Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 210, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1911 — Page 3

Waste in Our Lumbering Methods

MMnwW O much has been said and wrltten in recent years about the woeful waste of the logging and lumbering 1 methods pursued in the United States that the t average person without a very intimate knowledge vHmhFE feels sure that tbe case Sgnffi w must be exaggerated. And wEIRIK in some degree he is right. Great as have been the sins of the timber harvesters who have gar--6 " nered the wealth of our forests with a free hand, they have scarcely been guilty in the measure ” that has been charged in some Quarters. And, moreover, there Is no doubt but that in most cases the prodigal policy has been the result of Ignorance rather than prompted by a wanton spirit as some of the critics would have us believe.

The general public has heard most regarding the wastefulness dnd extravagance of American methods of lumbering since the development within the past fdw years of the movement in behalf of the conservation of our natural res* rces. However, for years before that crusade began, and with redoubled energy since, returned European travelers have been exclaiming upon the contrast between forestry methods in the old world and the new. Now, It has been veryi impressive to hear how in France and Germany great forests are cultivated with the care of a well-ordered garden, and how even the twigs that fall from the trees are picked up and sold for fuel, but as a matter of fact the boasted German methods Of forestry would not be at all suited to the United States.

However, for all that, as has been hinted, there are two sides to this question of, the wasteful American methods of lumbering, the fact remains that our people have not made the most of the priceless heritage of our forests. Nor has, all the fault in this respect been at the door of the professional lumbermen who, given a seemingly almost inexhaustable source of supply, naturally gained a contempt for small sources of waste. In some measure responsible, also, *have been the farmers who were the pioneers, in the settlement of the various sections of our country. Eager to clear the land they had taken up and to get to the actual work of tilling the soil, these settlers were prone in many instances to think only of the quickest and cheapest ways of getting rid of the timber. In many cases they took no pains to get the most out of the standing timber or to so cut it that a maximum yield would be Insured. It is the professional lumbermen who have, figuratively speaking, slashed right and left without much regard to consequences In getting out their timber. Trees have been felled without the proper regard to the damage done to other forest monarchs in the crash of the heavy trunks to earth, and logs have been “snaked” or dragged out of the forest with few, If any, precautions against damage to the young growth—the source of the lumber supply of tomorrow. Added to these, and worse than all else In effect, Is the deadly destruction wrought by forest fires. These wholesale annihilations of standing timber have been largely traceable to human carelessness and shortsigfitedness—carelessness in extinguishing camp fires and other farms of human negligence that precipitate thle fires, and short- > sightedness In not providing adequate alarm systems and fire-fighting facilities to combat the flames, once they have gained headway. A very spectacular form of lumber waste, and one that never falls to astound Europeans who tour the United States,. is the lavish use made of marketable timber In providing facilities for logging operations. In the states of Oregon and Washington, for instance, there may be seen in the lumber regions ponderous bridges, the piers of which are formed from crossed logs placed criss-cross on top of one another. It is no exaggeration to say that auch'a bridge contains the makings of lumber sufficient to build all the houses and other frame structures In a good-sized village. Another utility of the American logging system

Remarkable Result of Old-Time Com* bat on 80-Callod “Field of Honor.* Alexander Grailhe fought two duels at The Oaks, with consequences which were remarkable, though he came off second best in both, relates the New Orleans Picayune. The first of these duels was with M. Augustin, who after* ward became district judge and general of the Louisiana Legion. Angus-

Bullet Wound Saves Life

that consumes a surprising quantity of material is the “skid road” which forms the artery of commerce between a logging scene and the nearest loading point on the railroad. A “skid road” may be several miles in length and it is composed throughout this entire length of logs or greased skids placed crosswise of the highway to form a smooth and comparatively level pathway over or along which the logs fresh from the forest are dragged by a heavy steel cable attached to a donkey engine of several hundred horse power. Similarly the familiarity that breeds contempt has prompted many 'loggers to act as spendthrifts in the use of large and sound logs to form a skidded platform, loading stage, etc., at the railroad siding where the logs are placed aboard the cars that are to carry them to the mills. To pursue this same subject further there might be cited the immense amounts of lumber that have been used tn the construction of the flumes or artificial canals mounted on trestlework In which logs are floated when other means of transportation are not available, some of

' —■ ( tin ran his sword Into Grailhe’s lungs and the latter hovered for a long time between life and death, and when at last he did come out of his room he was bowed like an octogenarian. Complications had ensued and surgery was not what it is now. The doctors declared that ft was only a matter of a short time until he would die. However, that did not prevent him from getting into a quarrel with Colonel Mandeville de Marlngy and

challenging blip to a duel. It was fought at The Oaks. The weapons were pistols at 16 paces, each to have two shots, advance five paces and fire at will. At the first shot Orallhe fell forward pierced by Marlngy’s bullet, which struck the exact place where Augustin’s sword had entered. MV ringy, pistol in hand, advanced to the utmost limit, when Orallhe, although suffering Intense pain, said, “Shoot again; you have another shot** Marlngy raised his plstyl and fired into the air, saying: “I never strike a fallen foe ” Orallhe was carried home

these flumes being 40 miles in length and costing nearly as much as a railroad. Perhaps the greatest hue and cry that has been precipitated by any phase of America’s wasteful lumbering methods has gone up as a result of the plan employed in felling the giant trees of the Pacific northwest. It is one of the first principles of the new conservative policy of lumbering that the severing of the trunk of a tree by sawing or chopping should be done at a point as near to the ground as possible, so that the waste remnant in the form of the stump should be reduced to a minimum. No wonder, then, that people who are of this way of thinking gasp with astonishment when they go to northern California and the famous Puget Sound country and witness the methods of felling trees in vogue in this region, so plentifully endowed with timber wealth. The timber "jacks” ot this favored region, far from attempting to make their “cut” as near the ground as possible, are not even content to stand on the. ground and swing their axes on a level with their waists, as did

wore dead than alive, but instead of sinking rapidly, began to mend and some time afterward walked out of his room as erect as ever and soon regained his heagh and stately bearing. Marlngy’s bullet had penetrated the abscess which threatened his life and made an exit by which it was drained and his life saved.

Noiseless Lawn Mowers.

“My noiseless lawn mowers,” proudly remarked a suburbanite to a visitor, pointing to a cage full of guinea pigs. "When I get a few more Pm

the old-time lumbermen of Maine and Michigan. Instead, these Pacific coast fellows construct a "shelf” on the side of the tree to be felled and at such a height that the chopping and sawing is done at a point at least ten or twelve feet above ground. The result is, of course, to leave a huge stump containing enough material to build a small house. The lumbermen justify their action by the tradition that the “swell” at the base of one of these big trees is of Inferior material —presumably too poor to bother with. However, most of the expert foresters of the country say that this is not true, at least not in the •majority of cases and that this method of mutilating timber in the cutting is a flagrantly wasteful one. One of the most seriously wasteful methods of lumbering in vogue in the United States—looked at from the standpoint of future generations —is the practice of taking from a forest annually an amount of lumber far in excess of new growth. Obviously this will serve to either speedily wipe out a forest or else to render it of little value for many years to come, whereas It might be made to serve as a regular and permanent source of income. Indeed, this plan of intelligent harvesting of the timber with reference to the supply of future years is what renders so steadily profitable the admirably conducted forests of Germany and Switzerland. Of course the American lumberman Is engaged in logging as a source of livelihood and his main defense against every charge of wasteful lumbering Is that there is so much timber In proportion to the population that It does not pay, as a business proposition, to take any more than the better part of each tree felled; Unquestionable there is a grain of truth in this, provided a lumberman Is thinking only of prosperity In the present generation, but at the same time there is much waste In lumbering that is not only unnecessary but Is* actually costly to the lumberman himself. However, conservative lumbering Is making headway and is supplanting the old wasteful methods in many sections of the country. The new ideas of conservative lumbering are based on three principles. First, the forest is treated as a working capital the purpose of which is to produce successive crops. Second, a systematic working plan is foil owedyip. harvesting the forest crop. Third, the work in the woods is carried on in such manner as to leave the standing trees and the young growth as nearly unharmed by the lumbering as is possible. In the actual operations of tree felling the new policy calls for greater care, so that no tree trunk may be split or broken in falling and likewise are there precautions so that the bark of valuable standing trees will not be rubbed or torn by the tree trunks that are being “skidded** out of the forest. Finally a ban has been placed on the wasteful practice of cutting promising young trees for corduroy or skids simply because these happen to be convenient and are straight Under the old plan the waste does not end when a log gets to the saw mill. There is a further loss of nearly all the slabs and edgings and all the sawdust not used for fuel, so that it is doubtful if more than half of the cubic contents of the standing tree is. finally used.

going to hire them out to the golf club to keep the green clipped. "I put a low barrier of wire netting around the lawn that I want cut and then turn in the .guinea pigs. They attack the worst weeds first—plantains, dandelions, etc. —because they like them the best. Then they take a little rest and tackle the grass. In a short time the lawn looks as though It had been cut by the closest ma* chine. I’m sure that a golf green dipped In this way would be as fast again as it would be mowed In the of dfiiary way."

FOUR USEFUL RECIPES

HOW TO MAKE BATTER CASES! FOR VARIOUS MIXTURES, ' • Full Instructions for Cooking Swiss Steak, Potato Waffles and ' Boiled Meat Pudding. Mixing Batter Cases—Beat up on* egg, add a quarter of a teaspoonful! of salt, half a cupful of milk, one cup-* ful of flour and W dessert-spoonful of olive oil. Mix till smooth and glossy... Add three tablespoonfuls of milk and: allow to stand in a cool place for one hour.. Dip a timbale iron into hot fat., let It stand for two or three minutes,, then drain and dip into the batter to half an inch of the top of the iron; return at once to the fat and hold' there until' the batter is crisp and. lightly colored, then remove from the iron and turn upside down on paper to drain. All kinds of sweet and savory mixtures may be served in these batter cases.

Swiss Steak.—One pound of steaX, one cupful of flour, salt and pepper, four skinned tomatoes, one sliced onion, water. Have the steak ‘cut two inches thick, and pound into it the flour with the sanitary steak shredder. Put the steak into a skillet, with some lard, and brown on both sides. Then cover with water, adding the sliced onions, tomatoes sliced and cover closely and let simmer for three hours. Just before the steak is done add salt and pepper . to taste. When done the gravy is already made and is delicious. Swiss steak is best when prepared with the sanitary steak shredder, as it makes it so very tender and very juicy. The shredder weighs half a pound, and. may also be used for other purposes that will readily suggest themselves to the intelligent housewife, as a fruit or vegetable chopper, potato masher or noodle cutter, each Impression cutting a noodle 24 inches '■ ibng. It is practically indestructible, and will last a lifetime. Potato Waffles—Peel somfe potatoes thinly and slice them on a potato slicer. Allow them to lie" Th cold water for half an hour, then dry them thoroughly. Fry them a few at a time in smoking hot fat, drain, sprinkle over with a little salt and pepper, and serve at once.

Boiled Meat Pudding—Sift half a pound of flour into a bhsin, add to it a pineh of salt and one teaspoonful of baking powder, then chop a quarter of a pound of suet very finely and mix it in, rubbing it into the- flour with the fingers. Add as much cold water as will wet it, and make it up Into a stiff piece of paste, then roll it out on a floured board into a round piece. Grease a pudding mold, line it neatly with the paste, which cut even around the edges; mix together on a plate One teaspoonful flour, one teaspoonful of salt and a half a teaspoonful of pepper. Cut one pound of lean meat In thin slices, dip them in the seasoning and place them in the mold, and pour in a tecupful of water for gravy. Wet the edges of the paste on the mold, roll out the scraps that remain large enough to cover the dish, place It on, press down at the edges and sprinkle a little flour over the tqp. Now dip a pudding cloth in boiling water, tie it tightly over the top. and plunge the pudding in plenty Of boiling water, then boll it for two and three-quar-ter hours. Remove the cloth, and turn the pudding over on a dish. Liver and bacon mixed, or mutton,-makes a good pudding of this kind.

Ham Potatoes.

Cut the odd pieces of a boiled ham in small cubes. Slice boiled potatoes while hot and place a layer on the bottom ot a baking disji. Add a layer of ham and a few fried sliced onions if desired, and alternate until full, with . potatoes dotted with generous lumps of butter forming the top layer. Place in oven-to heat thoroughly, beat three , eggs with three cups of milk and seasoning to taste, Pour over the ham and potatoes, dust with dry bread crumbs and place-in the oven until the eggs partially set. This is a meal in itself. ' ■;

Sugared Cherries.

Sugared cherries are delicious. Use large, firm cherries for this dish. Have in. front of yon a soup plate containing the whites of three eggs mixed with five tablespoonfuls of cold water, another plate filled with sifted powdered sugar at your right, the bowl of cherries at your left Dl» each cherry in the water and white of egg, turn It over and over in the sugar and lay on a chilled platter to dry. When all are done sift more powdered sugar over the fruit and* arrange carefully on a glass dish.

Cheese Custard.

Cut bread into slices, one inch thick; remove the crusts and.cut into cubes. Butter baking dish and put in a layer of bread cubes, then a layer of grated cheese; proceed until two cups of cheese have been’used. Mix together one beaten egg, one-halt teaspoon of salt, one-fourth spoonful of paprika and one and one-half cups of milk. Pour over cheese and bake until nicely browned. Serve at once.

Canned Grapes.

Make a heavy sirup and have glass Jars hot, fill full of grapes, pour sirup over grapes, seal as usual, and* ths grapes will keep perfectly and bs whole and taste «ko fresh fruit