THE REFORESTATION MOVEMENT IN CHINA 



1037 



CHINKi^I-; I'L I'll.S I-UOM Till-; l-OKl'.STKY SCHOOL AT NANKING, CHINA 



Pupils, with their teacher, ready for a practical lesson in transplanting seedlings of forest trees. The stone figure in the background is a large 



monolith (marking the grave of a general) borne on the back of an er'?rmous stone turtle. 



Even if funds were available, the personnel is lacking for 

 such work to be undertaken and carried out on a large 

 scale. It is to the private owner or 

 planter, therefore, that we must look 

 for the reforestation so badly needed 

 throughout the country. Thus the first 

 steps should be to encourage the own- 

 ers of private land now lying waste to 

 plant with profitable trees of fruit or 

 forest species ; to get the idle public land 

 into private ownership or under 

 private use; and by seed distribu- 

 tions, by the establishing of tree nurs- 

 eries to supply the young stock, or by 

 actual demonstrations made or instruc- 

 tion given on the ground, to assist the 

 private individual to secure the great- 

 est returns from his time and labor. 

 Especially at first, experiments shouki 

 play but small part. It is most impor- 

 tant that the initial efforts should suc- 

 ceed and one of the surest ways to 

 accomplish such a purpose is to use a 

 tree species found growing naturally 

 in the vicinity and under the actual 

 conditions which the young, new forest 

 will have to meet. Later on, when the 

 practicability of the work has be'en 

 abundantly demonstrated, exotic species 

 can be included with probable profit 

 and without much risk. 



It is along these lines that Prof. 

 Bailie has conducted his notable work 

 on Purple Mountain. Undertaken orig- 

 inally as a means for giving needed 



PROF. JOSEPH BAILIE 



succor to sufferers from famine, it has now definitely jus- 

 tified its own existence, and it has proved the soundness 

 of his plans and the skill and common 

 sense which underlay his energy and 

 enthusiasm. It has put to profitable use 

 large areas which had hitherto lain 

 idle. It has given temporary employ- 

 ment to thousands, and many families- 

 now gain a comfortable and permanent 

 livelihood on land which would other- 

 wise have remained indefinitely unpro- 

 ductive. It has resulted in the estab- 

 lishment of a comprehensive course in 

 forestry in the University of Nanking; 

 and probably most important of all, it 

 is serving and will serve as an inspira- 

 tion and encouragement for the inaugu- 

 ration of other, and possibly larger, 

 projects elsewhere throughout the new 

 repulilic. 



As stated above, the reforestation 

 work on Purple Mountain had its be- 

 ginnings in a recent famine which ren- 

 dered countless Chinese homeless and 

 destitute. Thousands flocked to the 

 city of Nanking and naturally looked 

 to the University and to the mission- 

 aries for assistance and relief. At first, 

 money and food were supplied by di- 

 rect distribution, but Prof. Bailie con- 

 ceived the better idea of employing the 

 destitute in some useful work which, 

 while meeting their immediate necessi- 

 ties, would also provide at least some 

 of them with a permanent and suitable 



