90 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



converted to a dry cliff, surrounded by all sorts of mills. 



Rain produces forests and forests produce rain. Great 

 and injurious changes of climate almost certainly follow 

 any sweeping and general destruction of the woods. 

 Trees set along the fence rows may by shade reduce the 

 production of a little grass or grain, but such trees will 

 do much to break the force of the wind and ameliorate 

 the climate. All land must at times lie fallow. The best 

 rest that it can enjoy is when, covered with timber, it re- 

 turns for a time to its natural condition, sheltered and 

 fertilized by the woods once more. A reasonable portion 

 of the country should at all times thus be given up to its 

 native woods if we would preserve the fertility of the 

 whole. 



The practical question of today is how, as far as pos- 

 sible, to undo the mistakes of the past; how to prevent 

 them in the future. Agitation and discussion are neces- 

 sary to call the attention of the people to the importance 

 of maintaining, and at least partially restoring, some of 

 the primitive forests of this country. We must give up 

 some part to nature in order to keep the remainder for 

 ourselves. 



Earnest efforts have for the last fourteen years been 

 made in behalf of forestry. As the result of national 

 legislation more than 63,000,000 acres of timbered land 

 are now set apart in forest reserves — an area almost 

 twice as large as the state of Iowa. These vast reserva- 

 tions have been so selected as to preserve the water sup- 

 ply for purposes of irrigation in the West. These for- 

 ests are not reserved from use, but set apart for use in 

 every manner not inconsistent with their preservation. 

 Only a government lives long enough to plant trees ex- 

 tensively. The brevity of human life deters the indi- 

 vidual from a project yielding such slow returns. 



