ment, some forty years ago. In south-eastern Nebraska, where considerable attention has already been paid to the planting of artificial forests, it is claimed that the climate is more humid than in former years. Perhaps it is yet too soon to decide this, but we cannot avoid the conclusion that the vast extent of open territory stretching from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains must have an important effect upon the dryness of the atmosphere that has swept across it, and also that a liberal planting of groves in this region cannot fail to exert a happy influence, not only in their immediate neighborhood, but probably also, when sufficiently extended, upon the whole of our great interior valley.

It may not be safe to indulge in the pleasant anticipations which some have painted, respecting the influence of artificial groves upon the springs and streams of the country. We have the authority of Humboldt that in the "felling of trees which cover the crowns and slopes of mountains, man in all climates seems to be bringing on future generations two calamities at once-a want of fuel and a scarcity of water"; and we may hence infer, as has been related upon other authority, that the replacing of these forests would also restore the springs to their pristine activity. With regard to the production of springs, in situations that are now arid, however, we must bear in mind that the character of the layers of the earth's crust play an important part in causing the waters absorbed from precipitation to burst out here and there in bubbling fountains. Still, there can be no doubt that the soil, protected by a forest, will retain the rains for a longer time than a cleared and exposed area, and that the surplus will be more slowly drained away, so that this surplus drainage must keep up a more equable supply in the streams, and thus be of great value in an agricultural region. Mr. Lapham, quoted above, refers the very origin of the prairies to the persistent dryness of the seasons, which favored the spread of fires to such a degree as to destroy the forests. He says: "their existence is not due to the effects of climate upon the growth of trees themselves, for when protected from fires, trees flourish in the prairie region." soil is well adapted to the growth of trees, as we all know, and grow here as well as in the tracts that were originally timbered. "that the northern boundary of the region of prairie forms a line which varies from year to year, as the seasons vary." A continued succession of dry seasons encourages great fires, that penetrate the forest border and extend the area of the prairie, while a similar succession of wet seasons may allow a growth of trees to spread far within the proper boundaries of the prairies. A constant struggle is thus maintained between the two conditions of forest and prairie, alternating within certain limits and changing the position of the dividing line.

And further, that the they may be made to The same writer says

It is indeed high time that we had begun, as a nation, to realize the importance of this question, and to set about in earnest to effect the restoration of our forests, now so rapidly disappearing from the land, and the destitution of which is justly a cause of the most serious apprehensions for the future. Already the prices of lumber of all kinds in our leading markets may be taken as an indication of the inability of the supply to keep pace with the increasing demand.

Oak and ash lumber is quoted at from fifty to ninety dollars per thousand, cherry from seventy-five to eighty dollars, black walnut at ninety to one hundred, and some samples have been sold at one hundred and forty-five dollars, while first clear pine has brought fifty-five to sixty-five.

In European countries, after having passed through the same process of destruction, and having come to a full realization of their necessities, both private citizens and gov

* Bryant's Forest Trees.

ernments have devoted themselves to forestry. In many European states the whole matter is controlled by the government. This subject is thoroughly studied in Prussia, where, also, schools of forestry are established for the training of those who have the care of the seven million acres of crown lands devoted to this important product. Iu that country not a tree is cut without an order from the director. A recent issue of Brockhaus' Conversations Lexicon informs us that the eight original provinces of Prussia and Hohenzollern, with an area of 107,683,145 acres, have 26,950,009 acres covered with woodland, distributed as follows:

The following appointments were made in the spring of 1871 for the supervision of the State forests: 136 masters of the forest; 697 foresters of first rank; 3,282 foresters of second rank; 372 forest watchmen, having charge over an area of 2,337,325 hectares * appropriated to growing forests, and 268,233 hectares of other grounds, as well as 33,740 hectares of common forests. Total, 2,639,318; equal to 6,515,115 acres of which 115,518 hectares are occupied by roads, marshy places, etc., so as not to be productive. Besides these areas, there are 1,182,300 acres of commons and lands assigned to forests, within the new boundaries of the State.

Even France boasts of her 2,700,000 acres of woodlands, which are made to yield the annual income of about three dollars per acre. Under the more liberal rule of Great Britain, though there be large parks and preserves that belong to the crown, there are also extensive private plantations in the hands of individuals and here we find some of the most interesting results of this industry—among them the plantations of the Duke of Athol are perhaps best known. In our country of free institutions, we want no such vast increase of government officials as would be requisite to manage the national forests; our people have been too long accustomed to wage relentless warfare upon the trees to foster much respect for government reserves of this kind. Indeed, it must be confessed they do not possess the highest tone of morals in regard to the native growths that stand on the public domain, and too often make inroads upon them without the least hesitation.

Private effort in many of the States has already done much towards the desired end. A beginning has been made in the great work, and this is most observable in the prairie States of the West-though something has also been done, and it is hoped more will be done, in the eastern and middle portions of the country. Public attention is being aroused

*Equal to 2 47-100 acres.

and directed to this subject. Agricultural societies have offered premiums, and some excellent practical essays have been presented. The public press has taken up the theme, and this powerful medium is doing great good by diffusing information. To no organizations are we under greater obligations than to the horticultural societies of the North-west, especially those of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, which have persistently kept the matter under discussion, until their members at least have no longer the plea of ignorance. With these laudable efforts the similar associations of their younger sisters west of the Missouri-Kansas and Nebraska are keeping pace. The latter has plantations of quite extensive forests, while way out, almost beyond civilization, on the line of the Kansas Pacific Railway, Mr. R. S. Elliott, the industrial agent of that corporation, has been successfully demonstrating the problem of tree-planting in the desert. In another part of Kansas, Mr. S. T. Kelsey showed me within the past year a forest of thrifty young trees, now shading the ground, where four years before he had turned over the virgin prairie sward. Similar experiments have been made and are now in progress in Ohio and in other States, which give us ground to hope that public attention is being directed to this important subject.

In his excellent paper on timber-planting, to which reference has already been made, Mr. Perriam gives an estimate of the number of young forest trees annually planted, and this is chiefly in the prairies, which he puts at 150,000,000. That, at the low rate of 1,000 per acre, would make only 150,000 acres planted each year, against 330,000 acres denuded during the same period, to supply the demands of our civilization. In this country it is probable that all attempts at the reproduction of our forests must be conducted by private citizens. These, however, may well be fostered by the state and general governments. The former, in many cases, have already passed laws granting bounties to forest-planting, both direct and indirect, and might require the planting of all the roadsides, while the latter should direct the planting of trees on all the homesteads by the settlers, and in all future subsidies of lands the recipients should be obliged to plant a due proportion in timber. Since the destruction of forests by fire, especially when they are young, is one of the most disastrous accidents that can befall them, it becomes a very important subject for legislation, and we should seek to have the most stringent laws enacted to prevent the occurrence of these accidents, whether from the wantonness of carelsss people, or from the improper construction of smoke-stacks of locomotives, which are a prolific source of these terrible conflagrations.

With regard to the preservation of the timber of the Rocky Mountains, your committee feel that it is a subject of vast importance, and one which calls for the aid of the government, if it be possible to bring its powers to bear upon the subject. In the first place, it must be born in mind that in that vast extent of territory the natural supply 19 quite moderate; the trees are generally scattered widely, though occasionally they are massed in dense forests; and they are restricted to a very few species, nearly all of which have soft-wood, and are not well adapted to use in most of the arts of civilization.*

Without such encouragement from the general government, it is hardly to be expected that private enterprise will or can accomplish anything in this industry. The surrounding influences do not favor it; destruction, rather than production, is the rule. Men

* En a ramble of some hundreds of miles in Colorado and Wyoming, extending over three degrees of latitude, we found but five species of pines, two spruces, one fir, aud three junipers, that make up the coniferous sylva of these mountains. Of these the pines ponderosa is the most numerous. Deciduous trees are still more rare, and consist almost exclusively of cotton-woods and aspens, with a few other species that scarcely attain the size of small trees.

will not plant trees requiring a century for their development, while the mines and placers offer so many attractions, nor while a tree remains in the natural forests on the public domain. Nor is there any inducement to enter into so slow an enterprise as planting forests for future generations, while the fires are allowed to sweep over the country, destroying all the young growths.

When we come to a consideration of another clause in the resolution in response to which we make this report-when we attempt to suggest means for the preservation of the timber "on the central prairie regions of the Republic"-we must beg you to notice that here there is little to preserve. There is simply a moderate skirting of trees along some of the streams, and a few straggling pines and cedars upon the bluffs and rocky gorges of the broken uplands, while more than ninety per cent. of the area indicated is utterly destitute of tree or bush.

What timber there is in this region should indeed be preserved with scrupulous care, and its extension should be encouraged by every means in our power. For this purpose stringent enactments might help to prevent the neighboring settlers from intruding upon the timber of the public domain, but it is the government itself that is one of the greatest intruders.

While the forts procure their fire-wood by contract, vast quantities are cut on the public lands and sold to those who represent the ownership of the very material they purchase with the public funds. Without any authority, the railroads cut and use anything that comes within their reach, whether upon their extensive land grants, upon the alternating reserved sections, or elsewhere.

Thus all available timber has already been destroyed over extensive areas, and as yet no effort has been made for its restoration. "After us the deluge," appears to have been the accepted motto with one and all. Timber must be planted in this region-it should be extensively planted-to meet the demands of the civilization which is to occupy and enjoy the fertile soils of this vast area, now the desert home of the buffalo.

From the experiments already made, we feel confident that various kinds of useful timber trees could be made to grow and thrive upon the plains; but how and by whom is this great work to be accomplished? The government itself cannot enter into the tree-planting business beyond the parks and reservations of Washington City, but the enterprise of private citizens may well be fostered, and should be cherished by a liberal donation of lands whereon to plant the future forests of these plains.

We recommend such action by Congress, and we know of at least one such enterprise already organized, and ready to proceed with their work so soon as they may be authorized to occupy the lands upon which to plant a line of groves that shall extend across the desert from Western Kansas to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains.

In conclusion, and by way of a summary, your committee desire to submit for your approval the following resolutions:

1. Resolved, That we urge our brother farmers and land-owners in all parts of the country to plant their hill-sides, ravines and broken or rocky grounds with forest trees. 2. Resolved, That we believe that at least one-tenth of each farm should be planted with groves and shelter-belts of timber trees, deciduous and evergreen.

3. Resolved, That agricultural societies be urged to offer suitable premiums for the encouragement of tree-planting and nurseries of trees.

4. Resolved, That the State Legislatures be requested to encourage the planting of artificial forests and setting trees along the sides of all highways and railroads, and also that they be urged to pass more stringent laws for the protection of forests from destruction and damage by fires, especially those caused by wantonness and by locomotives.

5. Resolved, That we respectfully ask the statesmen of our land in Congress assem bled to foster and encourage the enterprise of private citizens who may give assurance of their ability to demonstrate the important problem of planting artificial forests on the great western plains, and that a sufficient grant of land be made to them for this purpose

6. Resolved, That we ask the Congress of the United States to require, so far as is practicable, that railroad companies and settlers receiving the benefit of the homestead and other acts donating lands, shall plant a due proportion of such land with useful timber trees.

7. Resolved, That we urge the institutions of learning established under the Morrill Land Grant act, and generally known as agricultural colleges, to give special attention to the cultivation of trees in illustration of their teaching of forestry.

Lastly, Resolved, That we ask the railroad companies, whose necessities have led to the destruction of so large an area of our native forests, to co-operate with us in restoring the timber growth, and that they shall provide for the planting of such lands as may be at their disposal and adapted to the growth of forest trees; and further, that we urge them so to modify the construction of their locomotives as to avoid the widespread conflagrations for which they are responsible.

On motion, the report was received and the committee discharged. The resolutions were taken up separately. The third of the series as offered at the forenoon session was, on motion, adopted.

The substitute for the fourth as reported by the committee was then read. C. W. CLOVES. I would like to oppose that resolution. I do not want any Legislature to encourage the planting of forest trees along through my place. Perhaps a road may be run through bottom land or some part of the place I want to farm, and I don't want, as the owner of a farm, auy such trees planted where I don't want them.

JUDGE T. C. JONES. I would state that the resolution is modified from the terms as at first presented, and does not now recommend the leg. islature to provide for the planting of forest trees at all, but recommends that they encourage the planting of trees. If you wanted to plant trees, it recommends that you should have encouragement to do so.

S. N. TITUS, of Meigs. I am opposed to this resolution, recommending the planting of forest trees upon the highways, upon other grounds. It might be well upon pikes, but upon highways running through muddy regions of country, such as where I live, it is highly desirable to get all the sunlight possible to dry up the mud in the spring after the rains. I think, in a great many cases, it would be very much against the good of the highways to have trees planted along them.

DR. J. A. WARDER. The gentleman's remarks have a good deal of force. My earliest objections to hedge-rows were upon the same principle. NEWTON, of Holmes. I have objection to the adoption of that resolution, although, I as understand it, it is only asking the Legislature to pass a law recommending the matter. But frequently when they commence recom