ISTEBRASKA. 



CHARLES H. WALKER, 



BLOOMINGTON, FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



Timber Culture Act — Its Provisions — How Carried Out — 

 Congress Assists — Russian Furnaces. 



THE TIMBER CULTURE ACT. 



The passage of the Timber Culture Act, in 1873, inau- 

 gurated a new era in forest culture. Much had been written 

 of its importance. Legislatures had fostered it by exemptions 

 from taxation. Agricultural societies had offered premiums 

 for its encouragement, and the Nebraska State Board of Agri- 

 culture, as a further stimulant, had appointed a day annually 

 to be observed in planting fruit trees, which it designated as 

 "Arbor Day." All of these means had been resorted to in 

 endeavoring to create an interest in the cultivation of forest 

 trees, and resulted in but limited success. The masses still 

 remained indifferent to its importance. As a crop to be raised 

 and marketed, the returns were too slow. As an improve- 

 ment, there were too many that took precedent. Timber was 

 recognized as an agreeable protection, but it was regarded as an 

 expensive luxury. 



THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT. 



The Timber Culture Act of 1873, provided that one tim- 

 ber culture entry of one hundred and sixty acres could be 

 taken on each section of land naturally devoid of timber ; that 

 forty acres should be broken within three, and planted within 

 four years to timber, in rows not exceeding twelve feet apart 

 each way. And upon proof that it had been kept in a good 



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