278 



THE GARDENERS MONTHLY 



[September, 



was to cover. Until 1854, a system of "timber 

 agencies," under the authority of the Treasury 

 Department, existed ; after the dissolution of 

 these, local "Government Law-Districts " were 

 organized, with a special department for every- 

 thing relating to forestry, and the whole Bureau 

 was transferred to the Department of the Inte- 

 rior. The evils were nowise abated by this 

 transfer, and now many districts are being 

 robbed with impunity of their timber. When- 

 ever a particularly glaring case does get investi- 

 gated, it is invariably compromised for a purely 

 nominal sum, as no one is found to oxit- 

 bid the cheeky speculators. From 1868 to 1872 

 all the government received from such prosecu- 

 tions amounted to $150,000, while the actual 

 value of the stolen timber was at least some 

 twentj' or thirty million dollars. All the reports 

 on forestrj' from 1870 to 1880 speak of the in- 

 creasing waste and lawlessness in regard to the 

 felling of timber, and many eminent authorities 

 have expressed doubts as to whether it were al- 

 together possible to remedy the existing situation 

 by laws. Tnstead of laying high penalties on 

 every case in which a conviction was reached, 

 the Secretarj^ of the Interior, in 1877, abrogated 

 the Government Land Agents, in whose place 

 "special agents" were from time to time to be sent 

 by the Department, which agents were to inquire 

 into all timber depredations and report to the 

 Secretary. The attacks on Mr. Secretary Schurz 

 by the " timber ring " in consequence of these 

 orders were very bitter, and he was at one time 

 in danger of losing his position in the Cabinet. 

 In his report to the President, of 1877, the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior says : "The amount of tim- 

 ber stolen from Government lands is enormous, 

 much more so than is generally believed. The 

 stealing of timber has grown to be a regularly 

 and systematically organized business, and the 

 speedy denudation of the country must fill every 

 truly patriotic citizen with deep anxiety." 



That is "free America!" Only no hindrance 

 to " individual " liberty ; no matter if for centu- 

 ries to come, he lay waste whole districts by his 

 thoroughly organized depredations! Would it 

 not be better and more rational, as well as more 

 just, if the timber thieves were treated like horse 

 thieves, and were lynched whenever detected 

 in flagranti? 



The impotence of the general Government 

 to oppose these abuses is evident, and the 

 petition of some of the Legislatures to Congress 

 to transfer the supervision of Government lands 



to the single States, seems quite in order. The 

 memorial of the State of Colorado is particularly 

 clear and pointed. It emphasizes the fact that the 

 general Government has repeatedly declared it- 

 self powerless to remedy the evils complained of; 

 that the wholesale thefts of timber, and the 

 forest fires, which often last for months, if con- 

 tinued to the same extent would in less than a 

 quarter of a century entirely destroy the wood- 

 land of the State; and that already the climate, soil 

 and agriculture of Colorado have greatly suffered 

 under the wanton destruction of her forests. A 

 similar memorial from the '' Board of Agricul- 

 ture," of Maine (1869) contains, after minutely 

 describing the wholesale devastations and their 

 evil consequences, the remarkable words : "Are 

 we to learn from such occurrences and facts, 

 that only monarchies are capable of protecting 

 these treasures of nature? And is it really im- 

 possible for a republic to protect her soil enough 

 to conserve !(• for posterity ?" 



(To be continued.) 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



American Forests in Europe. — It is remarka- 

 ble that while those who are writing about 

 American Forestry, do little to tell us of forestry 

 in our own land, a distinguished European has 

 written a work specially on American Forestry. 

 It gives such an excellent history, that we have 

 had it translated for American readers. 



The name of Booth is so familiar to Americans 

 in connection with the celebrated Flottbeck 

 Nurseries at Hamburg, that we need only say 

 that Mr. John Booth, the author of this work, 

 has been for many years the senior partner in 

 the old firm of James Booth & Sons As a bota- 

 nist and a man of general science, he has given 

 his nurseries an enviable character for accuracy 

 among the establishments of Europe. His 

 interest in forestry is so well known, that on 

 many occasions he has been chosen by the Ger- 

 man government to be its representative in 

 several international forestry conventions. These 

 facts alone will make it of interest to learn what 

 such a man knows of us. 



Tea Culture in the United States. — That 

 the Tea plant is hardy in any of the States south 

 of the Potomac, has been known for a century 

 at least. As frequently stated in this magazine, 

 the only question involved is whether it can be 

 prepared here as cheaply or as good as in China. 



