| Show destructive TIE CUTTING any ono who has noticed the thousands of ties piled up along the union pacific railway m this valley must have thought of the immense waste this tie cutting is to the forests of the country the woodlands of utah are very valuable not so much from the intrinsic value of the timber but from the fact that certain physical features require the preservation of tho forests we depend upon the mountains for the supply of water necessary to the verdure and life in the valleys below the vegetation vega tation on tho mountains acts as reservoirs and retains the water that in summer comes trickling down the mountain side a blessing to the valleys below when the trees are cut edwn and their roots die it has been the experience of many localities that the springs dry early in the season when the hot rays of the sun beat with force on the bars sides of the mountain we do not know how the evil can bo isme died but we are pleased to mention that this wholesale destruction of the doreata of the country for tie purposes is receiving the attention ot government chief of the forestry division has issued a book of pages en tho subject of ties he fotion ot ion in an exhaustive hau stive manner and shows that railroad ties arc taken largely from thrifty young growth tho specifications generally calling for timber from trees that will make only one tie or at least only one tie from a cut about ono listh as much timber is used for other railroad purposes bridges trestles etc so that alto gather it is probable that the requirements of abo railroads of the country now compel the annual culling of over acres of natural forest lands it is also thought likely that it would take over acres to supply steadily abo damand already existing in other words if the railroads were to fitol growing they would still require the reservation for their wood supply of live sixtus sixths as much land as ia contained in the whole of the states of new york and pennsylvania the railways moreover take GO per cent of their material from our most valuable timber the oak and nearly 20 per cent of the rest is pine |
