, the least check upon its limit, or the least
payment for the privilege.®

Among these recent statutes relating to our public domain, we
still look in vain for the first indication of a policy tending to pro-
vide for future supplies by reservation of timber lands— except to
limited extent and for naval use alone. We find no limitation in the
cutting of small trees, and no protection of lands with the view of
affording a new growth of timber, where it has been taken away ;
much less do we yet find any measures for planting upon the pub-
lic lands, or any stipulations requiring this to be done by settlers,
except in the still recent timber-culture acts, that have as yet
scarcely passed through the trial of experience.

The first of these timber-planting acts was passed in 1873,
and amendments have been since made, as deemed necessary. If
faithfully administered, the law cannot fail to prove of inestimable

6“An act authorizing the citizens of Colorado, Nevada and the Territories, to remove

Timber on the Public Domain, for mining and domestic purposes.” Approved June 3,
1878,

12 REPORT OF THE

value to the prairie states. According to this act as it now stands,
aman may acquire the absolute title to a quarter-section, or 160
acres of land, by planting and cultivating ten acres of timber,
there being not less than 2,700 trees to the acre. The patent is
not issued until eight years after the claim is entered. The mode
of preparation of the land is prescribed, and proof of successful
planting must be shown.

According to the latest Reports, 5,157,681 acres had been entered
under this act within three years, chiefly in Kansas, Dakota, Ne-
braska and Minnesota. Undoubtedly some of these Jands have
been taken up for speculative purposes, and as little labor as
possible will be spent upon them in the way of planting and im-
provement, while in many other instances, the undertaking is as-
sumed in good faith, and with a desire to realize as much profit as
possible from the cultivation.

Passing from these statements relating to American Forestry,
let us notice some facts of interest bearing upon the subject in
Europe. As is well known, every government of continental
Europe has now in operation a system of forest management, the
best of which provides (so far as concerns the forests owned by
general and local governments, and by institutions) for a perpetual
supply, to the full limit of their capacity for timber-growth.

From this grade of excellence, requiring a special education and
thorough training of agents for its maintenance, fully equal to
that for any branch of the public service, we have various degrees
of efficiency down to that of a mere police regulation for the preven-
tion of fires, and the restraint of waste upon timber on the public
domain. Yet these systems, however.they may differ in details,
agree in this:—that unless the public interest is concerned, the
owners of private estates are generally allowed to cut or plant
upon their own premises, as their interest decides. The excep-
tions to this rule are,—along a frontier, where woodlands are needed
for the public defence, the banks of a river liable to inundation—
where materials should be at hand for the construction of barriers,
—upon mountains liable to erosion of torrents, or on drifting
sands on the seashore. There may be a few other exceptions,
but as a general rule, the government does not often interfere with
the timber upon private estates, even where it requires a notice of
intention to be given before clearing is begun.

Yet upon these private lands, large forests are sometimes grown

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 13

for profit, and their management is often placed in the care of
agents who have received the highest grade of special education
for this particular service. Except in Great Britain, we believe
that facilities have been provided for this special instruction in
every country in Europe, either in academies where Forestry is
taught alone, or in institutions where agriculture and other practi-
cal industries receive a share of attention.

It may be proper to notice here a change that has been taking
place in recent years, in the organization of these Schools of For-
estry in Europe. In Austria, a first class School of Forestry at
Mariabruun was, after more than forty years’ existence, merged in
1875 in a High School of Agriculture and Forestry in Vienna.
In Bavaria, the Central Forest Academy at Aschaffenburg, still
older than the one above mentioned, has been more recently united
with the University of Munich, and discussions tending to further
changes with the view of consolidation are now in progress in
other forest academies. In Prussia, the two institutions at Ebers-
walde and at Minden still maintain a separate existence, and
the former has recently commemorated the fiftieth year of its
history.

In looking at the organization of these institutions, we notice
a marked change in their plan, particularly in Germany. In
the preparatory studies, and especially in the natural sciences
and in physics, so far as they in the least concern the forester, we
find a more careful division of labor, and a more earnest purpose
to make these sciences to their whole extent available in their
profession, instead of the elementary studies in chemistry and
botany which formerly satisfied the requirements for graduation.

In all of these institutions, excursions and practical exercises
form a regular feature in the course of education, and microscopic
studies now receive much more attention than formerly.

The science at present receives a substantial support from
various experimental stations in Germany, Austria, France and
other countries, in which both practical and scientific questions
are carefully investigated, and the results published. Among
these we may prominently mention the Foresters’ Experimental
Union in Germany, and the experimental labors of the Austrian
Ministry of Agriculture, under the direction of Baron von
Seckendorff. '

In recent years much interest has been manifested among in-

14 REPORT OF THE

vestigators in Europe, in determining by instrumental observa-
tions, made at comparative stations in the open fields and in the
forests, the influence of the latter upon the atmosphere in their
vicinity, and upon the climate of the country generally.

That forests tend to render the climate of a country colder and
more humid, has been known from general observation for many
centuries ; and the climate of Gaul, as described by Julius Cesar,
compared with that of France at the present day, has been often
cited as an instance of this fact. Yet it is only within a very
recent period that anything like a full and systematic comparison
has been attempted by instrumental observations.7

In selecting the location of these stations, one set of instruments
is placed in the open fields, and the other in the woods, the former
being as much as possible free from the influence of the forest,
and the latter fully under its protection. Care is taken that the
soil, altitude and other circumstances, except the forest-shade, are
alike.

Their outfit generally consists of open-air thermometers —
psychrometers —rain and snow gauges, barometers, wind-vanes,
and instruments for observing the evaporation from surfaces
variously covered as compared with a free water surface—the
percolation of water through various soils, ozone records, and
observations upon the periodical phenomena of animal and vege-
table life generally, so far as influenced by the seasons. In some
cases the temperature of the interior of trees is recorded, and in
some of the later systems of observation, it has been proposed to
ascertain the temperature and humidity not only at the level of
the tree-tops, but at a considerable height above them, the latter
being obtained by the aid of masts, and by captive balloons that
admit of the elevation of instruments.

Without going into details of the results of these observations,
we may here remark, that records more or less complete in their
plan have been established as follows :—

In Saxony, since 1862-3, under the direction of Professor
Krutzsch, of Tharand, at nine stations, embracing records of
temperature, humidity, rain, snow, etc.

In Bavaria, since 1868, seven stations have been established

7An account of investigations in this line down to 1872 was published in that year
by the Baron von Léffelholtz-Colberg, under the title of ‘‘ Die Bedeutung und Wichtig-
keit des Waldes.”

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 15

under Dr. Ernst Ebermayer, who in 1873 published very fully the
results of four years’ records,® and in 1876 another work upon the
formation of soil from the litter of woodlands, and the chemical
statics of forest culture.? It was his intention at the end of ten
years to publish the results of that period in more extended form,
but his recent removal from Aschaffenburg to Munich has appar-
ently postponed, if it has not disappointed, this expectation.

In Prussia, a system of observations, nearly similar to those in
Bavaria, was begun in 1874 under Professor A. Miuttrich, of
Eberswalde, and now includes fourteen stations in Prussia,
Brunswick and Alsace-Lorraine. The results are published
monthly! and annually,!! and a careful study of so much as
relates to the temperature of the soil has recently appeared.!?

In France, observations upon the rainfall in the woods and
open fields were made under the direction of Marshal Vaillant,
in 1866, near Paris, and published in the Atlas Meteorologique of
the Imperial Observatory of Paris for 1867. In the same year,
observations of more extended character were commenced at two
forest stations and one agricultural station in the vicinity of
Nancy, near the eastern border of France, by Professor A.
Mathieu of the school of Forestry at Nancy, and have since
been continued. A summary of eleven years’ observations was
published in 1878.18

Upon a general suggestion of the Congress of Agriculturists
and Foresters at Vienna, in 1873, M. Fautrat, a sub-inspector
in the French Forest Service, with the approval and aid of the
Department, established two stations for comparative observa-
tions, one in the deciduous forest of Halatte near Fleurines, and

8Die physikalischen Einwirkungen des Waldes auf Luft und Roden, und seine
klimatologische und hygienische Bedeutung, 1 Vol., 8vyo, pp. 266 and 251, (with an
atlas). Berlin, 1873.

® Die gesammte Lehre den Waldstreu, mit Riicksicht auf die chemische Statik des
Waldbaues, I Vol., 8vo, pp. 300 and 116. Berlin, 1876. ;

10 Beobachtungs Ergebnisse der im Kénigreich Preussen, im Herzogthum Braunsch-
weig und in den Reichslanden eingericheteten forstlich-meteorologischen Stationen,
1 bis 5 Jahrgang, 1875-1879.

11 Jahresbericht iiber die Beobachtungs-Ergebnisse der im Kénigreich Preussen und
in den Reichslanden eingerichteten forstlich-meteorologischen Stationen. 1 bis 4 Jahr-
gang, 1875-1878.

12Beobachtungen der Erdbodentemperatur auf den forstlich-meteorologischen
Stationen, in Preussen, Braunschweig und Elsass-Lothringen. Von A. Miittrich. Sep-
arat-Abdruck, aus der Festschrift zur 50 jahrigen Jubelfeier der Forstakademie,
Eberswalde. 4to. pp.33. Berlin, 1880.

13 Météorologie Comparée, Agricole et Forestiére, 4to, Paris, pp. 70. Published by
the Forest Administration, in connection with the Paris Exposition of 1878.

16 REPORT OF THE

the other in a forest of the Pinus sylvestris, near the village of
Thiers. The former began in February 1874, and was continued
four years ; the latter began in June 1875, and was continued three
years. The results have been published by the French Forest
Administration.!4

In Switzerland, observations were established in 1868 at three
stations, by the Forest Administration of the Canton of Bern, and
the results have since been published monthly in detail.1° One
of these stations is in a forest of beech, another of fir, and an-
other of larch. The observations upon periodical phenomena,
made at numerous stations in the Canton of Bern, under the
same auspices, are published annually.'®

In Austria, a plan of observations in Forest Meteorology has
been prepared by Dr. Jos. R. Lorenz, and adopted as a part of
the experimental system of researches under the general direction
of Baron von Seckendorff, and under the authority of the Min-
istry of Agriculture. The plan is very comprehensive and in-
cludes some features not found in other systems.

In Sweden, two scientific stations have been established by the
government, one at Upland in the southeastern part, and the other
at Skaarsborg. They have been in existence some three or four
years, but we have not met with any publication of the results.

In Jtaly, similar observations are being made at one or two
stations under the direction of Dr. di Beranger, Director of the
School of Forestry at Vallombrosa.

In Bohemia, a system of meteorological observations has been
recently established under the auspices of the Bohemian Forest
Society ; and mainly in the interests of Forestry, which is very
comprehensive in its plan, embracing a. wide range as to elevation
and exposure. So far as published, these records relate to the
rainfall only, the observations being made by employés of the
Forest Administration of the country.

The number of stations at the beginning in January, 1879, was
570, and at the end of the first year, it had increased to 689. In
February of the present year, the number was 712. ‘The results

14 Observations Météorologiques. Faites de 1874, 41878, par M. Fautrat. 4to, pp. 4
(with eight pages of plates).

15 Beobachtungs-Ergebnisse der im Kanton Bern zu forstlichen Zwecken errich-
eteten meteorologischen Stationen.

16 Klimatologische und Phanologische Beobachtungen (Observations climatologiques
et Phénologiques) im Canton Bern, 4to.

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. ily

are published monthly in detail,!7 but as yet without attempt at
generalization beyond the monthly means and totals. The system
is under the care of Dr. Emanuel von Purkyné, a professor in the
Forest academy of Weisswasser, and cannot fail of proving val-
uable to the country and to the world, by making us better ac-
quainted with the laws that govern the rainfall in a wooded
country, and the circumstances that determine the amount.

Special investigations concerning the temperature of the earth
at different depths below the surface, and under various conditions,
have been made in Russia and elsewhere. These have more or
less relation to forest-meteorology ; and in several of the experi-
mental stations now in operation, the results will contribute to
a further knowledge of this important subject.

We regret that hitherto so little has been done in our own
country for the determination of the relations between the forests
and the climate by direct comparative observations. With the
exception of a few desultory records of temperature and rain-
fall, we are not aware that anything has yet been attempted for
this object, at any institution, or by any observer in America.
The greater general dryness of our atmosphere, and differences
in our prevailing winds, appear to render the application of any
general laws derived from European records very unreliable with
us, and we never can have a certain knowledge of these laws as
they operate in our country, until they shall have been determined
from observations of our own.

The International Statistical Congress held at Budapest in
September, 1876, the Meteorological Congress at Rome in 1877,
and various conventions held by Agriculturists and Foresters in
recent years, have had under discussion questions relating to the
agricultural and industrial interests dependent upon climatic
changes, and the extent to which these are modified by the wood-
lands of a country, and it is to be hoped, that effectual cooperation
in these researches will ere long be rendered by American investi-
gators.

Among the recent researches concerning the influence of forests
upon the amount of water in wells, rivers and streams, and inci-

17 Ombrometrische Beobachtungen der yom Bohmischen Forstvyereine in den Forsten
Bohmens in verschiedenen Seehdhen und Expositionen eérrichteten Stationen. Her-
ausgaben von der Forstlehranstalt Weisswasser. Zusammengestellt und redigiert von
Dr. Emanel von Purkyné, Professor an der Forstlehranstalt Weisswasser. Prague,
4to (in monthly parts).

18 REPORT OF THE

dentally the effect of woodlands in maintaining the amount, we
may notice as particularly worthy of attention, the publications
of Counsellor Gustavus Wex,!® overseer of the works of improve-
ment in the Danube, at Vienna. These memoirs are not only of
interest from the facts that they embody, but also for their cita-
tions, to other works, making them in some degree, a bibliography
of the subject. They have been referred to commissions appointed
by various academies of science, and the conclusions that they
present have been approved by the highest authorities. They in
fact confirm, by numerical statements, the observations of every
one who has had an opportunity to notice the amount of water
flowing in streams before and after the clearing of the district in
which they rise, and through which they run. This amount affects
the interests concerned in the hydraulic power of the larger
streams, the supply of water to cities, and the navigation of rivers
and canals.

_ As this diminution of water-supply is the result of man’s acts,
so also in a great degree is the remedy of control within his power,
and by means of planting and with reservoirs he can often recover
and maintain the advantages lost, perhaps as fully as they existed
under the primeval forests.

Among the means for the advancement of forest-science in
Europe, we might mention as worthy of notice, the growing inter-
est in various societies and associations, formed for the discussion
of new questions as they arise, the comparison of experience, and
the promotion of that personal acquaintance so conducive to the
general welfare. These meetings are usually enhanced in interest
by excursions to forests affording an illustration of methods, or
other subjects of practical interests. The more important of
the essays and discussions, which these meetings call out, are pub-
lished with their official proceedings, and through the medium of
these publications, and the various journals of forestry, the more
important discoveries become widely known.

Returning to the original resolution under which the Committee
upon Forestry was appointed by this Association, in 1873, there

18 Ueber die Wasserabnahme in den Quellen, Fliissen und Strdmen, bei gleichzertiger
Steigerung der Hochwdsser in den Culturldndern, yon GUSTAVUS WEX, K. K., Ministe-
rialrath und Oberlautier der-Donauregulirung bei Wien. 4to, pp. 48, with 7 plates.

Zweite Abhandlung, etc., 4to, pp. 30, with 6 plates.

There are separate imprints from the Zeitschrift des Osterreichischen Ingenieur,
und Architekten- Vereins, 1873 and 1879.

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 19

remains to be considered one subject that claims our careful con-
sideration.

With the exception of a communication from its chairman to
the New York Legislature,!9 and one of like import by Col.
Whittlesey, another member, to the Ohio Legislature, no action
has thus far been taken by this Committee towards bringing the
subject to the attention of our State Legislatures. This delay
has in part arisen from an uncertainty as to how far a State Gov-
ernment may, with any prospect of success, enact laws tending to
secure efficient planting upon private lands.

In European countries where forest systems have been in full
force for centuries, it is only within a quite recent period, that the
owners of a minority interest in a large and connected body of
woodlands, could be compelled to join a controlling majority, in
assisting to maintain a system of management under one direc-
tion, the costs and profits of forest management being shared in
proportion to the proprietary rights. It is still almost invariably
the rule, that the owners of private woodlands have a full right to
manage them as their interests lead, excepting in cases where the
public welfare is concerned, and it is the universal experience of
all countries that the owners of the soil are jealous of interference
with what they regard as their rights, in the cultivation of their
own land.

This is particularly true in our own country, where ‘‘ Liberty
and Independence” have been the watchwords from the beginning,
and where the widest range of freedom is allowed in the enjoy-
ment of every kind of property, provided only that no injury is
done to the public, or to the rights of others.

We cannot therefore entertain the idea of an edict: that every
man shall plant a given portion of his land with forest-trees. Our
people must be educated to a knowledge of the situation, and fa-
miliarized with the means by which benefits may be gained, or
injuries avoided. With the great majority, the effect of scarcity
upon the market prices of lumber will be of more interest than the
influence of forests upon the climate ; and the public generally will
give more attention to questions of gain or loss, than to all that
science teaches about the hidden causes that produce these results.

We accordingly deem it best only to recommend a series of
measures tending to familiarize our people with ideas of the im-

19 Senate Document, 82, 1875.

20 REPORT OF THE

portance of forest culture, and to make them better acquainted
with the means by which its advantages may be secured. It may
be reasonably hoped, that public opinion will by these means be
led to sustain such other measures as further experience may
warrant or suggest.

The following form of a Memorial is therefore submitted for
your consideration. If approved, we would suggest that it be
forwarded in duly authenticated form, as the recommendation of
this Association, to the chief executive officer of each State and
Territory of the United States, with a request that the same may
be submitted to the several Legislatures.

And your Committee, having now served for seven years, and
performed their duty to the best of their ability and opportunity,
ask to be discharged.

FrankK.IN B. Houcu.
Lewis H. Morgan.
Asa GRAY.
CHarites WHITTLESEY.

MEMORIAL.
To His Excellency
The Governor of

Tue AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE,
at its meeting held in Boston, on the 30th day of August, 1880,
having considered and adopted the following Memorial, has in-
structed the undersigned to transmit the same to Your Excel-
lency, and respectfully ask that it may be laid before the
Legislature of your State, at its next session.

Memorial of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, in relation to the Need of Attention to our future
Forest Supplies.

To tHE HONORABLE THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF

We would earnestly invite the attention of your Honorable
Body, to the great and increasing importance of providing by
adequate Legislation, for the protection of the existing Woodlands

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 21

of the country against needless waste, and for the encouragement
of measures tending to the more economical use, and the proper
maintenance of our Timber Supply.

It is evident that the consumption and waste of the Forests of
the country much exceed their restoration by natural growth, that
the native supply of Timber of the better qualities is rapidly be-
coming less, and that the demand for building purposes, man-
ufactures and other uses, is rapidly increasing from year to year.

This decreasing supply, and growing consumption, must una-
voidably lead to serious inconvenience, and may, unless season-
ably prevented, occasion great public injury, by leaving the future
without adequate supplies.

We deem it an established fact, that the interests of Agriculture
are promoted by the presence of a due proportion of Woodlands
in a country, and that they suffer when clearings are carried to
excess. The protection which they afford appears to mitigate, in
a sensible degree, the vicissitudes of Climate, and to maintain the
supply of water in springs, rivulets and wells. They shelter a
country from injurious winds, and may be made practically useful,
in preventing the drifting of snows and sands, in preventing or
diminishing damages from torrents, and in limiting unhealthy
emanations from marshes. Their influence in connection with
questions of water-supply for cities, and the maintenance of hy-
draulic power, and of navigation in rivers and canals, where these
may be affected by droughts, deserves serious attention.

But it is especially to the Woodlands, as a source for supplying
materials of first necessity to the country, that we would respect-
fully invite the attention of your Honorable Body; and here we
would remark, that a realizing sense of the importance of this
subject has long since led the principal governments of Europe
to enact laws, and establish regulations for the maintenance of
a due proportion of Forests upon their Public Domains, and upon
the lands belonging to Local Municipalities and Public Insti-
tutions.

We are aware that wide differences exist, in the tenure of land,
in the United States, as compared with those of Europe, and
that the titles to landed property are here very generally vested
in their owners, without any conditions whatever as to Timber
Culture.

It is also true that, in most of the older, and in some of the

22) REPORT OF THE

newer States, there are no lands whatever, adapted to this use,
now belonging to either the State or the Local Governments — the
whole being owned by private citizens, and subject to no con-
ditions, but such as their Representatives in a Legislative capacity
may establish for the general welfare.

It is to the Owners of the Land, that we must therefore look
for the adoption of measures tending to avert the injuries in pros-
pect; and in furtherance of this end, we deem it within the prov-
ince of a State Legislature to encourage the enterprise, which may
be done in a good degree in the following manner :

1. By a Law protecting Trees planted along the Highways, and
by encouraging such plantations by deductions from Highway
Taxes. It may, in particular cases, be proper to require such
plantations to be made at the public expense, with the view of
protecting roads from drifting snows, or for other local benefits,
and in a manner best calculated for securing these objects.

2. By a Law that shall exempt from taxation the increased
value of land, from the planting of trees, where none were grow-
ing, for such period as may appear proper, or until some profit
may be realized from the plantation.

3. By the appropriation of money to Agricultural and Horti-
cultural Societies, to be applied as premiums for tree-planting,
regard being had to greatest areas planted, and the most suc-
cessful management. Reports should be required, giving details
of the methods found most effectual in obtaining these results.

4. By prizes for the best Essays and Reports upon subjects
of practical Forest-culture, to be awarded by competent Judges,
and those approved, to be published for distribution among those
who would be the most benefited by this information.

5. By encouraging Educational Institutions within the State to
introduce a course of instruction, having reference to practical
sylviculture. This object may be promoted by the aid of Collec-
tions, and by correctly labelled Plantations of the various species
of Forest Trees adapted to the soil and climate. At Agricultural
Colleges, and at higher Institutions of Learning, stations might
be advantageously established under State patronage, for experi-
ments and observations in cultivation and acclimatization. The
distribution of seeds and plants affords a direct and efficient aid,
in the promotion of an interest in this subject.

6. By laws tending to prevent Forest-fires, by imposing penal-

COMMITTEE UPON FORESTRY. 23

ties against the wilful or careless setting of such fires, and by
enlarging and defining the powers of Local Officers in calling for
assistance, and in adopting measures for suppressing them. The
waste from this cause, in some years, greatly exceeds the amount
of timber used, and there is no question connected with forest
supplies, that demands more serious attention. Our main reliance
appears to depend upon vigilant precautions, enforced by adequate
penalties, and sustained by a strong public sentiment.

7. Under favorable circumstances, Model Plantations might be
established and maintained by a State Government, under the care
of persons specially trained to the profession of Forestry. Their
location should be chosen with a view of affording convenient op-
portunity to those who might wish to learn approved methods of
management, by the study of a work worthy of imitation.

8. The appointment of a Commission of Forestry under State
authority (analogous to the Commission of Fisheries in many of
the States) might prove of great service in promoting efficient
measures for the advancement of this interest. The Members of
such a Commission, who would doubtless be selected on account of
their influential standing, and their known intelligence upon this
subject, would be able to study the conditions and requirements
of their State, and devise means for most effectually securing the
object in view.

In the questions arising upon this subject, we depend much
upon the intelligence of our fellow citizens, who are generally not
slow to appreciate advantages, or to foresee a real danger where
the indications are apparent. When this danger is fully realized,
we believe that no time will be lost in seeking to apply the remedy.
The measures we recommend will tend to awaken an interest in
the subject, and lead to an intelligent understanding of the means
for meeting the dangers that may arise from undue exhaustion
of our forest supplies. They will diffuse the benefits gained by
experience, for the good of all, and educate public opinion to a
degree that will sustain more energetic measures, as their ne-
cessity may be hereafter more fully known.

Chairman of the Committee,
Ae Ala Ace, |S:

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

LION

fi oe

Hollinger Corp.
pH 8.5