And State Papers 251 



small sections of this country where what is done 

 with the woodlands makes no difference; but over 

 the great extent of the country the ultimate well- 

 being of the home-maker will depend in very large 

 part upon the intelligent use made of the forests. 

 In other words, you, yourselves, must keep this prac 

 tical object before your mind. You must remember 

 that the forest which contributes nothing to the 

 wealth, progress, or safety of the country is of no 

 interest to the government, and it should be of little 

 to the forester. Your attention should be directed 

 not to the preservation of the forests as an end in 

 itself, but as the means for preserving and increas 

 ing the prosperity of the Nation. Forestry is the 

 preservation of forests by wise use. We shall suc 

 ceed, not by preventing the use, but by making the 

 forests of use to the settler, the rancher, the miner, 

 the man who lives in the neighborhood, and indi 

 rectly the man who may live hundreds of miles off, 

 down the course of some great river which has its 

 rise among the forests. 



The forest problem is in many ways the most vital 

 internal problem of the United States. The more 

 closely this statement is examined the more evi 

 dent its truth becomes. In the arid regions of the 

 West agricultural prosperity depends first of all 

 upon the available water supply. Forest protection 

 alone can maintain the streamflow necessary for ir 

 rigation in the West and prevent floods destructive 

 to agriculture and manufactures in the East. The 

 relation between forests and the whole mineral in- 



