THE FOREST IN RELATION TO MAN 557 



can be regulated either by enforcing strict rules as to the 

 private uses of forests or by making it impossible for individuals 

 or corporations to profit from the exploitation of forests. 



2. Fires, most of which are of artificial origin. Much can be 

 accomplished through suitable regulations and supervision (see 

 table below). 



CAUSES OF FOREST FIRES 



Records kept by various state foresters and by agents of the United 

 States Forest Service over a period of seven years showed that forest 

 fires averaged over 36,000 a year. The causes were as follows : 



Per Cent 



Campers and smokers 15.5 



Railroad 14.6 



Incendiarism 14. i 



Brush-burning 13.5 



Lightning 8.7 



Lumbering 5.7 



Miscellaneous 6.6 



Unknown origin 21.3 



In the national forests there are well-organized fire patrols. 

 They have succeeded in preventing many fires and in keeping 

 the total fire damage in the national forest down to a small 

 fraction of what it is in privately owned forests. The chief 

 damage done by forest fires is to young growths ; this prevents 

 restocking. The rules for fire prevention in forests are posted 

 on trees, and every person who has occasion to go into the woods 

 should heed these regulations. 



3. Various species of insects. 



4. Various species of fungi. These classes of organisms (in- 

 sects and fungi) destroy every year trees and timber worth 

 millions of dollars, and there is no one way to fight them all. 



404. Other forest relations. The forest is related to human 

 affairs as the home of many animals and of many plants other 

 than the trees. It is in the forest that valuable game and fur 

 animals find their food and shelter, and the destruction of the 

 forest means the extermination of many of these animals. 



