lO.U 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



PURPI,!; ArOUNTAIX XICAK NANKING, CHINA 



General view of the lower slopes of I'liri'le Mountain sliowing the hotise erecled for tools, seeds, etc., and to serve as living quarters for the 

 superintendent in charge of the work. The tree plantations are shown [ly light dots in ttie middle distance towards the left. The river 

 visible in the distance is the Yang-tze-Kiang. 



"( >f ihc two basic materials iif our ci\'ilizatinii, wijoil 

 and iron, the forest supplies mie. The (luniinant phice 

 of the forest in mir national ecnnonn- is well illustrated 

 by the fact that iid article \vhal-(ie\ er. whether nf use or 

 ornament, whether it be for fuml. shelter, cluthing, con- 

 venience, protection, or ilecuratiiin, can be produced and 

 delivered to the user, as incluslr)- is nnw organized, with- 

 out the hel]) of the forest in su|iplving wnml. .\n 

 examination of the history of any article, including the 

 production of the raw material, and its manufacture, 

 transportation and distribution, will at once make this 

 point clear." 



These remarks, while made with |)articular reference 

 to America, ap]ily with e(|ual force to Cdiin.i. Most por- 

 tions of the new republic lie well north in the temperate 

 zone, where fuel for warmth i> a \ ital necessit\- during a 

 large ])art of the year. Ivxisting industries require large 

 quantities of fuel and of lumber and ncj (.me will hesitate 

 freely to admit that with a cheap and abundant snp])l\- 

 of these so essential commodities, the standard of li\'ing 

 among all classe>. their comfort, bealth and proilucti\'e- 

 ness would all show a prompt and striking rise, liut 

 under existing coiiilitions most of the needed forest prod- 

 ucts must lie importeil .md the resulting drain on the 

 financial resources of the country is among the least 

 harmful effects of a most unfortunate siuiation. The 

 chief harm comes from the handii-,ip to iiidustri.d devel- 

 opment, from the depressed standard of li\ing, .nid fn.im 

 the low ])ro(lucli\eness per capita. Ivven if means for 



cheap and rapid transportation were available, importa- 

 tion of lumber from abrc.iad could never form a satisfac- 

 tory sulistitute for a domestic timber supply. The great 

 mass of the population is poor and can ill-alTord the 

 added cost of transportation — even granting that it were 

 low — and the profits of the many dealers through whom 

 tb.e imjxirted wood must pass. 



Since trees have vanished, brush and wild shrub 

 growth of all kinds have eagerly been consumed, until 

 the \ery roots of the plants are dug from the .ground to 

 ser\-e as a scanty supply of fuel for cooking and for 

 warmth. The dead grass and the stubble from the fields 

 are raked clean to eke out the desperately needed but 

 lamentably inadei|uate su|ii)ly. -\nd then comes fire dur- 

 ing the late autunm to add its share to an alreadv almost 

 hopeless situation. 



XaturalK under such conditions floods are bv no 

 ireans rare, for the essential part played by forests in 

 the protection of stream flow by conserving a large por- 

 tion of the rainfall and giving it out later during the dry 

 Season is too well known and recognized 1,1 need exposi- 

 tion here. 



In this connection, also, the fixation of wind-driven 

 sands and loose earth is too imixirtani to be overlooked. 

 To bring about such a result there is in most places no 

 agency so eft'ective and so profitable as the establishment 

 fif forest growth. 



