ARBORICULTURE 



261 



-enough iu the drying up oi" the brooks 

 in summer and the lessened volume oi' 

 the rivers and iusuihciency of water 

 powers, as well as iu the dwindling of the 

 trees and their slow growth to replace 

 the old forest by sprouts — the very be- 

 ginning of a seedling forest being rare 

 indeed, except where some old monarch 

 pine or oak has spread its offspring over 

 some open lot whose cultivation has 

 ceased. This burning away of the leaf 

 mold is one of the most absolute ruins 

 of the work of ages possible, for in a vir- 

 gin forest this deposit has been centuries 

 in accumulating, and yet a few hours of 

 fire will sweep away the gift. 



We hear a great deal about what the 

 government is going to do about forestry, 

 and the reports of the new Bureau of 

 Forestry make interesting reading and 

 abound in valuable suggestions; now we 

 are told that the Bureau is going to in- 

 vestigate the phenomena of forest fires 

 ,by students who will be on the spot. It 

 is doubtful whether scientists can add 

 anything that is at all practical to what 

 is known about the phenomena, for what 

 is really necessary is to prevent them, 

 and for that an anny of forest wardens 

 would be necessary, and fire-extinguish- 

 ing apparatus at every point of danger. 

 We can suggest how this army could be 

 provided, with an absolute economy of 

 men, money, morals, politics and every 

 imaginable matter. Close up the losing 

 venture in the Philippines, put the army 

 back on the peace basis, and devote the 

 waste of war to the real interests of the 

 Nation in this excellent fashion. 



For, really, the future existence of this 

 people, or any people, will depend, in 

 .some generations, on forestry laws and 

 their enforcement. It is not an overesti- 

 mate that $25,000,000 of actual, existing 

 property, in the way of lumber and fire- 

 wood, goes up in these forest fires every 

 year; it is probable the figure might be 

 douT^led. A reading of the report of the 

 Secretary of the Interior for a series of 

 years is very suggestive on this point. 

 But in witnessing the progress of a fire 

 nothing can be contributed to preventing 

 it. Is it supposed there is a microbe of 

 conflagration which the scientific expert 

 can catch? There is such a microbe: it 



lives in the match that the careless fool 

 lights his pipe with, in the little camp- 

 lire of a fishing party, in the spark from 

 a locomotive. Once that spark, that still- 

 buruiug match end, those smoldering 

 embers, catch hold of the leaves when 

 they're dry — the fire races, and in fifteen 

 minutes as many men will have as much 

 as they can do to stop it. Certain things 

 can be done to cut off a fire, certain 

 things to check and turn it back, in any 

 given tract. If in a great area of govern- 

 ment forest, or in such regions as the for- 

 ests of Maine or Vermont, or the Adiron- 

 dacks, lanes were cut so wide that the 

 fire would not jump them, that would 

 save much; but these lanes would not 

 avail against a really raging forest de- 

 vourer, which leaps in the air and lights 

 trees rods away in such a drought as this. 

 On the other hand, it is patent to all 

 who walk through the woods that a nar- 

 row byroad will often make a barrier to 

 the ground-running flames; and no one 

 who has often fought fire in the woods 

 has failed to see at some time such a fire 

 go out of itself, lie down and make an 

 end, as if by magic. Perhaps the scien- 

 tists can find the cause of that. Of 

 course, a back fire can be set against the 

 wind, and if the distance be judiciously 

 calculated and energy enough employed 

 in forcing the backward progress, it may 

 work. But it comes back to this: that if 

 forest fires are to be prevented there 

 must be w^ardens of the forest, with rang- 

 ers under them. And one thing must be 

 adedd: The time is near when the gov- 

 ernment, in the interest of all the people, 

 must enact and enforce regulations in 

 regard to the cutting of timber and the 

 burning of brush, etc., not only for the 

 public domain, but for all private own- 

 ers, since the private owner has no right 

 to bankrupt posterity for his personal 



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Arboriculture goes to every civilized 

 nation and is read by the most intelli- 

 gent people of our country. 



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