FORESTRY. 



EDITED BY DR. B. E. FERNOW. 

 It takes 30 years to grow a tree and 30 minutes to cut it down and destroy It. 



FOREST FIRES. 



Last year within 2 weeks over $12,000,- 

 000 worth of timber and other property 

 were destroyed by forest fires in Oregon 

 and Washington. This enormous loss oc- 

 curred on a restricted area and represents 

 only a small part of the annual loss from 

 this source. Every timbered region of the 

 United States suffers year after year from 

 fire. The annual loss is estimated at 

 $25,000,000 to $50,000,000. Forest fires have 

 been regarded as almost inevitable, and few 

 systematic attempts have been made to pre- 

 vent or control them except in the States of 

 New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, 

 which have efficient systems of fire protec- 

 tion. 



The Bureau of Forestry has this year un- 

 dertaken a thorough study of the forest 

 fire problem in several different regions. It 

 has placed men in forest districts to study 

 fires while in the process of burning. In- 

 stead of waiting until the fires are over and 

 relying for information on local reports, 

 as has been done heretofore, the fires are 

 now being observed by the Bureau's agents, 

 and full data will be obtained as to how 

 they were caused, how fast they burn, what 

 conditions favor or hinder them, and just 

 what damage they do to the soil and to tree 

 growth. Each agent of the Bureau has 

 been assigned to a district and is investi- 

 gating all fires that occur within his terri- 

 tory. For example, one man studies a 

 timber tract, another a farming district, a 

 third a turpentine orchard, etc. 



yBy such methods the Bureau of Forestry 

 hopes to replace with carefully gathered 

 facts the vague general notions that now 

 exist about forest fires. When the problem 

 is solved for any particular region, the 

 Bureau will be* ready to recommend meth- 

 ods of fire prevention and control for the 

 private land owner and to suggest forest 

 fire legislation for the various States. 



;f>. A graduate and a special student from 



the Cornell school of forestry have been in 

 a- charge of this work. 



\ > .... A report from the Forest Commissioner 

 of Maine, giving estimates of damage of the 

 forest fires in the State during the; spring 

 months of this year, which were so un- 

 usually drouthy, shows that the damage, as 

 estimated by the fire wardens, has been 

 over $1,000,000, on over 270,000 acres, which 

 is about 2 per cent of the wooded area. The 

 largest fire swept over 86,000 acres, "on 

 which stood some of the finest timber in 

 the State." It burned with such fury that 



on a large part of it the soil was burned, 

 and in some sections the timber was en- 

 tirely consumed. The causes of the fire 

 were : Eighty-three, unknown ; 58 were set 

 by clearing land, 37 by railroads, 17 by 

 fishermen, 12 by smokers, 9 by camp fires, 

 9 by burning blueberry lands, 4 by river 

 drivers, 4 by hunters, 3 incendiary, 2 by 

 burning brush ; lightning, rubbish fire, 

 burning grass, burning old camp, are cred- 

 ited each with one, and porcupine hunters 

 with 17. A law was passed last winter cre- 

 ating a bounty on porcupines, which meets 

 with much disfavor all oyer the State. Of 

 the fires assigned as 'cause unknown' it is 

 believed that fully one-third were caused 

 by boys and men hunting the porcupine. 

 "The bounty on these animals should be re- 

 moved and the law repealed at the earliest 

 moment." So says the Commissioner. He 

 also says about the law for the prevention 

 and extinguishment of forest fires which 

 was formulated after the New York State 

 forest fire law : "It will doubtless be found 

 necessary to make some slight changes in 

 this law before it is absolutely perfect, but 

 it is a long step in the right direction and 

 there is not the slightest doubt that it has 

 saved to the State millions of dollars' worth 

 of taxable property, to say nothing of the 

 great saving to the business interests." 



AGRICULTURAL OR FOREST SOIL. 



As regards what is to be considered agri- 

 cultural soil, the only proper gauge is 

 whether a soil can produce more profit 

 by agricultural use or whether it is more 

 profitable to grow timber on it. At present 

 most people will be inclined ko think that 

 if a soil can be farmed at all, it is more 

 profitably so used ; but as wood prices ad- 

 vance a simple calculation ^would soon 

 change their position. There is, of course, 

 this difference in farming and forestry; 

 farming furnishes a return every year, while 

 timber must accumulate for a number of 

 years before it becomes available, hence, 

 even poor farming, to the poor man, ap- 

 pears more inviting. 



A German ; agriculturislt of note made 

 some pertinent calculations on this subject 

 and found, for instance, that on first class 

 pine soil from which a farmer can net 80 

 cents an acre rent it is more profitable to 

 farm for the first 30 or 40 years, but after 

 the 40th year a pinery begins to pay better, 

 if interest rate is 3 per cent. Forestry be- 

 comes more profitable if the interest rate 

 sinks ; less with a rising rate. This is, of 



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