236 North American Forests and Forestry 



use. Mines may be worked and timber cut for 

 their operation, under proper regulations. Even 

 the sheep are admitted, to the northern reserves 

 at least, where the humidity of the climate is 

 greater and the danger of soil destruction by 

 trampling less imminent. But the number of ani- 

 mals that may be pastured on a given area is limited, 

 and the owners must take satisfactory precautions 

 against fire, on pain of being excluded from the 

 reservation. All these measures are desirable as 

 far as they go. But the policy of our federal gov- 

 ernment with regard to its forests cannot be called 

 a truly rational one until the beginning has been 

 made to exploit them with due regard to reproduc- 

 tion and improvement of the stock. To introduce 

 silvicultural forestry on such large areas must, of 

 course, be the gradual progress of many years. 

 But there is no reason why the first steps should 

 not be taken at once. When such operations are 

 fairly under way, the people of those western 

 States will discover that far from being a drawback 

 to the development of the country these mountain 

 forests will be one of the greatest sources of wealth 

 at their command. 



Nowhere has the fact been more emphatically 

 shown, that the great body of the public has not 

 yet grasped the idea of combining forest utiliza- 

 tion and preservation, than in the attitude of the 

 State of New York. When in 1894 the constitu- 

 tional convention met, a clamorous demand was 

 made upon it to take steps for the protection of 



