140 



Canadian Forestry Journal 



WHAT DOES CONSERVATION MEAN. 



'What' does conservation mean? It 

 means preservation^ not waste; efficient 

 development, not locking up these re- 

 sources; the reasonable uses of them, hav- 

 ing regard to the nation's interests; and 

 last, but not least, the participation by 

 the people in all the advantages and bene- 

 fits of our natural resources.' 



Hon. R. L. Borden, Premier of Canada. 



ONE FARMER'S WOODLOT. 



Forty years ago George L. Pillsbury, of 

 Boscawen, New Hampshire, bought forty 

 acres of land for $1,000 and set it aside 

 as a wood lot. Even at that date he be- 

 lieved that timber could be made a profit- 

 able farm crop. The conditions were 

 somewhat favorable to the success of the 

 expferiment, as Mr. Pillsbury was a build- 

 er and required native timber in his oper- 

 ations. During the forty years he has 

 practiced conservative forestry he has 

 converted the timber that decayed or de- 

 veloped serious defect into cord wood and 

 the mature timber into building material, 

 shingles, etc. Of exact figures none are 

 at hand. It is known, however, that this 

 forty yielded twenty cords of wood a 

 year, aside from building material. Thus 

 far in 1911 the lot has produced one car 

 of spruce pulpwood which totalled eight 

 and nine-tenths cords and brought $8 a 

 cord f. o. b. station. In addition, 1,.500 

 feet of hemlock sleepers were taken out 

 this year and they brought from $16 to 

 $20 a thousand. Tlie wood output this 

 year was thirty-five cords at $4.50 a cord, 

 the 1911 production being a little heavier 

 than usual. A few years ago Mr. Pills- 

 bury sold seventy-five trees for $1,3 a 

 thousand on the stumj). They scaled 51.- 

 420 feet and brought him $668.46, more 

 than two-thirds the price of the original 

 forty. 



The coniferous forest of Besancoii, 

 France, yields an income of about $16 

 per year per acre. 



The forester of British East Africa 

 estimates the Government timber area at 

 2,000,000 acres; this area is about equal 

 to the woodlands of England. There are 

 nine nijrseries, with two branch nurseries. 

 During the fiscal year 1910, ended March 

 31, 355,000 young trees were set outside, 

 leaving in the nurseries more than 800,000 

 trees. An increased quantity of native 

 timber is being used locally; nine saw- 

 mills employ some eighty Indian pit saw- 

 yers, who are engaged in this work. No 

 exportation has yet been made. 



FOREST DESTRUCTION IN ITALY. 



The British Consul at Naples, report- 

 ing on the attitude of the Italians toward 

 the forests, writes: 'There appears to be 

 little popular regard for the value of 

 forests in the national economy. One of 

 the worst evils which this important as- 

 set of the country suffers from is that of 

 fires, many of them undoubtedly wilful; 

 during 1908 no less than 6,000 hectares 

 (14,820 acres) of forest were destroyed by 

 fires, of which at least a third were known 

 to be due to incendiarism. The point is 

 that the maintenance of the forest is to 

 the general interest, whereas its destruc- 

 tion is to the individual interest of the 

 proprietor, as he can then at least culti- 

 vate the land for some years and use it 

 as a pasture later. An example is cited 

 of state forest administration in the 

 Abruzzo. During the years 1907 and 1908 

 no less than 19,000 hectares (46,930 acres) 

 of forest were destroyed by fire; while in 

 forty years, at the expense of millions, 

 the government has succeeded in reaffor- 

 esting only 27,000 hectares (66,690 acres). 

 One of the remedies suggested is the ex- 

 emption of forests from all taxation. At 

 present the proprietors are prohibited 

 from cutting down their woods, and yet 

 have to pay taxes on them to government, 

 province and commune. 



I 



THE LOSS OF A TREE. 



A Chicago newspaper says that foresters 

 are interested in a recent New York court 

 decision affirming a claim for $500 as the 

 "going value" of a tree cut down by a 

 construction company. Nor was the award 

 based on sentiment or granted merely as 

 an exemplary matter. The tree alive had 

 been a thing of growing value; cut down, 

 the greater value to which it might in 

 time have attained was forestalled. Con- 

 sequently the measure of damage sustain- 

 ed in its present loss was not complete, 

 *but j'artial. It may be that to estimate 

 its ])ossible later value would entail a 

 draft on the imagination as to definite 

 amount, but the doctrine laid down by 

 the court was sound. 



The Worcester (Massachusetts) Wo- 

 man's Club, one of the largest clubs in 

 the general federation of woman's clubs 

 in the country, M'ith a membership of 600 

 and a waiting list, is one of the stanchest 

 supporters of forest conservation in this 

 state. There is a strong committee, which 

 follows every state and national move in 

 the interests of preservin<j: the forests; 

 and, whe'-ever nossible, le'j;islators are ap- 

 proached by this committee to help along 

 the good work. 



