THE FOREST IN RELATION TO MAN 



553 



the soil deposited by the streams coming from deforested re- 

 gions. And, finally, much of the money and effort spent in 

 reclaiming desert land would be wasted but for supplies of 

 water drawn from regions continually covered with forest. 



397. Forest control. 

 Because of our de- 

 pendence upon the 

 products of the for- 

 est, as well as upon 

 the water and the 

 soil that are so much 

 influenced by the liv- 

 ing trees, the proper 

 control of the forest 

 becomes a matter of 

 national concern. In 

 the past the private 

 owners of forests 

 could not be de- 

 pended upon to han- 

 dle these in such a 

 way as to secure to 

 the general popula- 

 tion the full benefits 

 and protection that 

 are necessary. Very 

 often the owner of a 

 forest cares only for 

 what he can get out 

 of it, and he cannot be expected to take into account or feel much 

 concern about effects a hundred miles away or fifty years away. 



The Forest Service of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, which was established in 1875, has made many careful, 

 scientific studies of forest conditions at the forest experiment 

 stations in different parts of the country. It has thus been able 

 to give sound advice on the care and management of forests and 



Fig. 226. A good stand of trees. Lake Placid, 

 New York 



Forest areas in good condition not only furnish in- 

 valuable materials, but protect the soil and insure a 

 steady supply of water. (From photograph by United 

 States Bureau of Forestry) 



