262 



FORESTRY 



tions, and is restricted to applicants between the ages of twenty- 

 one and forty who live in the State where the forest is located. 



Forest Enemies. Aside from the business management of the 

 forests it is the duty of the supervisors, rangers, and guards to 

 protect the forests from various enemies. Many trees fall victims 

 to fungus pests and prompt action is always necessary to 

 eradicate them. Windstorms often destroy many large areas 



of forests, but the dam- 

 age can be offset if new 

 trees are set out im- 

 mediately. Ants and 

 borers work around the 

 bases or trunks of the 

 trees, and the larvae 

 of sawflies and moths 

 prey upon the foliage 

 of the trees and fre- 

 quently cause them 

 to die. Sheep, goats, 

 hogs, cattle, and burros 

 often do a great deal of 

 injury when the range 

 is pastured too closely, 

 and it is the duty of 

 the rangers and super- 

 visors to protect the 

 Forest in the tropics. national forest against 



damage from this source. The supervisor allots the range among 

 the various applicants, giving a preference to the small near-by 

 owner and the men who have always used the range. 



Another great enemy of the forests is fire. Sometimes the fire 

 may be started from a camp fire which was not thoroughly extin- 

 guished, sometimes by a spark from the locomotive of a passing 

 train, sometimes by a careless smoker who may throw a lighted 

 cigar among the dry leaves, and sometimes by hunters and thought- 

 less young persons, who start a fire and leave it burning without 

 thinking of the consequences. All such offenders are subject to 

 arrest, and severe penalties are inflicted. 



