Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 272, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1918 — Lack of Timber Teaches England Expensive Lesson in Building [ARTICLE]

Lack of Timber Teaches England Expensive Lesson in Building

By Prof. W. J. MORRILL.

, Colorado Agricultural College, Fort Collin*. Colo. .

England has been the one highly enlightened nation of the world which never practiced forestry. England’s policy was to have pleasure parks in place of lumber-producing forests. She preferred to import her lumber rather than to grow it in Great Britain. On the other hand, France and Germany deliberately set about growing timber and began to do so scientifically and systematically many years ago. The war has placed England in an unenviable position as regards timber. She is dependent upon wood imports, bulky material, at a time when shipping is desperately needed for importation of foodstuffs and material tions. England has stripped , her parka of trees suitable for lumbeT. In America our virgin forests have enabled us, to speed up in shipbuilding and airplane construction to a degree impossible in a timberdrained country. But the lesson is obvious —we must never let our country become deficient in wood supplies. In a generation or two our virgin forests will be exhausted. We must be planning sufficient timber supplies for the distant future, not only as a treasure for national defense in war time but to maintain the industries of peace. '