114 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



controls large areas of mountain slope surrounding the Los 

 Angeles region. These two agencies, with the help of Civilian 

 Conservation Corps camps, are constantly looking out for fire. 



So costly and difficult to control are these fires that the ut' 

 most effort must be made to prevent the start of one. An ex' 

 tensive system of lookouts is maintained over the area so that 

 the first tell'tale column of smoke can be spotted. Motorists 

 driving on the highways are forbidden to smoke during the 

 dry season. Miles of fire breaks are cut through the brush. To 

 a stranger, the mountains look as if some giant had taken his 

 clippers and run them up and down the slopes in some kind of 

 a huge joke. 



The largest United States Forest Service experiment station 

 is at San Dimas near Los Angeles, studying run'off and types 

 of vegetation best suited to the area. This forest station is not 

 concerned with trees. Its great interest is water and brush. 

 Which kind of brush will grow most quickly on burned'over 

 slopes? Which will thrive on the least water? Which is the 

 most fire proof? These are the important question at San Dimas. 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF FLOODS 



Hood control has become a major job of the federal govern' 

 ment. The greater portion of this work has been done in the 

 Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio Basins. The most extensive 

 single flood control work is the Mississippi levee system. This 

 was started in New Orleans in 1717, when a small levee was 

 built to protect the city from floods. Since that time the levees 

 have been extended up the river to Cairo at a cost of $300,' 

 000,000. 12 Today it is clear that levees are not enough. Great 

 spillways and flood reservoirs have been built along the river 

 to take the surplus water during flood seasons. This work is 

 being carried out by the Mississippi River Commission and 

 supervised by Army engineers. 



"Report of Mississippi Valley Committee, op. cit., pp. 208'210. 



