96 North American Forests and Forestry 



intelligence and weight in the community, are afraid 

 of anything which seems to interfere with the 

 course of settlement. Therefore the point that 

 agricultural lands are not wanted for forestry must 

 ever be emphasized and repeated. 



To return to the question of forest disappear- 

 ance, from what has already been said it must 

 be clear that such destruction of forests as is detri- 

 mental to the interests of the nation cannot be laid 

 at the door of the settler, at least so far as his clear- 

 ing of wild lands for legitimate purposes is concerned. 

 Must it then be charged to the lumberman ? 



At first blush an unqualified " Yes " seems to be 

 the proper answer to this question. The methods 

 of lumbering in this country have been from the 

 beginning of a rough-and-ready sort. Lumbermen 

 have been intent to convert the timber standing on 

 their holdings into cash in the shortest possible 

 time and have cared little what became of the land 

 after they had removed such timber as they could 

 find a profitable market for. If these lands could 

 be sold, they have sold them for what they would 

 bring. If no purchasers were on hand, they have 

 abandoned them, not caring even to pay the taxes. 

 Where lumbering consisted of culling a few trees 

 of marketable species from among the mass of 

 others, it has affected the original condition of the 

 forest comparatively little. Where, on the other 

 hand, lumbering meant cutting practically every 

 tree on the land, as in these latter years has 

 been done in the pineries of the Northwest, a 



