138 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



TOOLS USED IN RIVING STAVES 

 HEATING AX, THROE BOLTING AX AND GAUGE ON "THE PONY" BLOCK. JACKSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY 



constitute such an annoyance as to 

 make the land untenable. Another 

 difficulty is with regard to titles. The 

 lands of the State, as a whole, are held 

 in fee simple and, so far as Eastern 

 Kentucky is concerned, are held by 

 large companies, such as the coal 

 companies. Eastern Kentucky is one 

 vast coal field. It has impressed me in 

 this connection that these companies are 

 in excellent circumstances to practice 

 scientific forestry with considerable profit 

 to themselves and that here is a field 

 which can be worked advantageously 

 for the advancement of forestry in the 

 State. The practice of scientific forestry 

 has identical aims with the needs of 

 coal operators; that is, a dependable 

 timber supply over an indefinite period. 

 Last year about 16^ million tons of coal 

 were mined in Kentucky. The amount 

 of wood used in mining a ton of coal is 

 roughly estimated at 3^ feet board 

 measure, so that this meant a wood 

 consumption of over 57 million feet 

 board measure. Certainly an important 

 matter, especially in view of the fact 



that the coal fields of Kentucky have 

 but recently been operated to any ex- 

 tent. Here then seems a place where 

 efforts to promote a sentiment in favor 

 of forestry and encourage the growth of 

 a forest policy among private owners is 

 likely to be most successful. In Eastern 

 Kentucky, the Consolidation Coal Com- 

 pany has already employed a forester, 

 and in the Western Kentucky field the 

 St. Bernard Mining Company have 

 made extensive experiments in forest 

 planting. 



In the meantime, with a view of en- 

 couraging the planting of forest trees 

 in the State, two forest nurseries have 

 been projected, one at Frankfort and 

 one at Louisville. The nursery at 

 Louisville is well under way. It in- 

 cludes twenty-five acres of ground which 

 is a part of the land owned by the 

 Kentucky State Fair. It is intended 

 that the nursery shall form a permanent 

 exhibit as a part of the State Fair and 

 that a demonstration forest shall be 

 established as a portion of the perma- 

 nent exhibit. The stock from the 



