King City Joint Union High School - Mustang Yearbook (King City, CA)

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. The forests control the wa- ' Value of the F01'6StSu ter Supply in many ways- They By DONALD CADDY prevent floods by holding the A5959 14 Years I soil together and by catching Winner of Legion Essay Contest brush which piles up and holds the water back. They keep a steady flow of water by holding the moisture in the soil and by shading the ground, keeping the moisture from evaporating. They prevent drouth by storing the water in the wet season and holding it until the dry season. They prevent the washing of the fertile soil into the rivers by holding it together with their roots. They also keep the rivers at a normal level. One of the most terrible examples of the lack of forests is the Bad Lands of Dakota. These are great stretches of bare deserts cut in all directions by jagged canyons, with fantastic rock formations rearing up over the whole expanse. The lesson taught by this is that the forests prevent erosion and the consequent unfitfulness of the land for agriculture, which makes a big loss annually. The forests are also of great benefit to the soil. The leaves that fall in the autumn decay and enrich the soil with the mineral matters that are so essential to the growth of plants. They act as wind-breaks and keep the wind from blowing sand over the fertile soils, like the wind blows the sand in the deserts into the oasis, making the soil unfit for further tillage. The forests help the climate by retaining the moisture in the soil and in the air as well. Experiments prove that plants give off moisture. They pro- tect places from the wind by acting as a wind-break, and from the sun by making shade. They act as wonderful game refuges, offering homes for the deer and animals that love the forests. The game laws protect the birds and animals while they multiply. There are many forest products which are of use to man. Among them are timber for building, etc. Paper is made out of wood pulp. Fuel comes from waste. Naval stores like tar and pitch. Tanning materials come from oak and hemlock, maple sugar from the maple, gum from the spruce. Among the distillation products are charcoal for fuel, lamp black for ink, tar for tar paper, etc., oil for varnish and soap, etc., oxalic acid for dyeing and bleach- ing, acetic acid for white lead and paint, wood alcohol for varnish dyes, and acetone for explosives and films. The forests make wonderful playgrounds and camps for people to stay in during vacations, to rest in preparation for the work that will come. The forests enter into the life of man in many ways-in business, at home, and at play. Therefore, any person can see that to destroy the for- ests would mean a terrible loss to the country-a loss that would take years to repair, while the upbuilding ofuthe forests is the only logical procedure to follow.

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School Spirit By OPAL CARR L School spirit is that neces- sary environment which belongs to every student body. It is a feeling of interest in one an- other on the part of all students. To haye the right kind of school spirit one should be loyal to faculty and fellow students, have pride in his school, and one should take part in the school activities, both in and out of school. When the school games such as baseball, basketball, football, track and tennis are played, every member of the student body should try and attend them. He should go there with the right spirit, give his team some yells, and let it know that he is backing the players and thus they will fight for victory. If the student body votes to enter some activity, get back of it and see that it is a success. Do not sit back and let it be a failure. When one is put on a committee one should see that he does his part. The whole committee should function. Try and be a friend to all of your fellow students. That is my idea of school spirit. In the late afternoon, I Approaching leisurely strolled, and at last By IRENE EADE I reaching the summit of the hill, I Fd- ,A stopped to rest and admiringly gazed on the wonders of nature. In the green valley below was a shepherd boy tending his flock. The Twenty-third Psalm of David entered my thoughts. It was in the spring of the year. Splashes of California's golden poppies and the hue of the purple lupins were to be seen here and there. My gaze continued to wander over the meadows with their prosperous farms, to the hills blue and misty in the distant, and at last to the sunset in the western skies. The sun, a gold ball, was now sinking behind the blue mountains with its long bars stretching outward-and then in an instant it was gone. The rays of the sun tinted the white clouds with every color of the rainbow. I only wished I had had an artist's power to reproduce in color the magnificient scene before me. Slowly the daylight faded, and soon the evening star peeped out-then one by one the whole heavens were lighted. By this time the shepherd boy had gathered his sheep and was taking them home to the farm. Darkness had now stolen over everything. I could see lights twinkling in the farm- houses. Suddenly I realized that night had descended, and I betook myself 1.-n the downward path toward home. Stillness and quietness remained over all. The stars in heaven seemed to me to be the eyes of the angels looking out to guard the sleeping peacefulness on the earth below. How wonderful is Mother Nature!

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