198 THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES 



causes them to be replaced by great areas of scraggy 

 bush. Large sections of the once-wooded Pocono 

 Mountains plateau in Pennsylvania are now cov- 

 ered with low, monotonous-looking bushes. 



A littered forest is greatly more susceptible to 

 fire than a clean one. If all brush and loose twigs 

 are collected and carefully burned the risk is cut 

 in half. Locomotives running through heavily 

 wooded districts should be made to burn oil or be 

 provided with spark-arresters. Water courses, 

 roads, trails and specially dug ditches are very ef- 

 fective in stopping surface fires. Nothing is better 

 than an ordinary dirt road. The opening of as 

 many roads and trails as possible is one of the first 

 steps in good forestry. They serve the double pur- 

 pose of fire lines and means of quick communica- 

 tion. 



American business men have definitely adopted 

 the principles of scientific management. They can 

 be applied to the growing of tree-crops as well as 

 anything else. On any so-called abandoned New 

 England farm, pine seedlings with a little care can 

 be grown to be worth $150 an acre in forty years. 

 This may not be a very attractive proposition to a 

 man who must have quick returns, but it is a splen- 

 did investment for a company organised to take ad- 

 vantage of just such opportunities. 



