| Show TO N FORESTS ae V I 1 f MR 4 4 av 14 my I 1 I 1 I 1 L t ZIN MV 4 ja axa r A f I 1 ut awad ar their heir economic and ah recreational value 4 A bv JOHN di SHE bherman 11 III II 11 timber shortage in the lie united states which tile T exports hinc have been predict ing I 1 UK i ninny anany years earn Is no longi longer r it skori but ll a condition J heres heirs the situa tion arhe 1 I lip original forest totaled acres there now reini ln lt KIO acres imrch of virgin lirla forest 2 1 acres of see seca ond growth or third growth forest of it of poor quality tin and some of it or of no present value and acres of burned art nril logged ovar 0 r lands idle unproductive and nd fur for the hie most part unfit for farming of the original forest there Is left in aren ove one irth and in hulk bulk of less tann one third the 1 liu cut lit 55 5 per hit cent of the lons output in 1850 in IKO 1920 IK O they cut lit 0 6 per tent cent 1 fa v per mit us its the lie output of the and nu rocky in III in 1920 it was 85 5 per ent cent and the alio regional shortage lins ni marched arched across the lie continent toda today y 75 per tent cont of the virgin growth and 00 60 per cent of nil all the usable wood tire con on on one fourth of tho lie acreage of timber producing land in tit lie states hentes of the rocky mountains and ill caile roust coast states the stat s from wisconsin and 1111 nola ea eart t to the atlantic seaboard con on home 1 10 1 0 pr p r cent of the lie nat national I 1 nal cut the lie supply mostly coming front from JW ilie south and fur far west the railroad louil froidl tle the south Is 18 n lout 1 HI nilles milts und from the far west est about miles the mm carry an dually in excess of cai londs loads of dincer and wood products the freight bill Is between itald ax in the national forests in 1023 1021 forest fires covered acres the timber till and property loss Is set at etli nith intangible losses lost os incalculable insect pests cause nn all loss in excess of OW the forest service expends more than llan 2 a benr for fire protection ond and crotee tion ion against insects and tree diseases lumber prices linc have increased nil fill out of proportion to a point where they of oh ious bear no relation to the cost of production and distribution per capita aplan consumption has decreased in on sequence but tits this Is by in i trease reuse in population moreover there Is still a housing shortage and 1025 1925 1 I apt to set a new building record the paper makers ers have their own sep citrate and distinct problem which they regnard as even more serious they IHM been using spruce fir hemlock emlock li all and nispen and hope to be able to use birch beech maple and other woods all of which makes interesting tile the town forest movement which Is getting under way in the east and esp especially in massachusetts for there Is no possible doubt tant a town with a successful forest of its own Is in luck and from many points of view lew anyone interested should send to the american tree association 1214 sixteenth street N IV washington 1 D a for a booklet jus justoff off the press town forests their Mcfeat ional and economic and hov to Nalta establish blIsh and mall maintain italin bliem by bi harolb A reynolds secretary of the Maea achu F e its forestry asso association clation it Is for free dee for the good of if tin e ollum the town forest booklet carries it foreword by charles lothrop pack president slid founder of the hie annerl mn cam tree association who gave impetus to tit the movement by presenting a thousand nere demonstration forest to tit alio new york yolk college of forestry at syi ause university ills ass association ocla in hlen tilly is unique in unit that there anro no lues dues u and nd the only way to become a member Is to a tree ind register it and anyone who asks KS may inny line have tree planting instructions und a tree day program tree free our idea isaas mr puck la is to pet get the stranger to trees interested in ono one tree free with the individual sold bold on ono one tree we then introduce him to the lie large phases of the subject tile the town rown forest Is one of these phase in III hundreds hundred of european towns the lie citizens receive n little check every aery year instead of a tax bill because of town forests ianther nn an engaging iden idea I 1 think in these days of income tax returns tin and the high cost of 11 IN ilig mr reynolds sets bets forth in one chapter that in 1013 1913 a law was enacted in massachusetts providing that cities and towns might set bet inside lands for the express purpose of growing umber that lw law authorizes municipal municipalities to purchase lands or to accept gifta or bequests for this purpose A town own may incur debt within tile he legal limit and tiny any town call establish a forest bi b a two thirds vote of any regular toan meeting or n city by a similar vote of ls lids counell council when it a forest Is established by such official ae action actton the state through its conservation commission all vill give trees to tile alie town to reforest the lie land the massachusetts forestry association shorted it a campaign of education to persuade the he cities and towns to acquire forests under the aci act in iii tile the lust ilist three years since the asso association chitton ling lias offered to plant free of charge fiobo forest trees for any city or town which will establish a forest c 0 one hundred or more acres the idea Is gradually being accepted january 1 1025 42 towns had set aside land for town forests or voted to do so when tile committee could obtain the land in the aggregate over hns has been appropriated by these towns arm acres ax res have been included in town forests and nearly half a million trees have been planted the association has planted trees about CO 00 acres for or 12 of th those me towns that have qualified with or more acres of the town forests already created bore than one fourth hive have been ob wined glafa of bf land or of mine tram in for ari and la in alie their town the city aty of acie w LN ay awby of woodland in four tracts established in 1914 tle tile maintenance cost of the forest has been und and the returns from lumber and fuel wood ooin sold iua eus been it all viii how r a net profit I 1 clymouth appropriated ako lust atar bought alid planted pi lined young frees thus 42 towns now have their town forests there are lur others with committees appointed and it n large per cent of these towns will take favorable action this year it might inight fairly be said that the town forest idea lins been sold to massachusetts and eventually every town with idle forest land within its boundaries will hiie kb its town forest it la is possible for about aw 00 of tile lie cities and towns in lipsetts lin to have forests and with fill each of these planting a few thousand trees roes annually ally the result will be far reaching the creation of it town OM forest from the legal standpoint J simply a 11 matter of routine there ana few states that have laws pertaining to town own forests and these outline the method to be followed where no such auch laws have been enacted the general laws applying to municipalities will probably be found aid adequate equate to enable the city or town to acquire a forest the states that have special legislation regarding municipal forests tire are massachusetts chu minnesota new ne hampshire new jarsey new york ohio pennsylvania and vermont there tire are of towns in which many acres of faiia are lying idle producing little or nothing for the owners and only a few cents per acre in taxes in its present condition it Is more of a liability to the lie town than an asset the average 0 ov tier of such land either cannot carnot afford to reforest it or Is unwilling to put pat his money into such a longtime long time investment but the town a corporation can tifford to wait for the crop to mature minature ily ll 11 putting this land to work now the I 1 lie town will eventually reap it a handsome hand tome profit the booklet points out that the town forest stands at tile threshold of the american home bome it Is the property of the people maintained for the people and operated for their common benefit it Is thel theirs within their reach to use to enjoy enjo and to protect it pays its own dav a v yielding a regularly u I 1 arly maturing crop of timber on which for local consumption lon no railroad collects the freight it stands as a constant lesson imon in forest protection and respect for common rights which may be b neither wasted nor abused without conflict healthful recreation and pleasure may here go hand in band dollar profit it li in a vital aid inthe athi education of school schod sos boys and girls it naturally become for the birds and mhd life |
