PAPERS BEAD BEFORE THE ASSOCIATION. 



17 



of the Creation. "With verdure clad" shall 

 be these everlasting plains and mountains, 

 and then the beauty of the thoughts within 

 us shall agree with the beauty of our centen- 

 nial heritage. 



THE LAWS ON TREE CULTURE 



BY POSEY S. WILSON, OF FT. COLLINS. 



It having been granted that our rivers 

 and rainfall and forests are, within certain 

 limits independent, and that legislation to 

 preserve the latter is needed, it is next in 

 order to consider the limits and bearing of 

 the question as indicated by our State Con- 

 stitution, and by the land laws of the United 

 States; and with them in view, to deliberate 

 upou what laws may be practicable or capa- 

 ble of being administered in the case. 



It occurs to me, as I survey from where I 

 write, the traces of a recent destructive for- 

 est fire, that little good might be done by 

 adding to enactments against setting fires, << 

 penalty for leaving unextinguished camp 

 fires. A policy that will force the timber 

 cutter to first use the fallen timber will do 

 much to save living trees, especially from 

 fire. Slight additional good may be derived 

 from a total repeal by Congress of the duty 

 on unplaned lumber $2.00 per "M." Also, 

 appeals might be made to railroad companies 

 to grant the lowest rate of freight on Eastern 

 lumber that is consistent with their own 

 present and particular interest considered 

 with reference to their general interest in 

 the public welfare, and so render us inde- 

 pendent of our own forests so far as possible. 



To induce the absolute prohibition of fenc- 

 ing public lauds, save in cases where actual 

 settlers have filed on homestead or pre-emp- 

 tion claims; to forbid the destruction of 

 young trees, and perhaps to secure the with- 

 drawal from settlement, sale, or use of all 

 the living timber within a given distance 

 from the banks of every living, stream. 



Because of the strong currents of air which 

 move in all this elevated region, it is possi^e 

 that actual raiufa 1 ! is influenced, in a mini- 

 mum degree, by our forests; but there can be 

 no doubt that their benefits are boundless, in 

 storing snow, and preventing its too rapid 

 melting, and flowing away in freshets, at a 

 time in advance of the farmers' needs. 



So much am I radical in the matter of pre- 

 serving the forests, that I would go so far as 

 to endeavor to secure for the State of Colo- 

 rado, temporarily, -at least, and as an experi- 

 ment, complete control of the foreets within 

 her borders, or the most necessary part of 

 them, without the power either of conveying 



them, or the exclusive use of any part of 

 their area as such. Then I would provide 

 for a permit system, involving the officials 

 of the several counties, preventing the citi- 

 zens the use at will of forests, and discrim- 

 inating between dead and living trees (wholly 

 preserving the young trees), according to the 

 citizen's need, or as the officials mignt deem 

 best for the general welfare. 



We must not expect too much resignation 

 of privilege on the part of a living genera- 

 tion in behalf of unborn generations, but 

 there may be a golden mean which we can 

 follow, to the good of both ourselves and pos- 

 terity. 



The action of other governments in pre- 

 serving their forests, as well as in encourag- 

 ing the planting of groves, should teach us 

 the limitless value of our forests. The zeal 

 of the German Government in behalf of its 

 forests a.ud groves is carried to the degree of 

 forbidding the owners of trees to cut them 

 down without its consent. Only within the 

 last thirty years was the method of preserv- 

 ing forests through the organization of For- 

 estry associations proposed. The first, I be- 

 lieve, at least the first in England, was held 

 in 1851, at the suggestion of the Prince Con- 

 sort. The Queen herself, as well as other 

 members of the Eoyal Family, was among 

 the leading patrons of the International For- 

 estry Exhibition held at Edinburgh in July 

 last. 



The British Secretary of State sent circu- 

 lar letters to all of that nation's representa- 

 tives in foreign countries, asking them to se- 

 cure the co-operation of foreign powers. 



There were in attendance representatives 

 from the governments of France, Japan, 

 Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Germany, 

 the United States, Belgium, Holland, India, 

 Siam, Morocco and most of the British colo- 

 nies. 



It is for us, also, in our humble way, to 

 consider the question in all its bearings, both 

 the conserving of our groves and the found- 

 ing of new ones, and to recommend, perhaps, 

 that a School of Forestry be added to the 

 Agricultural College at Fort Collins. 



It is possible that control of the timber 

 lands within the State may be secured, as an 

 experiment, from the General Government, 

 and so managed to obtain revenue from it 

 equal to the minimum price of Government 

 land, and so enable the State to pay the Gov- 

 ernment "at least all that it is likely to 

 realize from them. 



It should be the aim of Forestry to hus- 

 band the resources of the forest, and yet not 

 stand in the way of the great mining indus- 

 tries, and to render, so far as is possible, the 

 benefits of our woodlands permanent. 



