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PARAGRAPH XIV. 



UTILITY OF THE FOREST. 



; The utility of the forest is two-fold : 



First: Direct utility, or utility to the owner (money earned). 



Second: Indirect utility, or utility to the commonweal (losses 

 prevented). 



The indirect utility of the forest has been and is in dispute 

 among scientists. 



The indirect value of the forest lies in : 



(a) The influence of the forest on hygienic conditions (par. XV). 



(b) The influence of the forest on temperature of soil and air 

 (par. XVI). 



(c) The influence of the forest on moisture conditions (par. XVII 

 to XIX). 



(d) The influence of the forest directed against the mechanical 

 action of water, wind, avalanches, etc. (par. XX). 



Historical data relative to the indirect utility of the forest must 

 be read with care. The advocates of forestry have attributed to 

 the forest the origin of all the good things which Heaven bestows 

 on mankind. 



Mr. Willis L. Moore, the Director of the Weather Bureau in 

 the department of Agriculture, entertains views entirely at va- 

 riance with those of leading foresters, geologists and civil en- 

 gineers. These views are given in a report made by Mr. Moore 

 to the Secretary of Agriculture, submitted in December 1909. 

 Mr. Moore's deductions and final results are the following: 



"1. Any marked climatic changes that may have taken place 

 are universal and not local, and are appreciable only when 

 measured in geologic periods. Evidence is strong that the 

 cutting away of forests has nothing to do with creating or 

 augmenting droughts. 



2. Precipitation controls forestation, but forestation has little 

 or no effect upon precipitation. 



