. Conservation. Forests and forestry. THE WORK OF THE SPOILERS 365 During the first half of the last cen- tury there was a large demand for tan- bark to supply the needs of the grow- ing leather industries of Cincinnati and the neighboring towns. To meet this demand, the oak timber was ruthlessly slaughtered over an area of seventy- five to one hundred miles radius. The fine logs, then useless, were piled to- gether and burned. These old-time would be better off zvithout a timber- tree standing in it!" This is no doubt an extreme case, but there is certainly very little sentiment in the r
. Conservation. Forests and forestry. THE WORK OF THE SPOILERS 365 During the first half of the last cen- tury there was a large demand for tan- bark to supply the needs of the grow- ing leather industries of Cincinnati and the neighboring towns. To meet this demand, the oak timber was ruthlessly slaughtered over an area of seventy- five to one hundred miles radius. The fine logs, then useless, were piled to- gether and burned. These old-time would be better off zvithout a timber- tree standing in it!" This is no doubt an extreme case, but there is certainly very little sentiment in the region in favor of forest preservation or renewal. The inevitable result of such an atti- tude on the part of the people is being reached at a rapid rate. Over most of the region the first-class timber disap- peared several years ago, and the. WASTEFUL METHODS OF LUMBERING Total Clearing of Land is Only Method in Use in Western Ohio log-rollings, with their attendant barbe- cues, were the festival occasions of the frontier communities. To the early settlers these forests constituted the arch enemy, to be driv- en back and destroyed by ax and fire. Little did these men think of the value of the forests. To them it meant only a fight for life and success against the forces and conditions of nature. Un- fortunately, this instinct for timber de- struction, born of necessity among the pioneers, has developed among their descendants into a blind, unreasoning mania. One prominent landowner and stockman of Drake County recently expressed the view that "the country second- and third-class supply is rapidly following. Immense damage to the timber of this region has resulted from too close pasture of the woodlands. The writer had an opportunity to keep under ob- servation for several years a tract of fine oak timber in which were kept large numbers of hogs. The soil was constantly overturned by the hogs, and many of the smaller roots of the trees were exposed and destroyed. After a fe
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