EDITORIAL 



Plant Trees 



IX HIS address before the Annual 

 ?\Ieeting, Secretary Wilson sounded 

 a trumpet call to "plant trees." He re- 

 ferred to the rapidly waning timber 

 supply, to the fact that "the time is 

 coming when trees are going to be as 

 scarce as diamonds," and urged that re- 

 forestation work be begun at once. The 

 mere fact that Congress seems to be un- 

 willing to take action was not, in his 

 judgment, reason why no one else 

 should. Congress is not the only power 

 or effective agency in the United States. 

 There are states, corporations, associa- 

 tions, societies and individuals. Each 

 of these can do something; all of them 

 together can do much. More than fifty 

 years ago Iowa farmers began the 

 planting of trees. It may be added 

 that, all over the Central West, clumps, 

 groves and wayside rows of trees plant- 

 ed by individuals may be found, the 

 total aggregating a large area. 



The Secretary wisely emphasized the 

 fact that much of this planting must 

 be done by wholesale. "We have prob- 

 ably 5,000,000 acres to plant. We 

 ought to be reforesting a cjuarter of a 

 million acres a year." This work is far 

 too great to be done with spades in hu- 

 man hands. Tree seeds should be sown 

 like grass seed, broadcast, on the last 

 snows in the spring. An experiment 

 made on an eighty-acre tract, one mile 

 above sea level, some three years ago. 

 succeeded magnificntly. Now let the 

 good work go on ! 



It must not. of course, be inferred 

 that the failure of Congress, thus far, 

 to do its part affords to that body ex- 

 cuse for like failure in the future. 

 The duty of Congress, in cases of 

 which the Appalachian-White Moun- 

 tain ranges are typical, is paramount. 

 These ranges are inter-state, and con- 



trol the streamflow of navigable rivers 

 over which the power and, therefore, 

 the responsibility of Congress is un- 

 questioned. Still, the fact remains that, 

 whether Congress works or shirks, 

 others can and should do their own 

 part. 



That the United Kingdom is serious- 

 ly considering the question of reforesta- 

 tion is shown by the report of the Royal 

 Commission on Afforestation and Coast 

 Erosion. This body maintains that, in 

 less than thirty years, there will be no 

 timber available unless the different 

 countries of the world proceed, at once, 

 with the work of replanting. Further- 

 more, though every country should now 

 begin the work, the renewal will not, 

 by any means, halfway keep pace with 

 the consumption. 



The soil and climate of Great Britain, 

 the report states, are favorable to the 

 production of high-class commercial 

 timber, and the state could profitably 

 undertake the experiment of planting 

 large areas as an alternative to a timber 

 famine. 



Says a London dispatch of January 

 27, to the Washington Post. 



A sum of about $10,000,000 annually, the 

 Commission believes, would be necessary to 

 finance afforestation, but the money could 

 be raised by loan. If money were expended 

 at this rate for the eighty years which it 

 would take to plant 9,000,000 acres, the value 

 of the property might be expected to be 

 $2,810,375,000 or $534,965,000 in excess of the 

 sum involved in its creation. 



Besides, "afforestation creates a new in- 

 dustry; it does not compete with private en- 

 terprise. The conversion of comparatively 

 unprofitable lands into forests enhances the 

 productiveness of the adjacent area, and 

 should promote the development of the small 

 holdings movement. More than any other 

 apparent remedy, afforestation will stem the 

 tide of rural depopulation." In addition, it 

 is believed that employment would thus be 

 furnished for 100,000 men. 



169 



