310 THE FORESTS OF CECIL COUNTY 



therefore considered valueless until the trees reach cordwood size. 

 The wood crop is more often considered a lucky find or a gift than 

 a constant source of revenue to be cared for and protected. The man 

 who sets fire to a field crop is considered a criminal and is punished 

 by law. He who burns a wood crop may boast of it openly without 

 censure. The loss in the first case may be $200, in the second, 

 $2000. As soon as the farmers realize their loss from forest fires 

 they will protect their lands and enforce fire laws. 



Future of Forests. 



The present condition of Cecil county forests is the inevitable re- 

 sult of long abuse and neglect. The better soils of the county were 

 once covered with magnificent forests of White Oak and Chestnut on 

 the uplands, and of Tulip-tree, Black Walnut, and Hickory along 

 the streams. To-day there are only a few defective remnants of 

 these forests. 



EARLY CONDITION". 



The steady decline of the forest resources of Cecil county is easily 

 explained. The earliest settlers cleared small areas of level land 

 near the shores of the Bay and millions of feet of choice Oak were 

 cut and burned. Year by year new settlers came and cleared forest 

 land ; the older settlers enlarged their fields, and so the forest receded 

 from the more desirable farming regions. 



As the population of the county increased, timber for ships, for 

 buildings, and for export was demanded, and the choicest trees con- 

 venient to the watercourses were removed. ■ Consumption and prices 

 increased, and the lumbermen went farther and farther from the 

 water for their logs. Soon even the remoter parts of the county 

 were stripped of their best timber, and as prices continued to rise 

 the material left by the first loggers was finally consumed. The in- 

 crease of population resulted in the clearing of all good agricultural 

 land in the county, and the only timbered areas left were strips along 

 the streams and bay-shore, or on the high hills and poor soils unfit 

 for cultivation. These are the lands now occupied by forests. 



