AMERICAN FORESTRY 



The forest lias another g-reat func- 

 tion scarcely less important than the 

 furnishing' of timber for a multitu le 

 of needs. This is its value as a soil 

 cover. The water-power available for 

 economic development of the streams 

 rising- in the Southern Applachians 

 has at an extremely conservative esti- 

 mate a capitalized value of $1,000,000,- 

 000. The protection of the forests on 

 the water-sheds of these streams is a 

 fundamental step in the utilization of 

 this great resource. The conserving of 

 the power of these streams will be a 

 long step toward the realization of the 

 day eagerly looked for by the South 

 when the most of its cotton shall be 

 manufactured at home. 



So far there has been only an unre- 

 stricted exploitation of the great forests 

 of the South. They have been cut for 

 lumber and cooperage stock in the most 

 wasteful fashion. They have been tur- 

 pentined by methods which have left 

 millions of acres of dead timber in 

 their wake. From the Atlantic to the 

 ]\Iississip]ji forest fires have burned 

 unchecked. I do not mean to implv 

 that the South has been more wasteful 

 of its forest heritage than have other 

 sections of our country. .All sections 

 have been equally guilty in this. But 

 there is this element of hope for the 

 South which some cither regions do not 

 have. It has large areas of forest yet 

 standing which it can conserve. 



The forester is not a tree idolizer. 

 He believes that the forests should be 

 used. He does not believe that it is a 

 good economic ]jolicy to maintain for- 

 ests on land which would produce 

 higher returns from other crops. He 

 does believe that all land which is 

 better adapted to growing trees than to 

 any other purpose should be perman- 

 ently held to the growing of tiiuber. 

 This is sound economy. Perhaps the 

 200.000,000 acres of forest which the 

 South now has may be some day re- 

 duced to 100,000,000 acres as the de- 

 mand for farm land increases, but it 

 is undoubtedly true that this 100,- 

 000,000 acres, if brought to its highest 

 productive capacity, will yield a greater 



revenue through the growing of timber 

 than if planted to any other crop. 



Trees make little demand upon the 

 soil. Thev flourish where farm crops 

 fail. The problem, then, is to see that 

 each kind of land grows the crop to 

 which it is adapted, and that it i)ro- 

 duces the greatest possible yield. From 

 its 200,000,000 acres of forests, the 

 South is now manufacturing a product 

 worth a little more than $2 per acre. 

 From 100,000,000 acres of forest it 

 should eventually secure as great a to- 

 tal yield, or twice as much per acre as 

 now. It is not good economy to devote 

 30,000,000 acres to the production of 

 cotton, with an average yield of only 

 two-fifths of a bale per acre, or 3,000.- 

 000 acres to the growing of corn, with 

 an average yield of less than seventeen 

 bushels per acre. Just as better methods 

 will double the )-ield of these great 

 staples, so will they double the yield 

 of forest products. 



We must have timber, consequently 

 our forests must be maintained. The 

 lumber industry must be made a per- 

 manent industry, harvesting the annual 

 growth of a well-cared-for forest, ani 

 leaving a crop for next year instead of 

 cleaning ofT the crop of 100 to 200 

 years, with no provision for the future. 

 It is of more imi)(irtance that Louisiana 

 should cut 1,000.000.000 feet of long- 

 k'af ])ine lumber twenty-five years 

 hence than that it should cut 2,000,000,- 



000 feet next year. It is of more im- 

 ])ortance that Florida should gather 

 10,000,000 gallons of tur])entine in 1925 

 than that it should gather 20,000,000 

 gallons in 1910. 



The conservationist is no idle theorist. 



1 le believes in use, but not in abuse. 

 (Iranted that the forest must be made 

 of the .greatest possible use, but that 

 this use must not be destructive, that 

 we may cut the trees from year to year, 

 but that the forest must exist forever, 

 we come to the practical measures 

 necessary to accomplish these ends. 



These are many, and b\' no means easy 

 of solution. 



The forests of the South are jirac- 

 tically all in private hands. With slight 



