AMERICAN FORESTRY 



loplc, that all dangers would be avert- 

 |. The lumberman knows only too 

 ell that the cutting of small timber is 

 >t profitable; that if sane cutting were 

 ;ed his forests would be perpet- 

 il ; but he feels as if- he alone cannot 

 ford to shoulder the expense of re- 

 irestation, which is to benefit many 

 hers besides himself. He feels as if 

 e question of taxation and protection 

 : forests must be settled by the state 

 ;fore he can afford to change his 

 ethocls. I believe that the lumberman 

 ould gladly assist in the enactment of 

 ws that would solve the problem of 

 irestry. 



LOUISIANA IN THE PAST 



Twenty years ago the pine, cypress, 

 id hardwood forests of Louisiana were 

 -actically in a virgin state and unsur- 

 issed for magnificence and wealth by 

 iv other state in the Union. Our 

 AH people did not realize the impor- 

 .nce of these resources until foresight- 

 1 men from other states, who had wit- 

 ;ssed the destruction of their own 

 jrests, entered these lands from the 

 ates and Federal governments for a 

 \v cents per acre, and thus our own 

 x>ple lost golden opportunities to reap 

 -in- tits from resources which were 

 itu rally their own. However, we must 

 ;>t lose ^ight of the fact that those 

 ime investors as>isted materially in 

 ie upbuilding of the state, and only 

 rasped opportunities which experi- 

 ice taught them were at hand, and 

 hich the Government encouraged, 

 .ailmads were built, new territories 

 pened up, the demand for lumber in- 

 ed, and Louisiana prepared to as- 

 -t in supplying this demand. Dozens 

 f saw and planing mills were erected; 

 i-w town- laid out, and short-line rail- 

 ed- built to handle the products of 



n- fi '['I -tS. 



'I o-day Louisiana ranks second in the 

 roduction of lumber of all the states 

 i the I 'iiiou, producing during the year 

 907 nearly 3 ,ooo,ooo,ooo feet, board 

 in-: tin -tate of Washington 

 inking first, with the production of 

 earl) .}.". ,0,000,000 feet. Fully fifty 



per cent of our virgin forests have al- 

 ready been denuded, and the method of 

 lumbering now used in the pine forests 

 of our state tend to absolutely denude 

 these lands of the smallest pine saplings, 

 leaving the country almost a barren 

 waste, and the lands practically worth- 

 less, which can only be reclaimed by 

 scientific methods, and the planting of 

 trees. 



These lands must remain barren until 

 our parochial, state, and National gov- 

 ernments adopt a system that will tend 

 to reforest these lands, and when this is 

 done, fully fifty years must elapse 

 before such areas become profitable. 

 In the meantime, soil erosion takes 

 place ; floods become frequent and evils 

 of various kinds overtake us. At the 

 present rate in which we are denuding 

 our forests they cannot last twenty 

 years longer, and it is a fact that in ten 

 years' time over three-fourths of our 

 forests will have disappeared. Already, 

 experienced lumbermen and close ob- 

 servers see the beginning of the end and 

 realize the magnitude of the disasters 

 that must surely follow we know what 

 has hapened to Europe and Asia. Shall 

 we adopt safe and sane measures that 

 will protect us or must we actually wit- 

 ness the calamities that must surely be- 

 fall us if we remain careless and indif- 

 ferent before we take action ? 



The question that naturally arises 

 after a person begins to realize that a 

 crisis is approaching, and in a vague 

 sort of way sees the dangers that con- 

 front him is what shall we do? 



THE ANSWER 



It does not take a wise man to answer 

 quickly. Protect your remaining forests 

 and commence at once the reforestation 

 of your denuded areas. Enact strin- 

 gent forestry laws that will protect the 

 state and Nation. 



Ex-President Roosevelt says that it 

 is the duty of the Federal government 

 to cooperate with the state, in order to 

 conserve the natural resources of our 

 irhole country. Hon. Wm. J. Bryan 

 says of this subject: "Money spent in 

 the care of the life and health of the 



