The School Book of Forestry
by
Charles Lathrop Pack

Part 1 out of 2








THE SCHOOL BOOK OF FORESTRY

By

CHARLES LATHROP PACK

PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN TREE ASSOCIATION

1922





[Illustration: FOREST FIRE GUARD STATIONED IN A TREE TOP]




THE AUTHOR GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE
FROM THE WRITINGS AND REPORTS OF COL. W.B. GREELEY, U.S.
FORESTER; COL. HENRY S. GRAVES, FORMER U.S. FORESTER; GIFFORD
PINCHOT, FORMER U.S. FORESTER; DR. B.E. FERNOW, DR. J.W. TOUMEY,
F.W. BESLEY, W.I. HUTCHINSON, R.H.D. BOERKER, PROF. NELSON C.
BROWN, PROF. R.S. HOSMER, E.A. STERLING, R.S. KELLOGG, E.T.
ALLEN, S. GORDON DORRANCE, DR. HUGH P. BAKER, ALFRED GASKILL,
J.S. ILLICK, AND MANY OTHER LEADERS IN FORESTRY.



"THE PART OF GOOD CITIZENS"

A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country
without trees is almost as helpless; forests which are so used
that they cannot renew themselves will soon vanish, and with them
all their benefits. When you help to preserve our forests or
plant new ones you are acting the part of good citizens.

--THEODORE ROOSEVELT.




INTRODUCTION


Our forests, with their billions of trees, are the backbone of
agriculture, the skeleton of lumbering, and the heart of
industry. Even now, in spite of their depletion, they are the
cream of our natural resources. They furnish wood for the nation,
pasture for thousands of cattle and sheep, and water supply for
countless cities and farms. They are the dominions of wild life.
Millions of birds, game animals, and fish live in the forests and
the forest streams. The time is coming when our forests will be
the greatest playgrounds of America. It is necessary that we
preserve, protect, and expand our timberlands. By so doing we
shall provide for the needs of future generations.

The forest is one of the most faithful friends of man. It
provides him with materials to build homes. It furnishes fuel. It
aids agriculture by preventing floods and storing the surplus
rainfall in the soil for the use of farm crops. It supplies the
foundation for all our railroads. It is the producer of fertile
soils. It gives employment to millions of workmen. It is a
resource which bountifully repays kind treatment. It is the best
organized feature of the plant world. The forest is not merely a
collection of different kinds of trees. It is a permanent asset
which will yield large returns over long periods when properly
managed.

Our forest fortune has been thoughtlessly squandered by
successive generations of spendthrifts. Fortunately, it is not
too late to rebuild it through cooeperative effort.

The work has been well begun, but it is a work of years, and it
is to the youth of the country that we must look for its
continuous expansion and perpetuation. A part of our effort must
be directed toward familiarizing them with the needs and rewards
of an intelligent forestry policy.




CONTENTS


INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER
I. HOW TREES GROW AND MULTIPLY
II. THE FOREST FAMILIES
III. FORESTS AND FLOODS
IV. WILD LIFE OF THE FOREST
V. IMPORTANT FOREST TREES AND THEIR USES
VI. THE GREATEST ENEMY OF THE FOREST--FIRE
VII. INSECTS AND DISEASES THAT DESTROY FORESTS
VIII. THE GROWTH OF THE FORESTRY IDEA
IX. OUR NATIONAL FORESTS
X. THE NATIONAL FORESTS OF ALASKA
XI. PROGRESS IN STATE FORESTRY
XII. THE PLAYGROUNDS OF THE NATION
XIII. SOLVING OUR FORESTRY PROBLEMS
XIV. WHY THE UNITED STATES SHOULD PRACTICE FORESTRY
XV. WHY THE LUMBERMAN SHOULD PRACTICE FORESTRY
XVI. WHY THE FARMER SHOULD PRACTICE FORESTRY
XVII. PUTTING WOOD WASTE TO WORK
XVIII. WOOD FOR THE NATION



ILLUSTRATIONS

Forest Fire Guard Stationed in a Tree Top
Section of a Virgin Forest
The Sequoias of California
A Forest Ranger and His Forest Cabin
Pine Which Yields Turpentine and Timber
Forest Fires Destroy Millions of Dollars Worth of Timber Every Year
Blackened Ruins of a Fire Swept Forest
Forest Management Provides for Cutting Mature Trees
Seed Beds in a Forest Nursery
Sowing Forest Seed in an Effort to Grow a New Forest
A Camping Ground in a National Forest
Good Forests Mean Good Hunting and Fishing
Young White Pine Seeded from Adjoining Pine Trees
What Some Kinds of Timber Cutting Do to a Forest
On Poor Soil Trees are More Profitable Than Farm Crops
A Forest Crop on its Way to the Market

[Transcriber's note: "Section of a Virgin Forest" is the seventh
(not the second) illustration in the book.]





CHAPTER I

HOW TREES GROW AND MULTIPLY


The trees of the forest grow by forming new layers of wood
directly under the bark. Trees are held upright in the soil by
means of roots which reach to a depth of many feet where the soil
is loose and porous. These roots are the supports of the tree.
They hold it rigidly in position. They also supply the tree with
food. Through delicate hairs on the roots, they absorb soil
moisture and plant food from the earth and pass them along to the
tree. The body of the tree acts as a passage way through which
the food and drink are conveyed to the top or crown. The crown is
the place where the food is digested and the regeneration of
trees effected.

The leaves contain a material known as chlorophyll, which, in the
presence of light and heat, changes mineral substances into plant
food. Chlorophyll gives the leaves their green color. The cells
of the plant that are rich in chlorophyll have the power to
convert carbonic-acid gas into carbon and oxygen. These cells
combine the carbon and the soil water into chemical mixtures
which are partially digested when they reach the crown of the
tree. The water, containing salts, which is gathered by the
roots is brought up to the leaves. Here it combines with the
carbonic-acid gas taken from the air. Under the action of
chlorophyll and sunlight these substances are split up, the
carbon, oxygen and hydrogen being combined into plant food. It is
either used immediately or stored away for future emergency.

Trees breathe somewhat like human beings. They take in oxygen and
give off carbonic-acid gas. The air enters the tree through the
leaves and small openings in the bark, which are easily seen in
such trees as the cherry and birch. Trees breathe constantly, but
they digest and assimilate food only during the day and in the
presence of light. In the process of digestion and assimilation
they give off oxygen in abundance, but they retain most of the
carbonic acid gas, which is a plant food, and whatever part of it
is not used immediately is stored up by the tree and used for its
growth and development. Trees also give off their excess
moisture through the leaves and bark. Otherwise they would become
waterlogged during periods when the water is rising rapidly from
the roots.

After the first year, trees grow by increasing the thickness of
the older buds. Increase in height and density of crown cover is
due to the development of the younger twigs. New growth on the
tree is spread evenly between the wood and bark over the entire
body of the plant. This process of wood production resembles a
factory enterprise in which three layers of material are engaged.
In the first two of these delicate tissues the wood is actually
made. The inner side of the middle layer produces new wood while
the outer side grows bark. The third layer is responsible for the
production of the tough, outer bark. Year after year new layers
of wood are formed around the first layers. This first layer
finally develops into heartwood, which, so far as growth is
concerned, is dead material. Its cells are blocked up and prevent
the flow of sap. It aids in supporting the tree. The living
sapwood surrounds the heartwood. Each year one ring of this
sapwood develops. This process of growth may continue until the
annual layers amount to 50 or 100, or more, according to the life
of the tree.

One can tell the age of a tree by counting the number of annual
rings. Sometimes, because of the interruption of normal growth,
two false rings may be produced instead of a single true ring.
However, such blemishes are easy for the trained eye to
recognize. Heartwood does not occur in all varieties of trees. In
some cases, where both heartwood and sapwood appear, it is
difficult to distinguish between them as their colors are so
nearly alike. Because it takes up so much moisture and plant
food, sapwood rots much more quickly than heartwood. The sapwood
really acts as a pipe line to carry water from the roots to the
top of the tree. In some of our largest trees the moisture is
raised as high as 300 feet or more through the sapwood.

Strange though it may seem, trees fight with each other for a
place in the sunlight. Sprightly trees that shoot skyward at a
swift pace are the ones that develop into the monarchs of the
forest. They excel their mates in growth because at all times
they are exposed to plenty of light. The less fortunate trees,
that are more stocky and sturdy, and less speedy in their climb
toward the sky, are killed out in large numbers each year. The
weaker, spindly trees of the forest, which are slow growers,
often are smothered out by the more vigorous trees.

Some trees are able to grow in the shade. They develop near or
under the large trees of the forest. When the giants of the
woodland die, these smaller trees, which previously were shaded,
develop rapidly as a result of their freedom from suppression. In
many cases they grow almost as large and high as the huge trees
that they replace. In our eastern forests the hemlock often
follows the white pine in this way. Spruce trees may live for
many years in dense shade. Then finally, when they have access to
plenty of light they may develop into sturdy trees. A tree that
is a pigmy in one locality may rank as a giant in another region
due to different conditions of growth and climate. For example,
the canoe birch at its northern limit is a runt. It never grows
higher than a few feet above the ground. Under the most favorable
conditions in Florida, where this species thrives, such trees
often tower to a height of 125 feet.

In sheltered regions the seeds of trees may fall, sprout and take
root close to their parent trees. As a rule, the wind plays a
prominent part in distributing seed in every section of the
country. Pine and fir seeds are equipped with wings like those
of a bird or an airplane. They enable the seeds to fly long
distances on the wind before they drop to the ground and are
covered with leaves. Maple seeds fly by means of double-winged
sails which carry them far afield before they settle. Ash seeds
have peculiar appendages which act like a skate-sail in
transporting them to distant sections. Cottonwood seeds have
downy wings which aid their flight, while basswood seeds are
distributed over the country by means of parachute-like wings.
The pods of the locust tree fall on the frozen ground or snow
crust and are blown long distances from their source. On the
other hand, oak, hickory, and chestnut trees produce heavy seeds
which generally remain where they fall.

Squirrels are the most industrious foresters in the animal world.
Each year they bury great quantities of tree seeds in hoards or
caches hidden away in hollow logs or in the moss and leaves of
the forest floor. Birds also scatter tree seed here, there, and
everywhere over the forests and the surrounding country. Running
streams and rivers carry seeds uninjured for many miles and
finally deposit them in places where they sprout and grow into
trees. Many seeds are carried by the ocean currents to distant
foreign shores.

The decay of leaves and woodland vegetation forms rich and
fertile soils in the forests, in which conditions are favorable
for the development of new tree growth. When living tree seeds
are exposed to proper amounts of moisture, warmth and air in a
fertile soil, they will sprout and grow. A root develops which
pushes its way down into the soil, while the leaf-bud of the
plant, which springs from the other end of the seed, works its
way upward toward the light and air. This leafy part of the seed
finally forms the stem of the tree. But trees may produce plenty
of seed and yet fail to maintain their proper proportion in the
forest. This results because much of the seed is unsound. Even
where a satisfactory supply of sound fertile seed is produced, it
does not follow that the trees of that variety will be maintained
in the forest, as the seed supply may be scattered in unfavorable
positions for germination. Millions of little seedlings, however,
start to grow in the forest each year, but only a small number
survive and become large trees. This is because so many of the
seedlings are destroyed by forest fires, cattle and sheep
grazing, unfavorable soil and weather conditions, and many other
causes.

Beech and chestnut trees and others of the broad-leaved type
reproduce by means of sprouts as well as by seed. Generally, the
young stumps of broad-leaved trees produce more sprouts than the
stumps of older trees which have stood for some time. Among the
cone-bearing trees reproduction by sprouts is rare. The redwood
of California is one of the few exceptions. The pitch pine of the
Eastern States produces many sprouts, few of which live and
develop into marketable timber.

When trees are grown in nurseries, the practice is to sow the
seed in special beds filled with rich soil. Lath screens are used
as shade. They protect the young seedlings from the sun just as
the parent trees would do in the forest. The seedbeds are kept
well cultivated and free of weeds so that the seedlings may have
the best opportunities for rapid growth. Generally the seeds are
sown in the spring between March and May. Such seeds as the elms
and soft maples, which ripen in the early summer, are sown as
soon as possible after they are gathered. Practical tests have
shown that thick sowings of tree seeds give the best results.
There is little danger of weeds smothering out the seedlings
under such conditions. After the seed has germinated the beds may
be thinned so that the seedlings will have more room to develop.

During the fall of the same year, or in the following spring, the
seedlings should be transplanted to nursery rows. Thereafter it
is customary to transplant the young trees at least once again
during damp weather. When the trees finally are robust and
vigorous and have reached the age of two to five years, they are
dug up carefully and set out permanently. The usual practice is
to keep the seedlings one year in the seedbed and two years
in the nursery rows before they are set out. Whether the
transplanting should take place during the spring or fall depends
largely on the climate and geography of the locality. Practical
experience is the best guide in such matters.

Some farmers and land owners are now interested in setting out
hardwood forests for commercial purposes. If they do not wish to
purchase their seedlings from a reliable nursery-man, they can
grow them from carefully selected seed planted in well-prepared
seedbeds. The popular practice is to sow the seed in drills about
2 to 3 feet apart so that horses may be used for cultivation. The
seeds are sown to a depth of 2 to 3 times their thickness. They
are placed close enough in the drill so that from 12 to 15
seedlings to the linear foot result. In order to hasten the
sprouting of the seeds, some planters soak them in cold water for
several days before sowing. In the case of such hard-coated seed
as the black locust or honey locust, it is best to soak them in
hot water before planting.




CHAPTER II

THE FOREST FAMILIES


Trees are as queer in picking out places to live and in their
habits of growth as are the peoples of the various races which
inhabit the world. Some trees do best in the icy northland. They
become weak and die when brought to warm climates. Others that
are accustomed to tropical weather fail to make further growth
when exposed to extreme cold. The appearance of Jack Frost means
death to most of the trees that come from near the equator. Even
on the opposite slopes of the same mountain the types of trees
are often very different. Trees that do well on the north side
require plenty of moisture and cool weather. Those that prosper
on south exposures are equipped to resist late and early frosts
as well as very hot sunshine. The moisture needs of different
trees are as remarkable as their likes and dislikes for warmth
and cold. Some trees attain large size in a swampy country. Trees
of the same kind will become stunted in sections where dry
weather persists.

In some parts of the United States forestry experts can tell
where they are by the local tree growth. For example, in the
extreme northern districts the spruce and the balsam fir are
native. As one travels farther south these give way to little
Jack pine and aspen trees. Next come the stately forests of white
and Norway pine. Sometimes a few slow-growing hemlock trees
appear in the colder sections. If one continues his journey
toward the equator he will next pass through forests of
broad-leaved trees. They will include oak, maple, beech,
chestnut, hickory, and sycamore.

In Kentucky, which is a centre of the broad-leaved belt, there
are several hundred different varieties of trees. Farther south,
the cone-bearing species prevail. They are followed in the march
toward the Gulf of Mexico by the tropical trees of southern
Florida. If one journeys west from the Mississippi River across
the Great Plains he finally will come to the Rocky Mountains,
where evergreen trees predominate. If oak, maple, poplar, or
other broad-leaved trees grow in that region, they occur in
scattered stands. In the eastern forests the trees are close
together. They form a leafy canopy overhead. In the forests of
the Rockies the evergreens stand some distance apart so that
their tops do not touch. As a result, these Western forests do
not shade the ground as well as those in the east. This causes
the soils of these forests to be much drier, and also increases
the danger from fire.

The forests of western Washington and Oregon, unlike most
timberlands of the Rocky Mountain Region, are as dense as any
forests in the world. Even at midday it is as dark as twilight in
these forests. The trees are gigantic. They tower 150 to 300 feet
above the ground. Their trunks often are 6 feet or larger in
diameter. They make the trees of the eastern forests look
stunted. They are excelled in size only by the mammoth redwood
trees of northern California and the giant Sequoias of the
southern Sierras.

[Illustration: THE SEQUOIAS OF CALIFORNIA]

Differences of climate have largely influenced tree growth and
types in this country. The distribution of tree families is
changing all the time. It shifts just as the climate and other
conditions change. Trees constantly strive among themselves for
control of different localities. For a time one species will
predominate. Then other varieties will appear and displace the
ones already established. The distribution of trees changes very
remarkably from one century to another. For example, in some
sections, the red and black oaks are replacing the white oaks.
Some trees are light-lovers. They require much more sunlight than
others that do well under heavy shade. Oak trees require plenty
of light; maples or beeches thrive on little light.

The seed of trees requiring little light may be scattered in a
dense forest together with that of trees which need plenty of
daylight in order to make normal growth. The seedlings that like
shade will develop under such conditions while those that need
light will pine away and die. Gradually the shade-loving trees
will replace the light-loving trees in such a forest stand. Even
the different trees of the same family often strive with one
another for light and moisture. Each tree differs from every
other one in shape and size. Trees will adapt themselves to the
light and moisture conditions to which they are exposed. A tree
that has access to plenty of moisture and sunlight grows evenly
from the ground to its top with a bushy, wide-spreading crown.
The same tree, if it grows in the shade, will reach a greater
height but will have a small compact crown. Trees run a race in
their rapidity of growth. The winners get the desirable places
in the sunlight and prosper. The losers develop into stunted
trees that often die, due to lack of light exposure. A better
quality of lumber results from tall straight trees than that
produced by the symmetrical, branching trees. That is why every
forester who sets out trees tries to provide conditions which
will make them grow tall and with the smallest possible covering
of branches on the lower part of the trunks.

Where trees are exposed to strong winds, they develop deep and
strong root systems. They produce large and strong trunks that
can bend and resist violent winds which sway and twist them in
every direction. Such trees are much stronger and sturdier than
those that grow in a sheltered forest. The trees that are blown
down in the forest provide space for the introduction and growth
of new varieties. These activities are constantly changing the
type of tree growth in the forest.

Our original forests which bordered the Atlantic coast line when
America was first settled, were dense and impenetrable. The
colonists feared the forests because they sheltered the hostile
Indians who lurked near the white settlements. In time this fear
of the forest developed into hatred of the forest. As a result,
the colonists cut trees as rapidly as they could. In every way
they fought back the wilderness. They and their children's
children have worked so effectively that the original wealth of
woodlands has been depleted. At present, cleared fields and
cutover areas abound in regions that at one time were covered
with magnificent stands of timber.

In many sections of the country our forests are now so reduced
that they are of little commercial importance. However, these
areas are not yet entirely denuded. Predictions have been made
frequently that our woodlands would soon disappear. Scientific
foresters report that such statements are incorrect. There are
only a few districts in the country which probably will never
again support much tree growth. Their denuded condition is due
largely to the destruction of the neighboring mountain forests
and to the activities of erosion. Under ordinary conditions,
natural reforestation will maintain a satisfactory tree growth on
lands where a practical system of forest protection is practiced.
The complete removal of the forest is now accomplished only in
fertile farming regions, where the agricultural value of the
land is too high to permit it to remain longer in forest cover.
Even in the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes belts there
are still large areas of forest land. Most of the farms have
woodlots which provide fuel, fencing, and some lumber. For the
most part, these farm woodlots are abused. They have not been
managed correctly. Fortunately, a change for the better is now
evident. The farm woodlot owners are coming to appreciate the
importance of protecting the trees for future use. In some cases,
they are even replanting areas that have been cut over. There are
large tracts of sandy, rocky and swampy land in these districts
that are satisfactory for tree production. In fact, about all
these fields are good for is the growing of timber. Campaigns are
now under way to increase tree planting and develop the
production of lands adapted for forestry which previously have
been idle.

The United States of the future will not be a desert, tree-less
country. However, immediate measures to save our remaining trees
must be developed. The greater part of our virgin timber has
already been felled. The aftermath forests, which succeed the
virgin stand, generally are inferior. Our supplies of ash, black
walnut and hickory, once abundant, are now seriously limited.
Formerly, these mixed forests covered vast stretches of country
which today support only a scant crop of young trees which will
not be ready for market for many years. These second-growth
stands will never approach in value or quality the original
forests. Over large areas, poplar, white birch, and Jack pine
trees now predominate on lands which formerly bore dense stands
of white pine. In many places, scrubby underbrush and stunted
trees occupy lands which heretofore have been heavy producers of
marketable timber trees.

Generally speaking, farm lands should not be used for forestry
purposes. On the other hand, some forest lands can be profitably
cleared and used for agriculture. For example, settlers are
felling trees and fighting stumps in northern Wisconsin,
Michigan, and Minnesota. Some of these virgin lands are valuable
for farming purposes, others are not. It is preferable that they
should produce farm crops instead of tree crops if the land is
best adapted to agricultural use. It is an economic necessity
that all lands in this country best suited for farming purposes
should be tilled. Our ever-increasing population demands that
every acre of land useful for growing crops should be cleared and
devoted to farming. Under such conditions, the settlers should
reserve sufficient woodlands for their home needs, carefully
distinguishing between the land that is best for agricultural
purposes and the land that is best for forestry purposes, and
thus doubling their resources.

Thoughtless lumbermen have pillaged millions of acres of our most
productive forests. The early lumbermen wasted our woodland
resources. They made the same mistakes as everyone else in the
care and protection of our original forests. The greatest blame
for the wasting of our lumber resources rests with the State and
Federal authorities who permitted the depletion. Many of our
lumbermen now appreciate the need of preserving and protecting
our forests for future generations. Some of them have changed
their policies and are now doing all in their power to aid forest
conservation.

The ability of a properly managed forest to produce new crops of
trees year after year promises us a future supply of wood
sufficient for all our needs if only we will conserve our
timberlands as they deserve. It is our duty to handle the
forests in the same way that fertile farming fields are managed.
That is to say, they should be so treated that they will yield a
profitable money crop every year without reducing their powers of
future production. Private owners and farmers are coming slowly
to realize the grave importance of preserving and extending our
woodlands. The public, the State and the Nation are now solidly
behind the movement to improve our forestry and to safe-guard
our forests. Several of the States, including New York and
Pennsylvania, have purchased large areas of timberlands for State
forests. These will be developed as future sources of lumber
supply.




CHAPTER III

FORESTS AND FLOODS


Forests are necessary at the headwaters of streams. The trees
break the force of the rain drops, and the forest floor, acting
as a large sponge, absorbs rainfall and prevents run-off and
floods. Unless there are forests at the sources of streams and
rivers, floods occur. The spring uprisings of the Mississippi,
Ohio and Missouri Rivers are due largely to the lack of forests
at their headwaters. In the regions drained by these streams the
run-off water is not absorbed as it should be. It flows unimpeded
from the higher levels to the river valleys. It floods the river
courses with so much water that they burst their banks and pour
pell-mell over the surrounding country. Many floods which occur
in the United States occur because we have cut down large areas
of trees which formerly protected the sources of streams and
rivers.

A grave danger that threatens western farming is that some time
in the future the greater part of the vegetation and forest cover
on the watersheds of that section may entirely disappear. Such a
condition would cause floods after every heavy rain. The
available supplies of rainwater which are needed for the thirsty
crops would be wasted as flood waters. These floods would cause
great damage in the valleys through which they rushed. The
freshets would be followed by periods of water famine. The
streams would then be so low that they could not supply the
normal demands. Farmers would suffer on account of the lack of
irrigation water. Towns and cities that depended on the mountain
streams for their water supplies would be handicapped severely.
In a thousand and one ways, a deficient water supply due to
forest depletion would cause hardships and suffering in the
regions exposed to such misfortune.

The important part which forests play in the development of our
country is shown by the fact that from the streams of the
National Forests over 700 western cities and towns, with an
aggregate population of nearly 2,500,000, obtain their domestic
water supply. The forests include 1266 irrigation projects and
325 water-power plants, in addition to many other power and
irrigation companies which depend on the Government timberlands
for water conservation and the regulation of rain water run-off
and stream flow.

The National Forests aid greatly in conserving and making
available for use the precious limited rainfall of the arid
regions. That is why settlers in irrigated districts are deeply
interested in the cutting of timber in the Federal woodlands.
Destructive lumbering is never practiced in these forests. In its
place has been substituted a system of management that assures
the continued preservation of the forest-cover. Uncle Sam is
paying special attention to the western water-sheds which supply
reclamation and irrigation projects. He understands that the
ability of the forest to regulate stream flow is of great
importance. The irrigation farmers also desire a regular flow,
evenly distributed, throughout the growing season.

One of the chief reasons for the establishment of the National
Forest was to preserve the natural conditions favorable to stream
flow. In a treeless country, the rise of the streams is a very
accurate measure of the rainfall. In the region where forests are
frequent, an ordinary rain is scarcely noticed in its effect on
the stream. In a denuded district no natural obstacles impede
the raindrops as they patter to the ground. The surface of the
soil is usually hard. It is baked and dried out by the sun. It is
not in condition to absorb or retain much of the run-off water,
consequently, the rain water finds little to stop it as it swirls
down the slopes. In torrents it rushes down the stream beds, like
sheets of water flowing down the steep roof of a house.

Conditions are very different in a region where forest cover is
abundant. In the forests, the tops of the trees catch much of the
rain that falls. The leaves, twigs, branches and trunks of the
trees also soak up considerable moisture. The amount of rainfall
that directly strikes the ground is relatively small. The upper
layer of the forested ground consists of a network of shrubs, and
dead leaves, branches, and moss. This forest carpet acts like an
enormous sponge. It soaks up the moisture which drops from the
trees during a storm. It can absorb and hold for a time a
rainfall of four or five inches. The water that finally reaches
the ground sinks into the soil and is evaporated or runs off
slowly. The portion that is absorbed by the soil is taken up by
the roots of the trees and plants or goes to supply springs and
watercourses.

The power of the trees and forest soil to absorb water regulates
the rate at which the rainfall is fed to the streams and rivers.
Frequently it takes weeks and even months for all the waters of a
certain rain to reach these streams. This gradual supplying of
water to the streams regulates their flow. It prevents floods and
freshets. Careful observation and measurements have shown that
unforested regions will discharge rain water at least twice as
fast as will forested districts.

The stealing of soil by erosion occurs where run-off waters are
not obstructed by forest growth. Silt, sand, and every other kind
of soil are swept from their natural positions and spritted away
by the foaming waters as they surge down the steep slopes. The
stream or river which is flooded by these rushing waters roars
down its narrow channel, tearing loose and undermining the
jutting banks. In some cases, it will break from its ordinary
course to flood exposed fields and to carry away more soil. As
the speed of the stream increases its power to steal soil and
carry it off is increased. Engineers report that the carrying
power of a stream is increased 64 times when its rate of flow is
doubled. If the flow of a river is speeded up ten times, this
raging torrent will be able to carry one million times as much
foreign material as it did when it was flowing at a normal rate
of speed, causing inexpressible damage and destruction of life
and property.

The protection afforded by forests on the water-sheds of streams
furnishing the domestic water supply for cities and towns is
becoming more fully realized. A large number of cities and towns
have purchased and are maintaining municipal or communal forests
for this very reason.




CHAPTER IV

WILD LIFE OF THE FOREST


The forests of our country are the home and breeding grounds of
hundreds of millions of birds and game animals, which the forests
provide with food and shelter. If we had no forests, many of
these birds and animals would soon disappear. The acorns and
other nuts that the squirrels live upon are examples of the food
that the forest provides for its residents.

In the clear, cold streams of the forests there are many
different kinds of fish. If the forests were destroyed by cutting
or fire many of the brooks and rivers would either dry up or the
water would become so low that thousands of fish would die.

The most abundant game animals of forest regions are deer, elk,
antelope and moose. Partridge, grouse, quail, wild turkeys and
other game birds are plentiful in some regions. The best known
of all the inhabitants of the woods are the squirrels. The
presence of these many birds and animals adds greatly to the
attractiveness of the forest.

Predatory animals, such as wolves, bears, mountain lions,
coyotes and bobcats also live in the forest. They kill much
livestock each year in the mountain regions of the Western States
and they also prey on some species of bird life. The Federal and
some State governments now employ professional hunters to trap
and shoot these marauders. Each year the hunters kill thousands
of predatory animals, thus saving the farmers and cattle and
sheep owners many thousands of dollars.

Sportsmen are so numerous and hunting is so popular, that game
refuges have to be provided in the forests and parks. Were it not
for these havens of refuge where hunting is not permitted, some
of our best known wild game and birds would soon be extinct.
There are more than 11,640,648 acres of forest land in the
government game refuges. California has 22 game refuges in her 17
National Forests. New Mexico has 19, while Montana, Idaho,
Colorado, Washington and Oregon also have set aside areas of
government forest land for that purpose. In establishing a game
refuge, it is necessary to pick out a large area of land that
contains enough good feed for both the summer and winter use of
the animals that will inhabit it.

[Illustration: A FOREST RANGER AND HIS FOREST CABIN]

Livestock is sometimes grazed on game refuges, but only in small
numbers, so that plenty of grass will be left for the support of
the wild game. The refuges are under the direction of the Federal
and the State game departments. To perpetuate game animals and
game birds, it is not enough to pass game laws and forbid the
shooting of certain animals and birds except at special times of
the year; it is also necessary to provide good breeding grounds
for the birds and animals where they will not be molested or
killed. The game refuges provide such conditions.

The division of the range country into small farms and the
raising of all kinds of crops have, it is claimed, done more to
decrease our herds of antelope, elk, deer and other big game than
have the rifles of the hunters. The plow and harrow have driven
the wild life back into the rougher country. The snow becomes
very deep in the mountains in the winter and the wild animals
could not get food were it not for the game refuges in the low
country. In the Yellowstone National Park country great bands of
elk come down from the mountains during severe winters and have
to be fed on hay to keep them from starving, as there is not
sufficient winter range in this region to supply food for the
thousands of elk.

Where the elk are protected from hunters they increase rapidly.
This means that some of the surplus animals have to be killed,
otherwise, the elk would soon be so numerous that they would
seriously interfere with the grazing of domestic livestock. In
different sections of the elk country, a count is made every few
years on the breeding animals in each band. Whenever a surplus
accumulates, the state permits hunters to shoot some of the elk.
If the breeding herds get too small, no hunting is allowed. In
this way, a proper balance is maintained.

In many states the wild game birds and fur-bearing animals of the
forests are protected by closed seasons during which hunting is
not permitted. It is realized that birds and animals are not only
of interest to visitors to the forests, but that they, as well as
the trees, are a valuable forest product.




CHAPTER V

IMPORTANT FOREST TREES AND THEIR USES


Of our native trees, the white pine is one of the best and most
valuable. It is a tall straight tree that grows to a height of
100 to 150 feet. It produces wood that is light in weight and
easy to work because it is so soft. At one time there were
extensive pine forests in the northeastern states. Many of the
trees were very large, and occasionally one may still see pine
stumps that are 5 to 6 feet in diameter. White pine made fine
lumber for houses and other buildings and this timber was among
the first to be exhausted in the country.

Spruce trees have long furnished the bulk of the woodpulp used in
making our supplies of paper. These trees live in the colder
climates of the northern states. They like to grow in low, wet
localities close to lakes or rivers. The spruces generally do not
grow higher than 75-100 feet. The wood is soft like pine and even
whiter in color. The aboriginal Indians used the roots of the
spruce trees as thread, twine and rope.

The cedar trees, which are landmarks in many of our northern
states, yield light, soft, durable wood that is useful in making
poles, fence posts, lead pencils and cedar chests. The wood of
the red cedar gives off a peculiar odor which is said to keep
moths away from clothes stored in cedar chests, but it is the
close construction of the chest which keeps them out. These trees
are becoming scarce in all parts of the country. Cedars generally
are small trees that grow slowly and live a long time. The
outside wood is white and the heartwood is red or yellow. Cedar
posts last a long time and are excellent for use in farm fences.

Chestnut blight, which destroys entire forests of chestnut
timber, is gradually exhausting our supplies of this wood.
Chestnut timber has long been used for railroad ties, fence posts
and in the manufacture of cheap furniture. The wood is soft and
brown in color. The bark and wood are treated at special plants
in such a way that an extract which is valuable for tanning
leather is obtained. Chestnut trees are upstanding, straight
trees that tower 80 to 100 feet above the ground. The extinction
of our chestnut forests threatens as no effectual control
measures for checking the chestnut blight disease over large
areas has yet been discovered.

The yellow poplar or tulip poplar furnishes timber for the
manufacture of furniture, paper, the interior of railroad cars
and automobiles. The dugouts of the early settlers and Indians
were hewed out of poplar logs. These boats were stronger than
those made of canoe birch. Poplar wood is yellow in color and
soft in texture. The poplar is the largest broad-leaf tree in
this country and the trees are of great size and height. Some
specimens found in the mountains of the South have been over 200
feet high and 8 to 10 feet in diameter, while poplars 125 to 150
feet high are quite common.

Among our most useful and valuable trees are the white oak, and
its close kin, the red oak, which produce a brown-colored, hard
wood of remarkable durability. The white oak is the monarch of
the forest, as it lives very long and is larger and stronger than
the majority of its associates. The timber is used for railroad
ties, furniture, and in general construction work where tough,
durable lumber is needed. Many of our wooden ships have been
built of oak. The white oaks often grow as high as 100 feet and
attain massive dimensions. The seeds of the white oaks are light
brown acorns, which are highly relished by birds and animals.
Many southern farmers range their hogs in white oak forests so
that the porkers can live on the acorn crop.

Beech wood is strong and tough and is used in making boxes and
barrels and casks for the shipment of butter, sugar and other
foods. It makes axles and shafts for water-wheels that will last
for many years. The shoes worn by Dutch children are generally
made of beech. The wood is red in color. The beech tree is of
medium size growing to a height of about 75 feet above the
ground. There is only one common variety of beech tree in this
country.

Hickory trees are very popular because they produce sweet, edible
nuts. The hickory wood is exceedingly strong and tough and is
used wherever stout material is needed. For the spokes, wheels
and bodies of buggies and wagons, for agricultural implements,
for automobile wheels and for handles, hickory is unexcelled. The
shafts of golf clubs as well as some types of base-ball bats are
made of hickory. Most hickory trees are easy to identify on
account of their shaggy bark. The nuts of the hickory, which
ripen in the autumn, are sweet, delicious and much in demand.

Our native elm tree is stately, reaching a height of 100 feet and
a diameter of 5 to 6 feet or more. It is one of our best shade
trees. Elm wood is light brown in color and very heavy and
strong. It is the best available wood for making wagon wheel hubs
and is also used largely for baskets and barrels. The rims of
bicycle wheels generally are made of elm.

The canoe birch is a tree which was treasured by the early
Indians because it yielded bark for making canoes. Birch wood is
used in making shoe lasts and pegs because of its strength and
light weight, and the millions of spools on which cotton is wound
are made of birch wood. School desks and church furniture, also,
are made of birch. The orange-colored inner bark of the birch
tree is so fine and delicate that the early settlers could use it
as they would paper. No matter whether birch wood is green or
dry, it will burn readily. The birch was the most useful tree of
the forest to the Indians. Its bark was used not only for making
their canoes, but also for building their wigwams. They even
dried and ground the inner bark into a flour which they used as a
food.

The northern sugar maple is another tree which is a favorite in
all sections where it is grown. This tree yields a hard wood that
is the best and toughest timber grown in some localities. The
trees grow to heights of 75 to 100 feet and attain girths of 5 to
9 feet. Maple lumber is stout and heavy. It makes fine flooring
and is used in skating rinks and for bowling alleys. Many pianos
are made of maple. Wooden dishes and rolling pins are usually
made from maple wood. During the spring of the year when the sap
is flowing, the average mature maple tree will yield from fifteen
to twenty gallons of sap in a period of three to four weeks. This
sap is afterwards boiled down to maple syrup and sugar.

Hemlock trees, despite the fact that they rank among the most
beautiful trees of the forest, produce lumber which is suitable
only for rough building operations. The wood is brown and soft
and will not last long when exposed to the weather. It cracks and
splits easily because it is so brittle. Hemlock is now of
considerable importance as pulpwood for making paper. For many
years, a material important for tanning leather has been
extracted in large amounts from the bark of hemlock trees.

One of the most pleasing uses to which the balsam fir is put is
as Christmas trees. Sometimes it is used in making paper pulp.
The balsam fir seldom grows higher than 50 feet or thicker than
12 inches. The leaves of this tree have a very sweet odor and are
in demand at Christmas time. Foresters and woodsmen often use
balsam boughs to make their beds and pillows when camping in the
woods.

[Illustration: PINE WHICH YIELDS TURPENTINE AND TIMBER]

Our native supplies of hardwoods and softwoods are used for
general building purposes, for farm repairs, for railroad ties,
in the furniture and veneer industry, in the handle industry, and
in the vehicle and agricultural implement industries. On the
average each American farmer uses about 2,000 board feet of
lumber each year. New farm building decreased in the several
years following the World War, due to the high price of lumber
and labor. As a result of this lack of necessary building,
millions of dollars worth of farm machinery stood out in the
weather. Livestock lacked stables in some sections. Very little
building was done in that period in two hundred and fifty
prosperous agricultural counties in thirty-two different states.

The railroads consume about 15 per cent. of our total lumber cut.
They use between 100,000,000 and 125,000,000 railroad ties a
year. It used to be that most of the cross-ties were of white oak
cut close to the places where they were used. Now Douglas fir,
southern pine and other woods are being used largely throughout
the Middle Western and Eastern States. The supply of white oak
ties is small and the prices are high. Some years ago, when white
oak was abundant, the railroads that now are using other
cross-ties would not have even considered such material for use
in their roadbeds. The fact that other ties are now being used
emphasizes the fact that we are short on oak timber in the
sections where this hardwood formerly was common.

The furniture industry uses hardwoods of superior grade and
quality. The factories of this industry have moved from region to
region as the supply of hardwoods became depleted. Originally,
these factories were located in the Northeastern States. Then, as
the supplies of hardwood timber in those sections gave out, they
moved westward. They remained near the Corn Belt until the
virgin hardwood forests of the Middle West were practically
exhausted. The furniture industry is now largely dependent on
what hardwoods are left in the remote sections of the Southern
Appalachians and the lower Mississippi Valley. When these limited
supplies are used up, there will be very little more old-growth
timber in the country for them to use.

The furniture, veneer, handle, vehicle, automobile and
agricultural implement industries all are in competition for
hardwood timber. The furniture industry uses 1,250,000,000 feet
of high-grade hardwood lumber annually. Production of timber of
this type for furniture has decreased as much as 50 per cent.
during the past few years. It is now difficult for the furniture
factories and veneer plants to secure enough raw materials.
Facilities for drying the green lumber artificially are few. It
used to be that the hardwood lumber was seasoned for six to nine
months before being sold. Furniture dealers now have to buy the
material green from the sawmills. Competition has become so keen
that buyers pay high prices. They must have the material to keep
their plants running and to supply their trade.

The veneer industry provides furniture manufacturers, musical
instrument factories, box makers and the automobile industry with
high-grade material. The industry uses annually 780,000,000 board
feet of first quality hardwood cut from virgin stands of timber.
Red gum and white oak are the hardwoods most in demand. In the
Lake States, a branch of the veneer industry which uses maple,
birch and basswood is located. Oak formerly was the most
important wood used. Now red gum has replaced the oak, as the
supplies of the latter timber have dwindled. At present there is
less than one-fourth of a normal supply of veneer timber in
sight. Even the supplies in the farmers' woodlands are being
depleted. The industry is now largely dependent on the timber of
the southern Mississippi Valley. The veneer industry requires
best-grade material. Clear logs are demanded that are at least 16
inches in diameter at the small end. It is getting harder every
year to secure such logs. Like the furniture industry, the veneer
mills lack adequate supplies of good timber.

No satisfactory substitutes for the hickory and ash used in the
handle industry have yet been found. About the only stocks of
these timbers now left are in the Southern States. Even in those
parts the supplies are getting short and it is necessary to cut
timber in the more remote sections distant from the railroad. The
ash shortage is even more serious than that of hickory timber.
The supplies of ash in the Middle West States north of the Ohio
River are practically exhausted. The demand for ash and hickory
handles is larger even than before the World War. The entire
world depends on the United States for handles made from these
woods. Handle dealers are now willing to pay high prices for ash
and hickory timber. Some of them prepared for the shortage by
buying tracts of hardwood timber. When these reserves are cut
over, these dealers will be in the same position as the rest of
the trade.

Ash and hickory are in demand also by the vehicle and
agricultural implement industries. They also use considerable oak
and compete with the furniture industry to secure what they need
of this timber. Most of these plants are located in the Middle
West but they draw their timber chiefly from the South. Hickory
is a necessary wood to the vehicle industry for use in spokes and
wheels. The factories exert every effort to secure adequate
supplies of timber from the farm woodlands, sawmills and logging
camps. The automobile industry now uses considerable hickory in
the wheels and spokes of motor cars.

Most of the stock used by the vehicle industry is purchased
green. Neither the lumber nor vehicle industry is equipped with
enough kilns for curing this green material. The losses in
working and manufacturing are heavy, running as high as 40 per
cent. Many substitutes for ash, oak and hickory have been tried
but they have failed to prove satisfactory. On account of the
shortage and the high prices of hickory, vehicle factories are
using steel in place of hickory wherever possible. Steel is more
expensive but it can always be secured in quantity when needed.
Furthermore, it is durable and very strong.

Thus we see that our resources of useful soft woods and hard
woods have both been so diminished that prompt reforestation of
these species is an urgent necessity.




CHAPTER VI

THE GREATEST ENEMY OF THE FOREST--FIRE


Our forests are exposed to destruction by many enemies, the worst
of which is fire. From 8,000,000 to 12,000,000 acres of forest
lands annually are burned over by destructive fires. These fires
are started in many different ways. They may be caused by sparks
or hot ashes from a locomotive. Lightning strikes in many forests
every summer, particularly those of the Western States, and
ignites many trees. In the South people sometimes set fires in
order to improve the grazing. Settlers and farmers who are
clearing land often start big brush fires that get out of
their control. Campers, tourists, hunters, and fishermen are
responsible for many forest fires by neglecting to extinguish
their campfires. Sparks from logging engines also cause fires.
Cigar and cigarette stubs and burning matches carelessly thrown
aside start many forest fires. Occasionally fires are also
maliciously set by evil-minded people.

The officers of the National Forests in the West have become
very expert in running down the people who set incendiary fires.
They collect evidence at the scene of the fire, such as pieces of
letters and envelopes, matches, lost handkerchiefs and similar
articles. They hunt for foot tracks and hoof marks. They study
automobile tire tracks. They make plaster of Paris impressions of
these tracks. They follow the tracks--sometimes Indian fashion.
Often there are peculiarities about the tracks which lead to the
detection and punishment of the culprits. A horse may be shod in
an unusual manner; a man may have peculiar hob nails or rubber
heels on his boots or else his footprints may show some
deformity. The forest rangers play the parts of detectives very
well. This novel police work has greatly reduced the number of
incendiary fires.

[Illustration: FOREST FIRES DESTROY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF
TIMBER EVERY YEAR]

A forest fire may destroy in a few hours trees that required
hundreds of years to grow. A heavy stand of timber may be reduced
to a desolate waste because some one forgot to put out a
campfire. Occasionally large forest fires burn farm buildings and
homes and kill hundreds of people. During the dry summer season
when a strong wind is blowing, the fire will run for many miles.
It always leaves woe and desolation in its wake. A mammoth
forest fire in Wisconsin many years ago burned over an area of
two thousand square miles. It killed about fourteen hundred
people and destroyed many millions of dollars worth of timber and
other property. A big forest fire in Michigan laid waste a tract
forty miles wide and one hundred and eighty miles long. More than
four billion feet of lumber, worth $10,000,000, was destroyed and
several hundred people lost their lives. In recent years, a
destructive forest fire in Minnesota caused a loss of $25,000,000
worth of timber and property.

There are several different kinds of forest fires. Some burn
unseen two to four feet beneath the surface of the ground. Where
the soil contains much peat, these fires may persist for weeks or
even months. Sometimes, they do not give off any noticeable
smoke. Their fuel is the decaying wood, tree roots and similar
material in the soil. These underground fires can be stopped only
by flooding the area or by digging trenches down to the mineral
soil. The most effectual way to fight light surface fires is to
throw sand or earth on the flames. Where the fire has not made
much headway, the flames can sometimes be beaten out with green
branches, wet gunny sacks or blankets. The leaves and debris may
be raked away in a path so as to impede their advance.

Usually in the hardwood forests, there is not much cover, such as
dry leaves, on the ground. Fires in these forests destroy the
seedlings and saplings, but do not usually kill the mature trees.
However, they damage the base of the trees and make it easy for
fungi and insects to enter. They also burn the top soil and
reduce the water-absorbing powers of the forest floor. In thick,
dense evergreen forests where the carpet is heavy, fires are much
more serious. They frequently kill the standing trees, burning
trunks and branches and even following the roots deep into the
ground. Dead standing trees and logs aid fires of this kind. The
wind sweeps pieces of burning bark or rotten wood great distances
to kindle new fires. When they fall, dead trees scatter sparks
and embers over a wide belt. Fires also run along the tops of the
coniferous trees high above the ground. These are called
"crown-fires" and are very difficult to control.

The wind plays a big part in the intensity of a forest fire. If
the fire can be turned so that it will run into the wind, it can
be put out more easily. Fires that have the wind back of them and
plenty of dry fuel ahead, speed on their way of destruction at a
velocity of 5 to 10 miles an hour, or more. They usually destroy
everything in their course that will burn, and waste great
amounts of valuable timber. Wild animals, in panic, run together
before the flames. Settlers and farmers with their families flee.
Many are overtaken in the mad flight and perish. The fierce fires
of this type can be stopped only by heavy rain, a change of wind,
or by barriers which provide no fuel and thus choke out the
flames.

Large fires are sometimes controlled by back-firing. A back-fire
is a second fire built and so directed as to run against the wind
and toward the main fire. When the two fires meet, both will go
out on account of lack of fuel. When properly used by experienced
persons, back-fires are very effectual. In inexperienced hands
they are dangerous, as the wind may change suddenly or they may
be lighted too soon. In such cases they often become as great a
menace as the main fire. Another practical system of fighting
fires is to make fire lines around the burning area. These fire
lines or lanes as they are sometimes called, are stretches of
land from which all trees and shrubs have been removed. In the
centre of the lines a narrow trench is dug to mineral soil or the
lines are plowed or burned over so that they are bare of fuel.
Such lines also are of value around woods and grain fields to
keep the fire out. They are commonly used along railroad tracks
where locomotive sparks are a constant source of fire dangers.

Our forests, on account of their great size and the relatively
small man force which guards them, are more exposed to fire
dangers than any other woodlands in the world. The scant rainfall
of many of the western states where great unbroken areas of
forest are located increases the fire damages. The fact that the
western country in many sections is sparsely settled favors
destruction by forest fires. The prevalence of lightning in the
mountains during the summer adds farther to the danger. One of
the most important tasks of the rangers in the Federal forests is
to prevent forest fires.

During the fire season, extra forest guards are kept busy hunting
for signs of smoke throughout the forests. The lookouts in their
high towers, which overlook large areas of forest, watch
constantly for smoke, and as soon as they locate signs of fire
they notify the supervisor of the forest. Lookouts use special
scientific instruments which enable them to locate the position
of the fires from the smoke. At the supervisor's headquarters and
the ranger stations scattered through the forests, equipment,
horses and automobiles are kept ready for instant use when a fire
is reported. Telephone lines and radio sets are used to spread
the news about fires that have broken out.

From five thousand to six thousand forest fires occur each year
in the National Forests of our country. To show how efficient the
forest rangers are in fighting fires, it is worthy of note that
by their prompt actions, 80 per cent. of these fires are confined
to areas of less than ten acres each, while only 20 per cent.
spread over areas larger than ten acres. Lightning causes from 25
to 30 per cent. of the fires. The remaining 70 or 75 per cent.
are classed as "man-caused fires," which are set by campers,
smokers, railroads, brush burners, sawmills and incendiaries. The
total annual loss from forest fires in the Federal forests varies
from a few hundred thousands of dollars in favorable years to
several million in particularly bad fire seasons. During the last
few years, due to efficient fire-fighting methods, the annual
losses have been steadily reduced.

The best way of fighting forest fires is to prevent them. The
forest officers do their best to reduce the chances for fire
outbreak in the Government woodlands. They give away much dead
timber that either has fallen or still is standing. Lumbermen who
hold contracts to cut timber in the National Forest are required
to pile and burn all the slashings. Dry grass is a serious fire
menace. That is why grazing is encouraged in the forests. Rangers
patrol the principal automobile roads to see that careless
campers and tourists have not left burning campfires. Railroads
are required to equip their locomotives with spark-arresters.
They also are obliged to keep their rights of way free of
material which burns readily. Spark-arresters are required also
on logging engines.

The National and State Forests are posted with signs and notices
asking the campers and tourists to be careful with campfires,
tobacco and matches. Advertisements are run in newspapers,
warning people to be careful so as not to set fire to the
forests. Exhibits are made at fairs, shows, community meetings
and similar gatherings, showing the dangers from forest fires and
how these destructive conflagrations may be controlled. Every
possible means is used to teach the public to respect and protect
the forests.

[Illustration: BLACKENED RUINS OF A FIRE-SWEPT FOREST]

For many years, the United States Forest Service and State
Forestry Departments have been keeping a record of forest fires
and their causes. Studies have been made of the length and
character of each fire season. Information has been gathered
concerning the parts of the forest where lightning is most likely
to strike or where campfires are likely to be left by tourists.
The spots or zones of greatest fire danger are located in this
way and more forest guards are placed in these areas during the
dangerous fire season. Careful surveys of this kind are aiding
greatly in reducing the number of forest fires.

In trying to get all possible information about future weather
conditions, the Forestry Departments cooeperate with the United
States Weather Bureau. When the experts predict that long periods
of dry weather or dangerous storms are approaching, the forest
rangers are especially watchful, as during such times, the menace
to the woods is greatest. The rangers also have big fire maps
which they hang in their cabins. These maps show the location of
dangerous fire areas, roads, trails, lookout-posts, cities, towns
and ranches, sawmills, logging camps, telephone lines, fire tool
boxes and other data of value to fire fighters. All this
information is so arranged as to be readily available in time of
need. It shows where emergency fire fighters, tools and food
supplies can be secured, and how best to attack a fire in any
certain district. A detailed plan for fighting forest fires is
also prepared and kept on file at every ranger station.

The following are six rules which, if put in practice, will help
prevent outbreaks of fires:

1. Matches.--Be sure your match is out. Break it in two before
you throw it away.

2. Tobacco.--Throw pipe ashes and cigar or cigarette stubs in the
dust of the road and stamp or pinch out the fire before leaving
them. Don't throw them into the brush, leaves or needles.

3. Making camp.--Build a small campfire. Build it in the open,
not against a tree or log, or near brush. Scrape away the trash
from all around it.

4. Leaving camp.--Never leave a campfire, even for a short time,
without quenching it with water or earth. Be sure it is OUT.

5. Bonfires.--Never build bonfires in windy weather or where
there is the slightest danger of their escaping from control.
Don't make them larger than you need.

6. Fighting fires.--If you find a fire, try to put it out. If you
can't, get word of it to the nearest United States forest ranger
or State fire warden at once.

Remember "minutes count" in reporting forest fires.




CHAPTER VII

INSECTS AND DISEASES THAT DESTROY FORESTS


Forest insects and tree diseases occasion heavy losses each year
among the standing marketable trees. Insects cause a total loss
of more than $100,000,000 annually to the forest products of the
United States. A great number of destructive insects are
constantly at work in the forests injuring or killing live trees
or else attacking dead timber. Forest weevils kill tree seeds and
destroy the young shoots on trees. Bark and timber beetles bore
into and girdle trees and destroy the wood. Many borers and
timber worms infest logs and lumber after they are cut and before
they are removed from the forest. This scattered work of the
insects here, there, and everywhere throughout the forests causes
great damage.

Different kinds of flies and moths deposit their eggs on the
leaves of the trees. After the eggs hatch, the baby caterpillars
feed on the tender, juicy leaves. Some of the bugs destroy all
the leaves and thus remove an important means which the tree has
of getting food and drink. Wire worms attack the roots of the
tree. Leaf hoppers suck on the sap supply of the leaves. Leaf
rollers cause the leaves to curl up and die. Trees injured by
fire fall easy prey before the attacks of forest insects. It
takes a healthy, sturdy tree to escape injury by these pirates of
the forests. There are more than five hundred insects that attack
oak trees and at least two hundred and fifty different species
that carry on destruction among the pines.

Insect pests have worked so actively that many forests have lost
practically all their best trees of certain species. Quantities
of the largest spruce trees in the Adirondacks have been killed
off by bark beetles. The saw-fly worm has killed off most of the
mature larches in these eastern forests. As they travel over the
National and State Forests, the rangers are always on the watch
for signs of tree infection. Whenever they notice red-brown
masses of pitch and sawdust on the bark of the trees, they know
that insects are busy there. Where the needles of a pine or
spruce turn yellow or red, the presence of bark beetles is shown.
Signs of pitch on the bark of coniferous trees are the first
symptoms of infection. These beetles bore through the bark and
into the wood. There they lay eggs. The parent beetles soon die
but their children continue the work of burrowing in the wood.
Finally, they kill the tree by making a complete cut around the
trunk through the layers of wood that act as waiters to carry the
food from the roots to the trunk, branches and leaves. The next
spring these young develop into full-grown beetles, and come out
from the diseased tree. They then attack new trees.

When the forest rangers find evidences of serious infection, they
cut down the diseased trees. They strip the bark from the trunk
and branches and burn it in the fall or winter when the beetles
are working in the bark and can be destroyed most easily. If the
infection of trees extends over a large tract, and there is a
nearby market for the lumber the timber is sold as soon as
possible. Trap trees are also used in controlling certain species
of injurious forest insects. Certain trees are girdled with an ax
so that they will become weakened or die, and thus provide easy
means of entrance for the insects. The beetles swarm to such
trees in great numbers. When the tree is full of insects, it is
cut down and burned. In this way, infections which are not too
severe can often be remedied.

The bark-boring beetles are the most destructive insects that
attack our forests. They have wasted enormous tracts of pine
timber throughout the southern states. The eastern spruce beetle
has destroyed countless feet of spruce. The Engelmann spruce
beetle has devastated many forests of the Rocky Mountains. The
Black Hills beetle has killed billions of feet of marketable
timber in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The hickory bark
beetle, the Douglas fir beetle and the larch worm have been very
destructive.

Forest fungi cause most of the forest tree diseases. A tree
disease is any condition that prevents the tree from growing and
developing in a normal, healthy manner. Acid fumes from smelters,
frost, sunscald, dry or extremely wet weather, all limit the
growth of trees. Leaf diseases lessen the food supplies of the
trees. Bark diseases prevent the movement of the food supplies.
Sapwood ailments cut off the water supply that rises from the
roots. Seed and flower diseases prevent the trees from producing
more of their kind.

Most of the tree parasites can gain entrance to the trees only
through knots and wounds. Infection usually occurs through wounds
in the tree trunk or branches caused by lightning, fire, or by
men or animals. The cone-bearing trees give off pitch to cover
such wounds. In this way they protect the injuries against
disease infection. The hardwood trees are unable to protect their
wounds as effectively as the evergreens. Where the wound is
large, the exposed sapwood dies, dries out, and cracks. The fungi
enter these cracks and work their way to the heartwood. Many of
the fungi cannot live unless they reach the heartwood of the
tree. Fires wound the base and trunks of forest trees severely so
that they are exposed to serious destruction by heartrot.

Foresters try to locate and dispose of all the diseased trees in
the State and Government forests. They strive to remove all the
sources of tree disease from the woods. They can grow healthy
trees if all disease germs are kept away from the timberlands.
Some tree diseases have become established so strongly in forest
regions that it is almost impossible to drive them out. For
example, chestnut blight is a fungous disease that is killing
many of our most valuable chestnut trees. The fungi of this
disease worm their way through the holes in the bark of the
trees, and spread around the trunk. Diseased patches or cankers
form on the limbs or trunk of the tree. After the canker forms on
the trunk, the tree soon dies. Chestnut blight has killed most of
the chestnut trees in New York and Pennsylvania. It is now active
in Virginia and West Virginia and is working its way down into
North and South Carolina.

[Illustration: SECTION OF A VIRGIN FOREST]

Diseased trees are a menace to the forest. They rob the healthy
trees of space, light and food. That is why it is necessary to
remove them as soon as they are discovered. In the smaller and
older forests of Europe, tree surgery and doctoring are practised
widely. Wounds are treated and cured and the trees are pruned and
sprayed at regular intervals. In our extensive woods such
practices are too expensive. All the foresters can do is to cut
down the sick trees in order to save the ones that are sound.

There is a big difference between tree damages caused by forest
insects and those caused by forest fungi and mistletoe. The
insects are always present in the forest. However, it is only
occasionally that they concentrate and work great injury and
damage in any one section. At rare intervals, some very
destructive insects may centre their work in one district. They
will kill a large number of trees in a short time. They continue
their destruction until some natural agency puts them to flight.
The fungi, on the other hand, develop slowly and work over long
periods. Sudden outbreaks of fungous diseases are unusual.

Heavy snows, lightning and wind storms also lay low many of
the tree giants of the forest. Heavy falls of snow may weigh
down the young, tall trees to such an extent that they break.
Lightning--it is worst in the hills and mountains of the western
states--may strike and damage a number of trees in the same
vicinity. If these trees are not killed outright, they are
usually damaged so badly that forest insects and fungi complete
their destruction.

Big trees are sometimes uprooted during forest storms so that
they fall on younger trees and cripple and deform them. Winds
benefit the forests in that they blow down old trees that are no
longer of much use and provide space for younger and healthier
trees to grow. Usually the trees that are blown down have shallow
roots or else are situated in marshy, wet spots so that their
root-hold in the soil is not secure. Trees that have been exposed
to fire are often weakened and blown down easily.

Where excessive livestock grazing is permitted in young forests
considerable damage may result. Goats, cattle and sheep injure
young seedlings by browsing. They eat the tender shoots of the
trees. The trampling of sheep, especially on steep hills, damages
the very young trees. On mountain sides the trampling of sheep
frequently breaks up the forest floor of sponge-like grass and
debris and thus aids freshets and floods. In the Alps of France
sheep grazing destroyed the mountain forests and, later on, the
grass which replaced the woods. Destructive floods resulted. It
has cost the French people many millions of dollars to repair the
damage done by the sheep.

The Federal Government does its best to keep foreign tree
diseases out of the United States. As soon as any serious disease
is discovered in foreign countries the Secretary of Agriculture
puts in force a quarantine against that country. No seed or tree
stock can be imported. Furthermore, all the new species of trees,
cuttings or plants introduced to this country are given thorough
examination and inspection by government experts at the ports
where the products are received from abroad. All diseased trees
are fumigated, or if found diseased, destroyed. In this manner
the Government protects our country against new diseases which
might come to our shores on foreign plants and tree stock.




CHAPTER VIII

THE GROWTH OF THE FORESTRY IDEA


Our forests of the New World were so abundant when the early
settlers landed on the Atlantic Coast that it was almost
impossible to find enough cleared land in one tract to make a
40-acre farm. These thick, dense timberlands extended westward to
the prairie country. It was but natural, therefore, that the
forest should be considered by these pioneers as an obstacle and
viewed as an enemy. Farms and settlements had to be hewed out of
the timberlands, and the forests seemed inexhaustible.

Experts say that the original, virgin forests of the United
States covered approximately 822,000,000 acres. They are now
shrunk to one-sixth of that area. At one time they were the
richest forests in the world. Today there are millions of acres
which contain neither timber nor young growth. Considerable can
be restored if the essential measures are started on a national
scale. Such measures would insure an adequate lumber supply for
all time to come.

Rules and regulations concerning the cutting of lumber and the
misuse of forests were suggested as early as the seventeenth
century. Plymouth Colony in 1626 passed an ordinance prohibiting
the cutting of timber from the Colony lands without official
consent. This is said to be the first conservation law passed in
America. William Penn was one of the early champions of the
"Woodman, spare that tree" slogan. He ordered his colonists to
leave one acre of forest for every five acres of land that were
cleared.

In 1799 Congress set aside $200,000 for the purchase of a small
forest reserve to be used as a supply source of ship timbers for
the Navy. About twenty-five years later, it gave the President
the power to call upon the Army and Navy whenever necessary to
protect the live oak and red cedar timber so selected in Florida.
In 1827, the Government started its first work in forestry. It
was an attempt to raise live oak in the Southern States to
provide ship timbers for the Navy. Forty years later, the
Wisconsin State Legislature began to investigate the destruction
of the forests of that state in order to protect them and prolong
their life. Michigan and Maine, in turn, followed suit. These
were some of the first steps taken to study our forests and
protect them against possible extinction.

The purpose of the Timber Culture Act passed by Congress in 1873
was to increase national interest in reforestation. It provided
that every settler who would plant and maintain 40 acres of
timber in the treeless sections should be entitled to secure
patent for 160 acres of the public domain--that vast territory
consisting of all the states and territories west of the
Mississippi, except Texas, as well as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. This act,
as well as several State laws, failed because the settlers did
not know enough about tree planting. The laws also were not
effective because they did not prevent dishonest practices.

In 1876, the first special agent in forestry was appointed by the
Commissioner of Agriculture to study the annual consumption,
exportation and importation of timber and other forest products,
the probable supply for future wants, and the means best adapted
for forest preservation. Five years later, the Division of
Forestry was organized as a branch of the Department of
Agriculture. It was established in order to carry on
investigations about forestry and how to preserve our trees.

[Illustration: CUTTING MATURE TREES AND LEAVING SEED TREES TO
INSURE A SECOND CROP]

For some nine years the Division of Forestry was nothing more
than a department of information. It distributed technical facts
and figures about the management of private woodlands and
collected data concerning our forest resources. It did not manage
any of the Government timberlands because there were no forest
reserves at that time. It was not until 1891 that the first
forest reserve, the Yellowstone Park Timberland Reserve, was
created by special proclamation of President Harrison. Later it
became part of the National Park reserves. Although the Division
of Forestry had no special powers to oversee and direct the
management of the forest reserves, during the next six years a
total of 40,000,000 acres of valuable timberland were so
designated and set aside. At the request of the Secretary of the
Interior, the National Academy of Sciences therefore worked out a
basis for laws governing national forests. Congress enacted this
law in 1897. Thereafter the Department of the Interior had active
charge of the timberlands. At that time little was known
scientifically about the American forests. There were no
schools of forestry in this country. During the period 1898-1903,
several such schools were established.

President McKinley, during his term of office, increased the
number of forest reserves from 28 to over 40, covering a total
area of 30,000,000 acres. President Roosevelt added many millions
of acres to the forest reserves, bringing the net total to more
than 150,000,000 acres, including 159 different forests. In 1905,
the administration of the forest reserves was transferred from
the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture,
and their name changed to National Forests. No great additions to
the government timberlands have been made since that time. Small,
valuable areas have been added. Other undesirable tracts have
been cut off from the original reserves.

The growth of the Division of Forestry, now the United States
Forest Service, has been very remarkable since 1898, when it
consisted of only a few scientific workers and clerks. At
present it employs more than 2,600 workers, which number is
increased during the dangerous fire season to from 4,000 to 5,000
employees. The annual appropriations have been increased from
$28,500 to approximately $6,500,000. The annual income from Uncle
Sam's woodlands is also on the gain and now amounts to about
$5,000,000 yearly. This income results largely from the sale of
timber and the grazing of livestock on the National Forests.




CHAPTER IX

OUR NATIONAL FORESTS


Our National Forests include 147 distinct and separate bodies of
timber in twenty-seven different states and in Alaska and Porto
Rico. They cover more than 156,000,000 acres. If they could be
massed together in one huge area like the state of Texas, it
would make easier the task of handling the forests and fighting
fires. The United States Forest Service, which has charge of
their management and protection, is one of the largest and most
efficient organizations of its kind in the world. It employs
expert foresters, scientists, rangers and clerks.

The business of running the forest is centred in eight district
offices located in different parts of the country with a general
headquarters at Washington, D.C. These districts are in charge of
district foresters and their assistants.

The district headquarters and the States that they look after
are:


No. 1. Northern District, Missoula, Montana.
(Montana, northeastern Washington,
northern Idaho, and northwestern South
Dakota.)

No. 2. Rocky Mountain District, Denver, Colorado.
(Colorado, Wyoming, the remainder
of South Dakota, Nebraska, northern
Michigan, and northern Minnesota.)

No. 3. Southwestern District, Albuquerque,
New Mexico. (Most of Arizona and New
Mexico.)

No. 4. Intermountain District, Ogden, Utah.
(Utah, southern Idaho, western Wyoming,
eastern and central Nevada, and
northwestern Arizona.)

No. 5. California District, San Francisco, California.
(California and southwestern Nevada.)

No. 6. North Pacific District, Portland, Oregon.
(Washington and Oregon.)

No. 7. Eastern District, Washington, D.C.
(Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, New
Hampshire, Maine, and Porto Rico.)

No. 8. Alaska District, Juneau, Alaska.
(Alaska.)


Each of the National Forests is under the direct supervision of
a forest supervisor and is split up into from 5 to 10 or more
ranger districts. Each ranger district is in charge of a forest
ranger who has an area of from 100,000 to 200,000 acres in his
charge.

The National Forests are, for the most part, located in the
mountainous region of the West, with small scattered areas in the
Lake States, and the White Mountains, Southern Appalachians and
Ozarks of the Eastern and Southern States. Many of them are a
wilderness of dense timber. It is a huge task to protect these
forests against the ravages of fire. Fire fighting takes
precedence over all other work in the National Forests. Lookout
stations are established on high points to watch for signs of
fire. Airplanes are used on fire patrol over great areas of
forest. Where railroads pass through the National Forests,
rangers operate motor cars and hand-cars over the tracks in their
patrol work. Launches are used in Alaska and on some of the
forests where there are large lakes, to enable the fire fighters
and forest guardians to cover their beats quickly. Every year the
National Forests are being improved and made more accessible by
the building of permanent roads, trails and telephone lines.
Special trails are built to and in the fire protection areas of
remote sections. A network of good roads is constructed in every
forest to improve fire fighting activities as well as to afford
better means of communication between towns, settlements
and farms. The road and trail plan followed in the National
Forests is mapped out years in advance. In the more remote
sections, trails are first constructed. Later, these trails may
be developed into wagon or motor roads. Congress annually
appropriates large sums of money for the building of roads in
the National Forests. Over 25,000 miles of roads and 35,000
miles of trails have already been constructed in these forests.

Communication throughout the National Forests is had by the use
of the telephone and the radio or wireless telephone. Signalling
by means of the heliograph is practiced on bright days in regions
that have no telephones. Arrangements made with private telephone
companies permit the forest officers to use their lines. The
efficient communication systems aid in the administration of the
forests and speeds the work of gathering fire fighters quickly at
the points where smoke is detected.

Agricultural and forestry experts have surveyed the lands in the
National Forests. Thus they have prevented the use of lands for
forestry purposes which are better adapted for farming. Since
1910, more than 26,500,000 acres of lands have been excluded from
the forests. These lands were more useful for farming or grazing
than for forestry. Practically all lands within the National
Forests have now been examined and classified. At intervals
Congress has combined several areas of forest lands into single
tracts. Government lands outside the National Forests have also
been traded for state or private lands within their boundaries.
Thus the forests have been lined-up in more compact bodies.
Careful surveys are made before such trades are closed to make
sure that the land given to Uncle Sam is valuable for timber
production and the protection of stream flow, and that the
Government receives full value for the land that is exchanged.

The National Forests contain nearly five hundred billion board
feet of merchantable timber. This is 23 per cent. of the
remaining timber in the country. Whenever the trees in the forest
reach maturity they are sold and put to use. All green trees to
be cut are selected by qualified forest officers and blazed and
marked with a "U.S." This marking is done carefully so as to
protect the forest and insure a future crop of trees on the area.
Timber is furnished at low rates to local farmers, settlers, and
stockmen for use in making improvements. Much fire wood and dead
and down timber also is given away. The removal of such material
lessens the fire danger in the forest.

Over a billion feet of timber, valued at more than $3,000,000, is
sold annually from the National Forests.

One generally does not think of meat, leather and wool as forest
crops. Nevertheless, the National Forests play an important part
in the western livestock industry. Experts report that over
one-fifth of the cattle and one-half of the sheep of the western
states are grazed in the National Forests. These livestock are
estimated to be worth nearly one-quarter billion dollars. More
than 9,500,000 head of livestock are pastured annually under
permit in the Federal forests. In addition, some 4,000,000 to
6,000,000 calves and lambs are grazed free of charge.

[Illustration: SEED BEDS IN A FOREST NURSERY]

The ranges suitable for stock grazing are used to pasture sheep,
cattle, horses, hogs and goats. The Secretary of Agriculture
decides what number and what kind of animals shall graze on each
forest. He regulates the grazing and prevents injury to the
ranges from being overstocked with too many cattle and sheep. The
forest ranges are divided into grazing units. Generally, the
cattle and horses are grazed in the valleys and on the lower
slopes of the mountain. The sheep and goats are pastured on the
high mountain sides and in the grassy meadows at or above
timberline.

Preferences to graze live stock on the forest ranges are for the
most part granted to stockmen who own improved ranch property and
live in or near one of the National Forests. The fee for grazing
on forest ranges is based on a yearlong rate of $1.20 a head of
cattle, $1.50 for horses, $.90 for hogs and $.30 a head for
sheep.

At times it is necessary, for short periods, to prohibit grazing
on the Government forest ranges. For example, when mature timber
has been cut from certain areas, it is essential that sheep be
kept off such tracts until the young growth has made a good start
in natural reforestation. Camping grounds needed for recreation
purposes by the public are excluded from the grazing range. If a
shortage of the water supply of a neighboring town or city
threatens, or if floods or erosion become serious due to fire or
overgrazing of the land, the range is closed to live-stock and
allowed to recuperate. Where artificial planting is practiced,
grazing is often forbidden until the young trees get a good
start.

The total receipts which Uncle Sam collects from the 30,000 or
more stockmen who graze their cattle and sheep on the National
Forests amount to nearly $2,500,000 annually. As a result of the
teachings of the Forest Service, the stockmen are now raising
better livestock. Improved breeding animals are kept in the herds
and flocks. Many of the fat stock now go directly from the range
to the market. Formerly, most of the animals had to be fed on
corn and grain in some of the Middle Western States to flesh them
for market. Experiments have been carried on which have shown the
advantages of new feeding and herding methods. The ranchers have
banded together in livestock associations, which cooeperate with
the Forest Service in managing the forest ranges.

It costs about $5 to sow one acre of ground to tree seed, and
approximately $10 an acre to set out seedling trees. The seed is
obtained from the same locality where it is to be planted. In
many instances, cones are purchased from settlers who make a
business of gathering them. The Federal foresters dry these cones
in the sun and thresh out the seed, which they then fan and
clean. If it is desired to store supplies of tree seed from year
to year it is kept in sacks or jars, in a cool, dry place,
protected from rats and mice. Where seed is sown directly on the
ground, poison bait must be scattered over the area in order to
destroy the gophers, mice and chipmunks which otherwise would eat
the seed. Sowing seed broadcast on unprepared land has usually
failed unless the soil and weather conditions were just right.
For the most part, setting out nursery seedlings has given better
results than direct seeding. Two men can set out between five
hundred and one thousand trees a day.

The National Forests contain about one million acres of denuded
forest lands. Much of this was cut-over and so severely burned
before the creation of the forests that it bears no tree growth.
Some of these lands will reseed themselves naturally while other
areas have to be seeded or planted by hand. In this way the lands
that will produce profitable trees are fitted to support forest
cover. Because the soils and climate of our National Forests are
different, special experiments have been carried on in different
places to decide the best practices to follow. Two method of
reforestation are commonly practiced. In some places, the tree
seed is sown directly upon the ground and, thereafter, may or may
not be cultivated. This method is limited to the localities where
the soil and moisture conditions are favorable for rapid growth.
Under the other plan, the seedlings are grown in nurseries for
several years under favorable conditions. They are then moved to
the field and set out in permanent plantations.




CHAPTER X

THE NATIONAL FORESTS OF ALASKA


There are two great National Forests in Alaska. They cover
20,579,740 acres or about 5-1/2 per cent. of the total area of
Alaska. The larger of these woodlands, the Tongass National
Forest, is estimated to contain 70,000,000,000 board feet of
timber ripe for marketing. Stands of 100,000 board feet per acre
are not infrequent. This is the Alaskan forest that will some day
be shipping large amounts of timber to the States. It has over
12,000 miles of shore line and ninety per cent. of the usable
timber is within two miles of tidewater. This makes it easy to
log the timber and load the lumber directly from the forests to
the steamers. This forest is 1500 miles closer to the mainland
markets than is the other Alaskan National Forest.

In most of the National Forests the rangers ride around their
beats on horseback. The foresters in the Tongass use motor boats.
They travel in couples; two men to a 35-foot boat, which is
provided with comfortable eating and sleeping quarters. The
rangers live on the boat all the time. During the summer they
work sixteen to twenty hours daily. The days are long and the
nights short, and they must travel long distances between points
of work. On such runs one man steers the boat and watches the
forested shoreline for three or four hours at a time, while his
mate reads or sleeps; then they change off. In this way, they are
able to make the most efficient use of the long periods of
daylight.

The other big timberland in Alaska is the Chugach National
Forest. It is a smaller edition of the Tongass Forest. Its trees
are not so large and the stand of timber only about one-half as
heavy as in the Tongass. Experts estimate that it contains
7,000,000,000 board feet of lumber. Western hemlock predominates.
There is also much spruce, poplar and birch. Stands of 40,000 to
50,000 feet of lumber an acre are not unusual. In the future, the
lumber of the Chugach National Forest will play an important part
in the industrial life of Alaska. Even now, it is used by the
fishing, mining, railroad and agricultural interests. On account
of its great distance from the markets of the Pacific Northwest
it will be a long time before lumber from this forest will be
exported.

The timber in the Tongass National Forest runs 60 per cent.
western hemlock and 20 per cent. Sitka spruce. The other 20 per
cent. consists of western red cedar, yellow cypress, lodge-pole
pine, cottonwood and white fir. The yellow cypress is very
valuable for cabinet making. All these species except the
cedar are suitable for pulp manufacture. Peculiarly enough,
considerable of the lumber used in Alaska for box shooks in the
canneries and in building work is imported from the United
States. The local residents do not think their native timber is
as good as that which they import.

Alaska will probably develop into one of the principal paper
sources of the United States. Our National Forests in Alaska
contain approximately 100,000,000 cords of timber suitable for
paper manufacture. Experts report that these forests could
produce 2,000,000 cords of pulpwood annually for centuries
without depletion. About 6,000,000 tons of pulpwood annually are
now required to keep us supplied with enough paper. The Tongass
National Forest could easily supply one-third of this amount
indefinitely. This forest is also rich in water power. It would
take more than 250,000 horses to produce as much power as that
which the streams and rivers of southern Alaska supply.

The western hemlock and Sitka spruce are the best for paper
making. The spruce trees are generally sound and of good quality.
The hemlock trees are not so good, being subject to decay at the
butts. This often causes fluted trunks. The butt logs from such
trees usually are inferior. This defect in the hemlock reduces
its market value to about one-half that of the spruce for paper
making. Some of the paper mills in British Columbia are now using
these species of pulpwood and report that they make high-grade
paper.

The pulp logs are floated down to the paper mill. In the mill the
bark is removed from the logs. Special knives remove all the
knots and cut the logs into pieces twelve inches long and six
inches thick. These sticks then pass into a powerful grinding
machine which tears them into small chips. The chips are cooked
in special steamers until they are soft. The softened chips are
beaten to pieces in large vats until they form a pasty pulp. The
pulp is spread over an endless belt of woven wire cloth of small
mesh. The water runs off and leaves a sheet of wet pulp which
then is run between a large number of heated and polished steel
cylinders which press and dry the pulp into sheets of paper.
Finally, it is wound into large rolls ready for commercial use.

If a pulp and paper industry is built up in Alaska, it will be of
great benefit to that northern country. It will increase the
population by creating a demand for more labor. It will aid the
farming operations by making a home market for their products. It
will improve transportation and develop all kinds of business.

Altogether 420,000,000 feet of lumber have been cut and sold from
the national forests of Alaska in the past ten years. This
material has been made into such products as piling, saw logs and
shingle bolts. All this lumber has been used in Alaska and none
of it has been exported. Much of the timber was cut so that it
would fall almost into tide-water. Then the logs were fastened
together in rafts and towed to the sawmills. One typical raft of
logs contained more than 1,500,000 feet of lumber. It is not
unusual for spruce trees in Alaska to attain a diameter of from
six to nine feet and to contain 10,000 or 15,000 feet of lumber.

Southeastern Alaska has many deep-water harbors which are open
the year round. Practically all the timber in that section is
controlled by the Government and is within the Tongass National
Forest. This means that this important crop will be handled
properly. No waste of material will occur. Cutting will be
permitted only where the good of the forest justifies such work.




CHAPTER XI

PROGRESS IN STATE FORESTRY


The rapid depletion and threatened exhaustion of the timber
supply in the more thickly populated sections of the East has
prompted several of the states to initiate action looking toward
the conservation of their timber resources. As far back as 1880,
a forestry commission was appointed in New Hampshire to formulate
a forest policy for the State. Vermont took similar action two
years later, followed within the next few years by many of the
northeastern and lake states.

These commissions were mainly boards of inquiry, for the purpose
of gathering reliable information upon which to report, with
recommendations, for the adoption of a state forest policy. As a
result of the inquiries, forestry departments were established in
a number of states. The report of the New York Commission of 1884
resulted in forest legislation, in 1885, creating a forestry
department and providing for the acquisition of state forests.
Liberal appropriations were made from time to time for this
purpose, until now the state forests embrace nearly 2,000,000
acres, the largest of any single state.

New York state forests were created, especially, for the
protection of the Adirondack and Catskill regions as great
camping and hunting grounds, and not for timber production. The
people of the state were so fearful that through political
manipulation this vast forest resource might fall into the hands
of the timber exploiters, that a constitutional amendment was
proposed and adopted, absolutely prohibiting the cutting of green
timber from the state lands. Thus, while New York owns large
areas of state forest land, it is unproductive so far as
furnishing timber supplies to the state is concerned. It is held
distinctly for the recreation it affords to campers and hunters,
and contains many famous summer resorts.

State forestry in Pennsylvania began in 1887, when a commission
was appointed to study conditions, resulting in the establishment
of a Commission of Forestry in 1895. Two years later, an act was
passed providing for the purchase of state forests. At the
present time, Pennsylvania has 1,250,000 acres of state forest
land. Unlike those of New York, Pennsylvania forests were
acquired and are managed primarily for timber production,
although the recreational uses are not overlooked.

The large areas of state-owned lands in the Lake States suitable,
mainly, for timber growing, enabled this section to create
extensive state forests without the necessity of purchase as was
the case in New York and Pennsylvania. As a result, Wisconsin has
nearly 400,000 acres of state forest land, Minnesota, about
330,000, and Michigan, about 200,000 acres. South Dakota, with a
relatively small area of forest land, has set aside 80,000 acres
for state forest. A number of other states have initiated a
policy of acquiring state forest lands, notably, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and
Indiana, each with small areas, but likely to be greatly
increased within the next few years under the development of
present policies. Other states are falling in line with this
forward movement. There are but 4,237,587 acres in state forests
in the United States. This is only 1-1/2 per cent. of the
cut-over and denuded land in the country which is useful only for
tree production. The lack of funds prevents many states from
embarking more extensively in this work. Many states set aside
only a few thousand a year; others, that are more progressive and
realize the need of forestry extension, spend annually from one
hundred thousand to five hundred thousand dollars. Foresters are,
generally, agreed that as much as 25 per cent. of the forest land
of every state should be publicly owned for producing large sized
timber, requiring seventy-five to one hundred years to grow, and
which the private owner would not be interested in producing.
National, state, or communal forests must supply it. All of these
combined comprise a very small part of the forests of most of the
states, so that much larger areas must be acquired by the states
and the national government to safeguard our future timber
supplies.

Not less than thirty-two states are actually engaged in state
forestry work. Many of them have well-organized forestry
departments, which, in states like New York and Pennsylvania,
having large areas of state forests, are devoted largely to the
care and protection of these lands. In other states having no
state forests, the work is largely educational in character.

The most notable progress in forestry has been made in fire
protection. All states having forestry departments lay especial
emphasis upon forest protection, since it is recognized that only
by protecting the forests from fire is it possible to succeed in
growing timber crops. In fact, in most cases, the prevention of
fire in itself is sufficient to insure re-growth and productive
forests. Pennsylvania is spending $500,000 annually in protecting
her forests from fire. The cooeperation of the Federal Government,
under a provision of the Weeks Law which appropriates small sums
of money for forest protection, provided the state will
appropriate an equal or greater amount, has done much to
encourage the establishment of systems of forest protection in
many of the states.



 


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