28 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



can accomplish little toward assisting in the 

 maintenance of American forest growth. 



Theoretical foresters have materially changed 

 their views on the subject of forestry within the 

 past year. They tell us today that conservative 

 lumbering constitutes true forestry. What they 

 mean by conservative lumbering is cutting tim- 

 ber by selection, choosing from a forest only 

 trees "of a large, or mature growth, and so 

 felling this timber and removing it that the 

 Tounger trees shall have an opportunity to con- 

 tinue" their growth and finally become valuable 

 timber From the viewpoint of practical lumber- 

 ing, this method is very largely theoretical and 

 could not be successfully employed. In conifer- 

 ous growth every lumberman knows that these 

 trees' are what the woodman calls "flat-footea. 

 They have no tap-root. A virgin pine forest will 

 witlistand tremendous winds, but remove from 

 this forest only the larger growth and the first 

 wind storm of even moderate velocity would level 

 the remainder and make a ruin of it. Tliere 

 would be more possibility of success in lumber- 

 ing bv selection in a hardwood growth, because 

 the tap-root of every hardwood tree would, to 

 a great measure, protect it from devastation by 

 wind Another serious argument against lum- 

 bering on the basis of selection of mature 

 growth is the fact that it is a very expensive 

 Broposition. It contemplates the felling pf trees 

 with great care, the removal of tops and debris 

 to avoid flres and the continual paying of taxes 

 on timber land which will have no productive 

 value for many years. This method of lumber- 

 ing would impose a cost ou manufacturers in- 

 dulging in it that would utterly preclude the 

 possibility of competition with their neighbors 

 who did not pursue the system. Say what you 

 will, from a practical standpoint, under our 

 oresent laws, there is little in sight for financial 

 results in individual forestry or in lumbering 

 on the basis of selection. ' 



To our minds, if we provide for a perpetual 

 timber supply for this <ountry. or even provide 

 for a moderate source of timber suppl.v htty 

 years hence, it is a matter for national and state 

 legislation and effort. , , . • <. 



Today we are certainly at the beginning of 

 the end of our forests, great as they apparent y 

 are because of the immense inroads we are mak- 

 ing' on them annually. It is more than probable 

 that to provide for the ever-iocreasing wood 

 consumption in this country we must needs have 

 recourse to the experience and practice of trance 

 and many of the (ierman states; i. e.. compulsory 

 reforestation. In those countries when a lum- 

 berman cuts down a tree he is required to plant 

 another, and thus the European countries have 

 to a moderate extent provided for their future 

 forest needs. 



These arguments and suggestions we know are 

 not in line with the prevailing forestry sentiment 

 of this country, but from a practical viewpoint 

 we see no other solution of our forest problem. 

 Undeniably there are other steps which might 

 be taken to contribute to the lengthening of the 

 life of our existing tores(s and primarily we 

 believe that, like the Dominion of Canada, laws 

 should be enacted to absolutely prohibit the 

 exportation of logs. For more than two hun- 

 dred years the United States has supplied Great 

 Britain, Continental Europe and a large portion 

 of the rest of the civilized world with its hard- 

 woods and altogether too much of it is supplied 

 in the form of round logs, which have contributed 

 very little to the wealth of the nation, but a 

 modicum of the amount that would he contrib- 

 uted if the material was sold in the form of 

 lumber. The average theoretical forester is not 

 a forester at all. Forestry is justly defined as 

 the treatment of land and tree growth for the 

 maintenance of woodlands to be utilized for for- 

 est products or for a protective covering for the 

 source o£ streams and for the protection of 

 game. The average theoretical forester is simply 

 a silviculturist. 



The planting of trees along the village road 

 or for the beautifying of a park or even the 

 adornment of national playgrounds is not for- 

 estry from a commercial viewpoint. To get at 

 the matter of practical commercial forestry the 

 silviculturist must be eliminated from the prac- 

 tical element who would see something done and 

 done at once to assist in the perpetuation of com- 

 mercial American forests. The work of the 

 silviculturist is thoroughly commendable in its 

 way, Ijut it is not and never can become for- 



m' presenting this analysis of conditions sur- 

 rounding American forests, we believe that it 

 will be just for this association to go on record 

 as advocating practical things in connection 

 therewith, rather than theoretical ones, and we 

 would especially urge that state and national 

 legislative bodies be petitioned for the enactment 



of laws : X- ^ I 



First, to relieve from taxation for a long 

 period of years lands owned by individuals, that 

 shall be devoted to forest growth, under prac- 

 tical supervision. . , ^ , ,, , 



Second, to provide legislation that shall Insure 

 individual timber owners protection from fire and 

 depredation. 



Third, to demand that states take up in a 

 comprehensive and practical way the replanting 



of lands undesirable for agriculture to timber. 

 Fourth, to prohibit the exportation of logs. 

 M. M. Wall, Chairman. 

 B. F. McMillan. 



T. J. MOFFETT. 



W. A. Bonsack : I move that the report be 

 adopted. 



D. F. Clark : I think the motion should be 

 that the report be adopted and the committee 

 be continued to act along the lines suggested by 

 them. 



rresident Palmer : I don't believe Mr. Clark's 

 suggestion would apply, because the committees 

 are appointed and the next administration has 

 that in hand. It seems to me, though, that 

 some .special mention is due Mr. Wall for the 

 work he has performed, and also the committee 

 in the preparation of that report. It certaimv 

 is a fine exposition of the subject of forestry, 

 and I think the thanks of this association are 

 due Mr. Wall for the able manner in which ue 

 has handled the subject. 



The report of the Committee on Forestry was 

 adopted. 



President Palmer : That concludes the pro- 

 gram for this session, but it seems to me that 

 there must be some pretty good suggestions 

 loose in the audience, and if it is agreeable to 

 this gathering, an informal discussion of the 

 inspection or forestry question might not be 

 out of order. If anybody has anything to say 

 on any of these subjects, we will be glad to 

 hear from him in an informal way. 



B. F. McMillan : Mr. Chairman, I have been 

 waiting for that chance. You are aware that 

 there are two great improvements, both of which 

 are necessities, which this country is in need 

 of. One of them is forestry : the other is its 

 brother, the good road movement. Under our 

 form of government, without an amendment to 

 our constitution we can do nothing in the way 

 of forestry. I can remember in the state of 

 Wisconsin when they took 150.000 to lioo.ooo 

 acres of pine land out of the market and put it 

 into what they called the water reserve to pro- 

 tect the headwaters of our streams, and they 

 held it there until the lumbermen wanted it for 

 their supply. Then the lumbermen put it in 

 the market and bought it up, and now they 

 slaughter that. If we had a law permitting the 

 cutting of only a certain percentage we would 

 have some protection, but under our present 

 constitution our congress could at any time 

 put the whole thing on the market, provided 

 there were enough big grafters to get them to 

 do it. I think the first thing we want 

 to do is to amend our constitution, so as 

 to allow the government to reforest and restrict 

 them to the percent that they shall cut, and 

 force them to do as they do in Germany — to 

 replant one tree for every tree they cut. Take 

 it in the Black Forest of Germany, the villages 

 own tracts, the individuals own tracts, the gov- 

 ernment owns tracts, but they are all under 

 the supervision of the general government which 

 will permit them to cut just so much and no 

 more. We should have something in our con- 

 stitution that will protect the forests perpetu- 

 ally, not today and tomorrow, but forever, as 

 long as this government shall last — and, gentle- 

 men, you know it is going to last forever. [Ap- 

 plause.] 



There is another thing which our government 

 could do, and that is one of the main things in 

 forestry — the policing of forest reserves. And 

 how can we do it? We can do it on the same 

 lines along which we are today policing Yellow- 

 stone Park. Instead of having our soldiers at 

 Fort McPherson, at Fort Snelling, and at Jef- 

 ferson Barracks and other places, let us put 

 them to work to police our forest reserves. 

 And I would say to you, gentlemen, that I am 

 in favor of a law that will permit any of our 

 territory where it is suitable for reforesting, to 

 be sold to individuals in one thousand, five 

 thousand, or ten thousand acre lots, and get 

 trees to growing in ten years upon as many 

 acres as any individual can reforest, and can 



grow in ten years ; but always that must be 

 exempt from taxes and under the control of the 

 government. No individual ever should have the 

 right to cut more than a certain percent, and the 

 government ought to be prohibited by the consti- 

 tution from allowing them to cut a bigger per- 

 cent. I think forestry is one of the things 

 that we are coming to. I can see it. In my 

 short life I have seen fine timber — as fine pine 

 as ever stood on the face of God's earth — not 

 worth more than 10, 15 or 20 cents a thousand, 

 slaughtered and wasted, and today the white 

 pine of the North is practically wiped off the 

 earth. We can never reforest a great part of 

 the state of Wisconsin or Minnesota or Michi- 

 gan. We have got to come to the mountainous 

 sections of the South. To show you the little 

 effort that it costs to reforest in a mountainous 

 country, go to the state of Vermont. The state 

 of Vermont has today more saw timber than 

 she had one hundred years ago. Why? Be- 

 cause this land is inaccessible, barren. Now 

 what are they, doing? They have gone in there 

 with little portable mills and are slaughtering 

 it and selling it at prices at which it is im- 

 possible for the box manufacturers of Green 

 Bay and Warsaw to furnish the Diamond Match 

 Company boxes at Oshkosh. The Diamond Match 

 Company is shipping the box shooks from New 

 Hampshire to Oshkosh. Can you realize this. 

 Mr. President? It is a fact. W'e should put 

 a stop to this. Our eminent president, Theodore 

 Roosevelt, has gone to Idaho and taken out a 

 vast tract of timber and called it his forest 

 preserve. 1 think he will keep it out until 

 Weyerhaeuser and a few of those fellows get 

 there, and then they will have it put back into 

 the market and gobble it up. It does not 

 take much to do it. All they have to do is to 

 play a little game of politics, as some of you 

 Memphis fellows do, and they will have it all 

 right. This forestry business is along the right 

 lines, and I would like to see this forestry 

 committee continued and composed of as able 

 men as we have in our association. I thank you, 

 gentlemen. [Applause.] 



President Palmer : Are there any other gen- 

 tlemen that will favor us with a few remarks? 

 The range is a wide one — inspection, forestry, 

 or anything you would like to tell about. 



G. V. Nash : I would like to offer a sug- 

 gestion on the matter of reforestry. The lum- 

 bermen are to blame, themselves. Take Michi- 

 gan and Wisconsin. There they have cut all 

 that they could cut, and have cut all the good 

 trees, leaving the debris on the ground. If the 

 lumbermen had only as many acres as they can 

 put into cultivation and individually followed 

 that line, the whole question would be solved — 

 only cutting as many acres as they need for 

 cultivation of crops. 



C. E. Lloyd : We have had from Mr. Wall a 

 very interesting report, and it deserves not only 

 our consideration, but our thanks. In addition 

 to that, we ought to go on record. I think Mr. 

 Wall is right about that. This national asso- 

 ciation is large enough to have its words given 

 some attention. I would move you that a com- 

 mittee of five be appointed to consider Mr. 

 Wall's report, and I believe lUr. Wall should be 

 on the committee. 



J. M. Pritchard : I think that should be 

 done b.v all means, and I 'second the motion. 



The motion was carried, and the president 

 appointed the following committee on report of 

 forestry committee : C. B. Lloyd, J. M. Pritch- 

 ard, S. B. Anderson, E. C. Colcord, A. B. Klise. 

 President Palmer : Are there any other gen- 

 tlemen who would like to make remarks on any 

 question? This is a democratic body. If any- 

 one has any kick let us have it now. 



Mr. McMillan : With the consent of Mr. 

 Kusse I would like to take a drink. 



Mr. McMillan then took a drink of ice water. 



President Palmer : I would like to ask the 



committees to have their reports prepared and 



ready to be submitted at the opening session 



tomorrow morning. The meeting of the ex- 



