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Page 18 text:
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our most beautiful and most valuable lumber regions, such as those in Minnesota. Michigan, Wisconsin, and other states, have been seriously stripped of their beauty and wealth. While It can not be said, as yet, that the forest planting is practicable for the United States as a whole, it does apply to a large part of this country and is of constantly increasing importance. The purposes for which forest planting Is practicable differ so widely for different parts of the country, that the subject ought to be considered with reference to the different regions of the United States. The considerations which determine the practicability of planting as a part of forestry for any specific region are the following: the present supply of useful timber: the need of the forest to provide shelter, to protect the soil, and to conserve moisture: the capacity of the forest to produce another crop; the value of the ground for other purposes than forest growth; the protection which can be given from fire and other dangers; and to receive a fair return on the investment. The government has already begun experimental planting in the San Gabriel. San Bernardino, and San Jacinto forest reserves in southern California, which are estimated by the United States geological survey to contain 1,447,000 acres of brush land, on which all valuable timber has been destroyed by fire. Since the reserves were established, the danger from fire has been greatly reduced. Two or three years experimental work has developed in an economical way, and more rapid methods of planting have been introduced. During the past seasons, the planting has been extended greatly. In the caseof the mountain slopes upon which planting is being done, the importance of a forest covering to conserve the water supply for the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena and the surrounding country. Is considered so great that the Los Angeles Country Forest and Water Association and the Pasadena board of trade have contributed liberally towards the work. Forestry, in brief, is simply the art of managing forests and of utilizing them to the best advantages. The chief object of the forester Is to introduce better methods In the care of the forests and to manage the tlmberlands so as to secure the best returns, and also to Improve their conditions. A great writer says. “It was only a few years ago that tlie position of forestry was declared as an entirely new profession in this country with great opportunity offered to those who took up the work.”
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Page 17 text:
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Jfurrstni 3ht ahr By CHESTER A 7JTHE primitive forests of America were of immense extent, and contained a remarkable diversity of species, covering in the 17th century, all that portion of tlie North American continent which has been occupied by British colonists; but now it is doubtful whether any American state has more woodland than it ought permanently to preserve. The American forests contain about forty species of oak. sixteen conifers, several maples, ash, birch, beech, elm. hickory, poplar, magnolia, walnut and butternut. The eastern and midland states were at one time dense forests; now they are stripped and are compelled to ship in most of their timber from Canada and tlie West. The forests of the eastern states, which yielded the tinest and most valuable timber of America, are now reduced in extent and value. (California still possesses the magnificent Sequoia-Gigantea which, when full grown, attains an average height of 275 feet, and a girth of seventy feet at six feet from the ground; but It Is said that the devastation of the California forests is proceeding at a rate which is utterly incredible except to an eye witness. It Is true that a few of the most beautiful and valuable forests of the big trees at the northern extremity of the state, are protected by the state legislature, and a law has been passed forbidding the felling of trees over tifteen feet in diameter: but there is no law to prevent the cutting and burning of the smaller trees on which the perpetuation of the forest depends: or to prevent the burning of old trees, which, If they do escape the tire, will submit to the drought which the sweeping away of the environing forest will bring on. One of the greatest damages to the forests is that by tire. The total loss by tire for the year 1902 amounted to about 25,000,000. Within the forest reserves the loss from forest tires in 1902 was less than for several years, the burned area being 87.799 acres, as compared with 126.223 acres in 1901, and 158,607 acres in 1900. During the latter months of 1902, parts of Oregon and Washington were swept by tire causing losses amounting to nearly 815,000,000, while many lives were lost. In seeking causes for these tires It has been found that they were due. in most cases, to one of these three agencies: sparks from locomotives, carelessness with tire in clearing land, or abandoned camp tires. Many legislatures of a number of states are passing laws to prevent forest tires. The loss from tire probably amounts to over 920,000.000 a year. In the magnificent forests of Oregon and Washington, it Is said, more timber falls by tire than by the axe. Vet in Europe where scientific forestry prevails, forest 11 HuiUi Stairs . WALTERS tires are almost unknown. It happens in many com that the forest helps in protection. Soil which erodes easily by water, or is so sandy as to be blown away by wind, may be retained and improved by a forest covering- A forest furnishes the best possible covering for tlie watersheds of storage reservoirs. For this reason, fully as much as for the financial one. several water companies are planting extensively In the eastern states. Among the most important of these is the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board of Massachusetts. It is plain that tlie mountains are natural condensers of moisture, and that they form in nearly every instance the reservoirs from which our streams rise. It is necessary to examine closely what takes place on these slopes, if we wish to understand the behavior of the streams that are fed from this source. In temperate climates the greater part of the precipitation that takes place on the mountains is in the form of snow, which collects to great depths In canyons and forested areas. Over the bare sides of the mountains, the snow melts quickly by the direct rays of the sun, even when the temperature in the shade is below the freezing point. The ground also is hard and nonabsorbent, the water runs off quickly, and not only Is the soil washed away, but the streams rise to flood heights, after which the waters quickly subside and often sink beneath the surface leaving the bed of the river quite dry. Where the mountain sides are covered with forests, the conditions are quite different. Windfalls, dead leaves, twigs, and branches accumulate on the ground and form a mulch, while the soil beneath is more porous and softer than in the case of land bare of timber. The snow in the shade of tlie forests melts slowly, and the water sinks deeply into the ground forming springs, all of which tend to make the run off slower and steadier. Fortunately, public opinion has been aroused and forestry associations have been formed, to siiow the vast annual decrease of forests»and the urgent necessity of planting to a large extent. There Is a sentimental side to the forest which appeals to the people generally. The beauty of a virgin forest, Its antiquity and grandeur mark it as one of nature’s greatest works. But love of the forests alone will never bring about forestry. Forestry in its tinal analysis is a piece of cold blooded calculation and largely one of dollars and cents. It may seem, to those who never stop to think, that the forests of the i’nited States are as yet both extensive and rich, and it may seem that tlie cry that they are in danger of extinction is an exaggeration. Taking the country as a whole, this is probably true: but it is also a fact that many of
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