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Some of the inducements which might be held out to the owners of land to encour- 

 age the planting of trees are suggested by Mr. Renick. 



ENCOURAGEMENT OF TREE PLANTING BY-LAW. 

 By Harness Renick, Circleville, Ohio. 



If it is the purpose of the Forestry Convention to solve the question as to the best 

 plan to arrest, as far as possible, the now rapid destruction of timber, and to induce and 

 encourage tree culture, the undersigned, after a long experience and much study of this 

 most important subject, which should engage the attention of every one desiring the best 

 future interests of the whole country, begs leave to say, that in his opinion thei'e is but 

 one practical way to obtain the much desired end, and that is to enlist the pockets of 

 land-holders by law suasion ; other kinds of suasion have for thirty years past been tried 

 and failed to effect any good in old Pickaway County ; and as the sentiment of the com- 

 munity in any one section is pretty much the same as in another, so that suasion other 

 than the pocket, or present self-interest of the land-holder, will assuredly fail wherever 

 tried. 



The average land-owner is not at all inclined to preserve his timber for the good of 

 posterity. He rather aims to get all immediate, or near prospective profits from his 

 domains in the shortest possible time. He has hereitofore, and will in the future continue 

 to cut off his timber just as soon as he believes it will be profitable to do it. Our fore- 

 fathers destroyed all the timber from necessity, but unfortunately their descendants of 

 this day seem to have inherited a propensity to continue it, even in many cases when it 

 pays them no pro^t. 



To effectually induce timber preservation in some measure, and tree-planting, the 

 States should offer a liberal and sufiicient bounty, or an equivalent in tax exemption on 

 all lands planted and cultivated in trees, and also on at least four additional acres to 

 one planted, until the trees were cut off. To exempt from tax only the planted acres 

 would be next to no inducement to plant. And also exempt from tax all woodlands upon 

 which three-fourths or more of the original large trees were standing, and in addition on 

 four other acres to one of the timber lot. And also exempt partially cleared timber lots 

 whereon there remained one-fourth or more of the original large growth. 



The lands devoted to tree culture under tax exemption law would generally be of the 

 thinnest and most exhausted soils, of low value, and to exempt five acres to one planted 

 would prove no great encouragement to the comparatively few who would engage in it. 



If it is not constitutional in Ohio to enact a bounty or tax exemption law, then, we 

 should educate voters to favour an amendment of it. ' 



The different varieties of trees believed to be suitable or found so by actual experience 

 for planting in various parts of the country and the practical uses to which they are 

 applied are set forth in the papers which follow : — 



THE GROWTH OF BLACK WALNUT IN ONTARIO. 



By Thos. Beall, Lindsay, Ont, 



Some two or three years ago the persons who foresaw the coming scarcity of forest 

 timber in this country, and who had the courage to publicly express their opinion on the 

 subject, were denounced as alarmists, because almost every one believed our timber 

 resources to be nearly, if not quite, inexhaustible. The stern events of the past decade 

 have, however, shown that the fears of the so-called alarmists are already being realized. 

 Immense forests of pine, hemlock, cedar, tamarac, and other varieties of timber then 

 existing have entirely disappeared through the agency of the lumberman. For what he would 

 have left as a reserve for future use, has, in many cases, been destroyed by forest fires. 

 Many of our thinking people now see that the time has arrived when every effort should 

 be exerted, not only to stay the ruthless demolition of our existing timber, but to commence 

 planting trees for the use of our immediate posterity. 



