Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-03-22 | Page 6 | Reforestation

REFORESTATION. Great Britain, France and Belgium are to have another tangible evidence of the helpful sympathy of the United States, the American Forestry association associa-tion having voted to aid in the restoration restora-tion of the forests of the three nations, which were sacrificed to the allied cause in the world war. The three governments govern-ments havbformally accepted the offer of the association, according to Charles Lathrop Pack, retiring president of the world court league, who drops his connection con-nection with that organization to prosecute prose-cute the reforestation of the European countries. It is learned that about 1,500,000 acres of forest land in France has been destroyed by 'shell fire or cut down for war needs; virtually all of Belgium's forests of timber value have been felled by tho Germans, while Great Britain's sacrifices in forests amount to 450,000 acres. It is proposed to transplant young timber trees, replacing these by others 'planted by association unite throughout the United States. Forests constitute an extremely valuable valu-able asset for any nation, and the destruction de-struction of timber involves a loss which" some European countries particularly particu-larly cannot afford. The waste in France and Belgium due to the world war was aggravated by tho. wanton methods of the Germans, who deliberately deliber-ately destroyed timber for no other reason rea-son than that it was the property of the conquered regions, and therefore was sacrificed along with everything else of value. Great Britain's wastage was not due to .the actual deviltry of the Germans, but to the fact that timber tim-ber supplies had to be furnished, and England's wooded tracts were the most available. In duo season these vast tracts will be wooded again, but to insure this it is necessary to take prompt stops to reforest re-forest the devastated lands. It is to assist as-sist in this vital work that the forestry association has proffered the service so gladly accepted by the allied govern-meuts.