946 



Rural School Leaflet 



burning many acres; and not only destroying the timber, but burning all 

 the leaf mold on the ground so that many years must elapse before trees 

 can grow well. Railroad locomotives send out a great many sparks, 

 which in dry weather frequently start small fires that soon develop into 

 large ones. In this way much timber has been burned every year. Mr. 

 Graves, the Forester for the United States Government, makes the state- 

 ment that since 1870 fifty million acres have been burned over by forest 

 fires, resulting in a loss of fifty million dollars each year. 



Another cause of damage is insects. Beetles bore into the trees and 

 kill them, or caterpillars eat the leaves off the trees and cause them gradu- 

 ally to die; so that between the fires, the insects, and the lumbermen, the 

 woodlands and forests of our country have disappeared very rapidly. It 

 is necessary for us to begin immediately to take care of our forests, and 

 this can be done in two ways: first, by protecting them against fire and 

 using them wisely without waste or destruction; and second, by planting 

 new trees or sowing seed in places where trees will grow but where there 

 are no old trees to furnish seed for new growth. Even in small communi- 

 ties much can be done toward helping to save our forests if each one will 

 do his part. Boys and girls should be taught the danger of leaving a fire 

 unguarded ; it should always be extinguished before they leave the woods. 

 They should also be taught to protect the young trees that are coming 

 up, so that these will not be trampled on or uprooted. A most valuable 

 nature-study lesson would be to teach the pupils to gather some seed and 

 sow it in treeless places. They will then be doing something that in years 

 to come will contribute greatly toward the welfare and prosperity of the 

 community. 



II. THE LOCUST TREE 



Last year we studied the white pine, which is one of the most important 



of all the coniferous, or cone-bearing, trees native 

 to this country. This year we have for special 

 study the locust tree, which is one of the broad- 

 leaved trees. We have already learned that the 

 cone-bearing trees furnish a very large proportion 

 of the timber used in our country, and that the 

 hardwoods, or broad-leaved trees, are perhaps not 

 so generally useful. For certain purposes, however, 

 the carpenter or the builder frequently has to turn 

 to the hardwoods for what he wants, either for 

 hardness or durability or for the beautiful grain 



Leaf and fruit of common g^j-^^j satin-like finish of which hardwoods are capable. 

 locust 



We all know that a handsome piece of mahogany or 



cvirly birch or bird's-eye maple is much better suited to the making of 



