486 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



forests is no new thing in forestry in 

 Europe. It has long been carried on 

 there by cities and communal organiza- 

 tions, and to their financial profit, too; 

 and I beg indulgence to give a few sta- 

 tistics which have been furnished me 

 by a friend who secured them recently 

 from original sources in Germany : 



The Grand Duchy of Baden con- 

 tains 3,726,732 acres of forest, of which 

 577,465 about sixteen per cent be- 

 longs to communities and corporations. 

 These are allowed to cut annually 261,- 

 724,000 board feet, with a value of 

 about $3,600,000, free from the expense 

 of cutting. This shows a yield of 700 

 board feet per acre ; our forests do not 

 exceed 125 feet. 



The city of Baden owns 10,576 acres, 

 which yield a net annual income of 

 $6.25 per acre. 



The city of Frieburg has 8,085 acres, 

 and receives $5.79 net per acre annu- 

 ally. 



The city of Heidelberg possesses 

 6,860 acres, and it brings in annually 

 $1.91 per acre. This city is acquiring 

 forest land, and is in the period of ex- 

 pense ; besides, the city looks more to 

 esthetics than for income from forests. 



The city of Yillingen has 8,822 acres, 

 and receives annually a net return of 

 $4.84 per acre. 



The village of Braunlingen has 1,600 

 inhabitants and owns 3,504 acres. The 

 yearly annual allowance is 2,500,000 

 board feet 700 feet per acre of which 

 an equivalent of 3,500 board feet is 

 given each citizen, and 100,000 board 

 feet is given to schools, churches, town 

 hall, etc. The timber sold brings in 

 an annual income of $21,600, so that 

 the community is not only free from all 

 communal taxes, but is able to estab- 

 lish modern works, as electric plants, 

 water-works, schoolhouses. churches, 

 etc. 



The village of Volterdingen has 784 

 inhabitants and owns 1,124 acres. The 

 annual allowance is 675,000 board feet 

 600 feet per acre and the village 

 realizes more than enough to be free 

 from all communal taxes, and to be able 

 to keep the village on a good financial 

 footing. 



The village of Aufen has 220 in- 

 habitants and 163 acres of forest. It 

 gives each citizen eight cubic meters of 

 wood (value, $12), and sells $1,440 

 worth annually. The sanctioned an- 

 nual yield of this forest is 137, 500 board 

 feet about 800 feet per acre. 



We may not yet have reached the point 

 when townships and counties must 

 undertake restoration and care of for- 

 ests, but the period is fast approaching 

 when some of the counties in this state 

 whose areas are composed largely of 

 cut-over and burned-over forest lands, 

 will be compelled to take such lands for 

 unpaid taxes, and will then receive no 

 income from them whatever, and unless 

 relief shall come in some way not now 

 seen they will, ere long, face bank- 

 ruptcy and possible extinction as county 

 organizations. But we have some bor- 

 oughs and cities which may now profit- 

 ably engage in it in an official capacity 

 in part as a business transaction, but 

 more for securing and controlling an 

 ample and uncontaminated water sup- 

 ply. This has been made possible in our 

 state by an act passed at the last ses- 

 sion of the legislature, largely through 

 the instrumentality of the American 

 Civic Association. By its provisions, 

 municipalities can engage in forestry ; 

 but for some unaccountable reason, the 

 act mentioned was robbed of an impor- 

 tant feature the right of eminent do- 

 main. However, that can be restored, 

 and undoubtedly will be, by a more 

 enlightened legislature. 



Now, to illustrate this view of the 

 possibilities of municipal undertaking 

 in forestry, permit me to cite the case 

 of the great city of Philadelphia. Sup- 

 posing it had purchased a few years 

 ago from 100,000 to 200,000 acres of 

 land in the counties of Monroe and 

 Pike, in this state, which could have 

 been secured at an expense of not ex- 

 ceeding $2.50 per acre, and probably 

 less. Upon most of this there was a 

 growth of young timber, which, by 

 proper treatment, and adding thereto 

 by planting, could have been made pro- 

 ductive enough to soon aid in defraying 

 expenses for care, and by the lapse of 

 fortv vears, or thereabouts, come into 



