The Weekly Gazette

Advantages in Tree
Planting for Future
A dozen villages in three valleys of
the Vosges meet all their taxes and
church expenses besides paying a dividend
to the citizens out of the forests
they own, according to a press dispatch.
The village forest is operated as a
continuing
enterprise and is not
slashed down and abandoned, according
to American procedure. The result is that the
foresighted Alsatian
residing in one of these villages is not
confronted with one of the great problems
of the times—rising taxes.
The best authorities in the United
States declare that this sort of thing
could be done in this country at small
expense.
The conservation commission,
under expert guidance, has been
urging cities, counties, towns, and districts
to plant trees upon cheap lands
which are available to thousands of
communities.
Little Falls, Carthage, the town of
Watson in Lewis county and a few
other places have made substantial
starts in such an enterprise, but,
considering the opportunities open to so
many communities and the predicted
timber famine, the indifference to the
future is really appalling.
Foresters estimate that a planted
acre of white pine in 40 years, at
present prices, would be worth over
$500. But who expects white pine
lumber to be at present prices 40 years
from now? The chances are that an
acre of white pine planted now will
be worth $1,000 in the next generation.
The community fathers can pay
their children's taxes by planting them
a forest.—Rochester (N. Y.) Times-Union