366 ECONOMICS OF FORESTRY. 



the yearly conflagrations destroy comparatively 

 small amounts of standing timber, they kill the 

 young growth, the hope of the future, and destroy 

 even the soil, the fertility, an accumulation of cen- 

 turies of decaying leaf-mould. 



In comparison with our figures of bona fide con- 

 sumption the direct loss of material through fires 

 would appear, from such incomplete statistics as 

 are at hand, as a small matter, perhaps 2 to 3 per 

 cent of the total value of forest products, but the 

 indirect loss can hardly be overestimated ; besides, 

 the seeming impotency of coping with this destruc- 

 tive agency discourages more conservative forest 

 management on the part of forest owners, who 

 are, under the circumstances, naturally induced to 

 shorten the risk and turn into cash as quickly as 

 possible what is valuable in the forest growth, leav- 

 ing the balance to its fate. 



That, with the reckless exploitation of our virgin 

 woods, accompanied by these forest fires, which 

 have become notorious throughout the world, not 

 only timber supplies have been decimated, but the 

 protective function of the forest cover on moun- 

 tain slopes has been considerably injured in many 

 places, goes without saying. 



Although it is even more difficult to adduce defi- 

 nite data regarding this influence, the argument of 

 the pernicious influence of forest destruction on 

 waterflow and loss of soil has found much more 

 ready ears among the public. 



