CHAPTER IV. 



ENEMIES OF THE FOREST. 



The forest is threatened by many enemies, of which 

 fire and reckless lumbering are the worst. In the 

 United States sheep grazing and wind come next. Cat- 

 tle and horses do much less damage than sheep, and 

 snow break is less costly than windfall. Landslides, 

 floods, insects, and fungi are sometimes very harmful. 

 In certain situations numbers of trees are killed by light- 

 ning, which has also been known to set the woods on 

 fire, and the forest is attacked in many other ways. 

 For example, birds and squirrels often prevent young 

 growth by devouring great quantities of nuts and other 

 seeds, while porcupines and mice frequently kill young 

 trees by gnawing away their bark. 



MAN AND NATURE IN THE FOREST. 



Most of these foes may be called natural enemies, f<jr 

 they would injure the forest to a greater or less extent 

 if the action of man were altogether removed. Wild 

 animals would take the place of domestic sheep and 

 cattle to some degree, and fire, wind, and insects would 

 still attack the forest. But many of the most serious 

 dangers to the forest are of human origin. Such are 

 destructive lumbering, and excessive taxation on forest 

 lands, to which much bad lumbering is directly due. 

 So high are these taxes, for in many cases they amount 

 to 5 or even 6 per cent yearly on the market value of 



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