Firth. — On Forest Culture. 181 



Art. XXI. — On Forest Culture. By J. C. Firth. 



[Read before the AucTcland Institute, 2QtJi October, 1874.] 

 Forests exert varied and important influences in the economy of nature. 

 Tliey attract moisture and prevent a too rapid evaporation, holding the balance, 

 as it were, between excessive droughts and disastrous floods. They add beauty 

 and life to the landscape. They give shelter and homes to birds, who go forth 

 with merry music from the greenwood to do battle on man's behalf with hosts 

 of devouring insects. And to cut short the story of their uses they provide 

 timber for all the varied wants of man. 



Uses so apparent ought to have induced mankind to use sparingly, and 

 even to cherish the " forest primeval." Yet from the most remote ages forests 

 have been destroyed, as if they were enemies to be extirpated as quickly as 

 the feeble power of their enemy could accomplish the suicidal work. 



The efiects of this destruction of forests are simply the legitimate result of 

 a reckless and persistent disregard of a plain natural law. To strip a semi- 

 tropical country of its forests is to convert it into an arid desert. In more 

 temperate countries denudation of timber produces barrenness of soil, increases 

 insect life, creates drought, diminishes rain, accelerates evaporation, causes 

 floods and untimely frosts, lessens the production of food, diminishes popula- 

 tion, and finally degrades a nation. The glory of many an ancient empire 

 departed with its forests. To-day Persia and Spain present sad but warning 

 spectacles of desolation and degradation which, though partially due to various 

 causes, have been intensified by the destruction of their forests. 



The destruction of forests by fire and saw in new communities presents a 

 singular and striking instance of that indisposition to acquire wisdom by the 

 experience of others, which is one of the enigmas of human nature. How- 

 ever, it is certain that if a great natural law be disregarded by new 

 communities, results will follow similar to those which have attended its 

 infraction by ancient nations. We have but to look back to the present 

 condition of large tracts of the United States* to find that already nature is 



* The New York Times declares that the reckless destruction of the American 

 forests is fast producing a condition in which there will be occasion for real alarm. In 

 the whole United States, we are told, there is left but one really great tract of timber. 

 It lies at the far extremity of the country, and consists of about one-half of Washington 

 Territory and a third of Oregon. California has, perhaps, 500,000 acres of forest now, 

 of which fully one-half has been cut away within the last two or three years, " Here, 

 in New York, we have no considerable forest left, except in the Adirondack region. 

 Railroads have been the means of levelling at least 150,000 acres of trees annually for 

 ties, of which they use 60,000,000 annually. Fences are also enormous consumers of 

 trees. The outrageous waste of timber caused by the felling of forests and burning of 

 the trees to bring the land under cultivation goes on still at a fearful rate. From 1860 

 to 1870, no less than twelve million acres of forests were thus wantonly destroyed. For 

 fuel, also, vast tracts are levelled of their trees. It took 10,000 acres of forest to supply 

 Chicago with fuel in one year (1871). Our annual decrease of forest from all these causes 

 is not far from 8,000,000 acres. Yet we plant only 10,000 acres of new forest a year. 

 The necessity for a Commission of Forestry, and the need of efficient laws in all the 

 States for the preservation of our forests need no further argument than these facts." 



