V \ '
8 Conservative *
over woodlands ( ns was douo in Europe
since centuries ) , or else the owner must
bo continually driven , at the expense of
the people by financial inducements ,
towards that forestnl practice , which
makes the forest a source of direct and
indirect revenue.
Whether it is not preferable for the
government to practice forestry on its
own account , rather than to enter the
slippery road of inducements and
bounties , is a question open since Adam
Smith's time. Only thorough apprecia
tion of the economic and politic sphere
of a country allows of solving the
problem in a given case.
The Future.
The development of Canada's gigantic
forest reserve must bo necessarily slow.
"When it is accomplished , after the lapse
of another century , Canada may supply
the entire world with timber. If in the
year 1750 a prophet had dared to foretell
the actual happenings in German
forestry , he would have been laughed at
by all intelligent people. At that time
square miles of forest could be bought
at the price now fetched from the sale
of a single oak tree standing in it.
Pictures "German Virgin Forests. "
For more remote districts , it can be
historically proven , that the spread of
forestry abroad was closely connected
with the expansion of roads and railroads.
A tree ( just think of the enormous
Mahogany trees in middle America ! )
has no value , unless it is within reach
of transportation. If a tree has little
value , the seedling promising to develop
into a tree after a hundred years only ,
has practically none , and , consequently ,
it does not pay to put any stress on its
propagation and protection.
Forestry investments , like those of
railroads and insurance companies , are
as a rule long-time investments. The
forester is compelled to look far ahead
into -the future. In many a case , the
teachings of history throw light into the
darkness of coming events.
In Canada , if the population continues
to increase , if the facilities of transpor
tation continue to bo developed , the
price of pine stumpage , 80 years hence ,
might bo $20 per 1,000 feet b. m. the
price now prevailing in Germany and
France. If such are the prospects ,
Canada will bo the richest country on
earth before the dawn of the next
century , provided lhat she continues to
conservatively manage her forest re
sources ; again , if such are the possi
bilities , we should at once proceed to
reforest every acre of ground unfit for
the plough but fit for timber production.
Pictures "Forest Planting. "
If such are the chances , every sapling
iii the forest should bo as carefully
protected from fire as if it were a paper
dollar-bill.
Away with shoreless dreams 1 Let us
at.
return to reality. I have no time to
dilate on the indirect utility of the
forest , of the forest as a healer , of the
forest as a regulator of water and navi
gation , of the forest as an employer to
the wage-earner. The indirect utility
of the forest is apparently most highly
appreciated , where no forest exists. In
the United States millions of dollars are
spent for raising forests in the treeless
regions , and scarcely a cent for prevent
ing forests from losing ground on soil
fit for timber production only.
No stronger argument can be proffered
for governmental forestry than the
present condition of the forests east of
the Mississippi left helplessly in the
hands of private owners. Adam Smith
( who condemned state-forestry 100years
ago ) would quickly change his opinion ,
if ho could see conditions now prevail
ing in private forests , even in Germany.
Conservative use , far-sighted forest
policy cannot be expected from short
lived men. The commonwealth , an
association of families formed for pur
poses not limited by time , is the proper
owner , the most successful manager of
forests.
In addition , great freedom may be
given to the acts of private owners , if
the far larger percentage of the forests
is controlled by the people or which
seems the same by the crown.
0. A. SOHENCK , PH. D.
We note that Bulletin No. 5 , published
by H. W. Johns Manufacturing Com
pany , has been issued in somewhat
larger size than heretofore. It is in the
nature of a revised price list of The
"Noark" Fuse.
The Search
for Work
This is an ago of special
ists. The innn who cnn
do something better
than anyone else is al
ways sure of remunera
tive employment. He
doesn't search for work ;
employers search for
him. Wo teach the
theory of engineering
and the trades to men
and women already at
work. Wo qualify young
people to support them
selves while learning.
Write for free circular
Salaried Positions
for Learners
We also tench by mall Mechanical. Steam , Electrical ,
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Practice | Mechanical Drawing ) Architecture ) Archi
tectural Drawing ! I'lumblnp , Heating and Ventila
tion ; Sheet Metal Work ; Telephony ; Telegraphy ;
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keeping ; Stenography ; Teaching ; KnglUh Ilranchea ;
Locomotive Kunnlng ( for engineers and firemen
only ) ; Kleetrotherapeullei ( for physicians and
nurses only ) . When writing state subject in
which interested.
International Correspondence Schools ,
Box 1200 , Scranton , Pa.
KttablUhed 1801. Capital $1,500,000.
TWO FAMOUS APPLE TREES.
The decayed stump is all that remains
of the famous "mother tree , " the oldest
known specimen of the Rhode Island
greening , says the Providence Journal.
A few rods southwest of the old lime
kiln on the northern verge of Fruit hill ,
on Frederick W. Wiusor's farm , stands
a younger tree. Mrs. Wiusor's great-
great-grandfather , Nehemiah Smith ,
planted the mother tree , of which the
other is a limb wrenched while loaded
with fruit from the parent stock , during
King George IPs reign , in 1748 , and
was therefore 141 years old when it was
cut down in 1889-90 , and its life from
the seed must be nearly 150 years.
The present tree , the "daughter tree , "
so-called , is a limb of the mother trunk
and was broken off in the September
gale of 1815 , and which , from an elbow ,
thrust into the moist , rich soil , took root
and became independent. F. M. Perry ,
of Oanandaigua , N. Y. , a famous nur
seryman and pomologist , pronoun ced
the fruit of these trees the finest of the
greening family , and procured hundreds
of scions from the stock to introduce
into New York and the middle states.
The present year the younger tree
bore about ten bushels of the finest
quality of apples , and bids fair to breast
the storms of many a winter yet to
come.
CEO. D , COOK COMPANY ,
INVESTMENT
SECURITIES.
238 LA SALLE ST. , 52 BROADWAY ,
CHICAGO , NEW YORK ,
WE MAKE A SEPGIALTY OF
MEXICAN INVESTMENTS.
We buy and sell Mexican
Government 5 per cent Gold
Bonds.
State of Jalisco ( Mex6 )
per cent Gold Bonds.
A Good Investment for the
Surplus of Banks or Indi
viduals.
WRITE FOR PRICES.