22 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 



The waste of gas and oil has been equally reckless. 

 Wells have been allowed to gush wild for months or to 

 burn with little or no effort made to put them out 

 The amount of gas wasted in this way has been enor- 

 mous. Countless instances could be given where vast 

 quantities of oil have been wasted by soaking into the 

 earth or running into streams following the "shooting" 

 of a particularly good well. In some cases the oil was 

 burned to get rid of an oversupply. Viewing the man- 

 agement of all the resources as a whole, there is great 

 need for the application of foresight and economy to 

 their management. 



It is not too much to say that the broad conservation 

 movement had its beginning in .forestry. The campaign 

 for better protection and closer utilization of the na- 

 tion-owned forests prepared the way and public edu- 

 cation carried on by the Forest Service had put the 

 popular mind in a receptive state. The citizens of this 

 country generally acclaim Gifford Pinchot as the father 

 of the forestry movement but his services in extending 

 a system of thrifty and efficient management to all the 

 natural resources are not so well known. In President 

 Roosevelt he found a zealous supporter and the con- 

 ference of governors held at the White House in May, 

 1908, really marks the beginning of Conservation. The 

 subsequent meeting held in December, 1908, followed 

 by the publication of the official report, aroused pub- 

 lic opinion most thoroughly and called the attention 

 of the American people for the first time to the enor- 

 mous waste in the past and suggested how in an orderly 

 way this waste might be remedied. The National Con- 

 servation Congress has held several important meet- 

 ings ; no less than seventeen States have established con- 

 servation or kindred commissions and from obscurity 



