120 North American Forests and Forestry 



where agricultural development is not likely to 

 continue, much damage is done by cattle, and es- 

 pecially by hogs, which tear up the ground and 

 destroy seedlings and tree roots. The abominable 

 practice of annual firing of the undergrowth, so 

 prevalent in this section, has already been men- 

 tioned. In the miniature forestry operations of 

 the farm timber-lot throughout the great agricul- 

 tural States east of the Mississippi the pasturing of 

 cattle also plays its vicious part and is one of the 

 causes of the deterioration which so many of these 

 small forests are undergoing. 



From all the facts which have been briefly con- 

 sidered in this chapter the following main conclu- 

 sions may be drawn. Taking the North American 

 continent as a whole, the decrease of area covered 

 with forest growth, while considerable, is not such 

 as to warrant alarm. But, on the other hand, in 

 almost every part of the country existing forests 

 are rapidly deteriorating in value as sources of 

 wealth and foundations for the numerous industries 

 dependent on forest products as their raw material. 

 These conclusions should be firmly held in mind 

 for a proper understanding of the forestry problem. 



