126 



THE FORESTER 



May, 



change of some kind is necessary, and this 

 must come either in the form of a change 

 of ownership or of the circumstances which 

 fetter ownership. The only way in which 

 the ownership may be quickly and mate- 

 rially changed would be by State purchase. 

 " ' Most of the forest land in New Jersey 

 lies in the south and southeastern part of the 

 State, consisting largely of pine growth, 

 but there is a considerable area of miscel- 

 laneous timber in the northern part, along 

 the New York border. Speculators have 

 lately invaded the pine lands, bought dis- 

 tricts at a low price, and established lumber 

 camps to supply the railroad, telegraph 

 and telephone companies with ties, logs 

 and poles. The Geological Survey re- 

 ports that landowners have been defrauded 

 in seme instances, and that the methods of 

 the lumbermen are wasteful, no provision, 

 such as replanting and care of second 

 growth, being made for the future. At 

 the present rate of timber cutting the 

 supply might possibly last for forty years, 

 but at the end of that time New Jersey 

 would be denuded of its woods, unless at- 

 tention had been paid to forestration.' Ex- 

 Senator Stokes says : ' It may take some 

 time to get action on the lines as contem- 

 plated, but if the people will study the 

 subject carefully, and do ^ little figuring 

 on their own account, they will see that it 

 is a progressive twentieth century proposi- 

 tion. Germany derives an immense in- 

 come from its forests. Why not New 

 Jersey, when it has so much at stake ? Let 

 the State take this land, carefully cultivate 

 it, prevent forest tires and wood steal- 

 ing, and it would be but a short time 

 till various wood-working factories would 

 be established. With them would come 

 small communities, and the quiet wilder- 

 ness would wake up to the buzz of the 

 saw and the shriek of the whistle.' The 

 forest area of the southern counties is as 

 follows: Ocean, S13.0S7 acres; Burling- 

 ton, 303,777; Atlantic, 271,638; Cum- 

 berland, 166,264; Cape May, So,S5i ; 

 Gloucester, 74,818: Camden, 66,=;S8, or 

 1,797,003 acres out of the State total of 

 2,069,819. Professor Gifford is enthusi- 

 astic about the future of forestration in 

 Xew Jersey under State control. He sees 



a profit not only in the sawmill industry, 

 but in the cultivation of hard wood for 

 chemical purposes and the exportation of 

 charcoal, and in producing wood for pulp 

 and celluloids. 



" The proposal of the Geological Sur- 

 vey is certainly very attractive, but unless 

 the people of the State are educated in 

 the advantages to be derived from it, and 

 they bring pressure to bear on the Legis- 

 lature, the difficulties to be surmounted 

 will try the faith of its sponsors. The 

 speculators, which term no doubt includes 

 powerful corporations, will send a lobby 

 to Trenton to prevent enabling legislation, 

 or to insure a handsome price for their 

 holdings. To disparage the plan a cry 

 will be raised that it is a job to benefit 

 certain interests. Common sense, how- 

 ever, should win in the end." 



Irrigation The following extract 



and Forest from an editorial in 



Preservation. a recent issue of the 

 Saratoga (Wyo.) Sun, 

 shows a clear appreciation of the great 

 benefits to be derived in that region from ir- 

 rigation and proper preservation of forests: 



"As soon as the people generally be- 

 gin to see the benefits and importance of 

 irrigation the question of forest presei'va- 

 tion begins to take shape. 



" Without forests to hold the snow and 

 furnish water for irrigation that industry 

 must fail, and with its failure a long train 

 of disaster springs into existence. Every 

 industry must suffer and decline. In this 

 valley we are almost entirely dependent 

 upon irrigation, for it furnishes hay, grain, 

 vegetables, beef, poultry, eggs, butter and 

 many other necessities of life. Without 

 irrigation the stock industry would be 

 practically wiped out. Without irrigation 

 it would hardly be possible to work the 

 valuable copper mines in the adjacent 

 mountains, on account of the immense 

 cost of transporting the necessities of life 

 into the mining camps. At present the 

 greater part of all the supplies used in 

 every mining camp in either range is fur- 

 nished by the ranchmen and farmers of 

 this valley. 



"Again, without an abundant supply 



