538 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



kinds of range at different periods of the grazing sea- 

 son. Sheep, for instance, following cattle, may find 

 much good forage which the cattle have not injured, 

 and vice versa. 



Finally, the great subject of protection has been 

 studied from every angle, and every phase of it has 

 been improved. Formerly the range was annually 

 burned off, the young tree growth largely destroyed, 

 and each year large areas of standing timber were 

 killed by these fires which were oftentimes set by the 

 stockmen themselves to, as they thought, improve the 

 range. This practice has been discouraged and pro- 

 hibited as has the practice of excessive browsing which 

 also did much injury to the young tree growth. As a 

 result of these wise measures the forests on the Cari- 

 bou are everywhere advancing and improving. 



The range animals are now protected in a large 

 measure against danger from poisonous plants, areas 

 containing large numbers of such plants being marked 

 and stockmen informed. Predatory animals and those 

 injurious to the range are trapped, poisoned, and shot 

 in large numbers. The soil is protected from erosion 

 by wind and water because it is now much more evenly 

 covered with plants than formerly, due to the im- 

 proved methods of rotation, deferred grazing, and the 

 avoidance of early or excessive use of any portion of 

 the allotments. 



On the whole, when one who knew the range ten 

 years ago studies the same areas today and notes the 

 great improvement in the forage, in the stock, and in 

 the contentment and general satisfaction of those now 

 engaged in the grazing business, he is amazed. Any- 

 one who comes to see and understand all that has been 

 planned and accomplished for the good of the range 

 can have only words of praise for our wise Govern- 

 ment in inaugurating a system which has produced 

 such remarkable changes for the better over such vast 

 areas. No one now wants to go back to the days of 



the over-crowded and unprotected range. The range 

 business today is on a firm and thorough-going basis, 

 and the stockmen and settlers should be thankful to 

 the Forest Service for the methods so carefully plan- 

 ned and ably worked out by its officers and technical 



OPEN METHOD OF SHEEP HERDING 



This is the method now generally practiced on the Caribou National Forest. 

 The scene here photographed is on the Morgan Meadows. 



men. These methods are also a great aid to the 

 farmers both directly and indirectly. The farmer 

 who desires an allotment is directly benefited because 

 he now gets better range and absolute protection ; he 

 may also be helped indirectly because the range busi- 

 ness is now on such a stable plan of operation that he 

 may count on a sure and excellent market for his grain 

 and hay each year. This is because the stockmen are 

 sure of their range both in the quality and quantity 

 of their allotments and are therefore willing to pay 

 good prices for the feed necessary to bring their stock 

 through the winter and back to the range in the best 

 possible condition. Thus the entire western region 

 has been immensely benefited by the improved meth- 

 ods of grazing management as now practiced on the 

 Caribou and many other National Forests. 



TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LARGE 

 TREE SEED CROP 



y^l III.S year promises an unusually good crop of forest 

 V-/ tree seed. Farmers owning woodlots should bear 

 ggg this in mind and make thinnings and cuttings 

 wherever possible. Now is the time they say to 

 get into the woodlot and inspect the trees before cutting. 

 The trees can best be examined while they are in full leaf. 

 All old, over-mature, decaying or otherwise unhealthy 

 trees should be taken out at the earliest opportunity. 

 Trees which are taking more than their share of light 

 and space as well as those trees which are badly over- 

 topped by their neighbors should go. Avoid making 

 large openings in the woodlots, but plan on having any 

 closed up within three to five years. A good crop of 

 tree seed will do much to keep the land from going wild, 

 but the woodlot owners must be careful not to cut too 

 heavily. 



POPULAR INSTRUCTION ON THE USES 



OF LUMBER 



jTylORRESPONDENCE has been started by the Na- 

 |va| tional Lumber Manufacturers' Association with 

 W^B some 30 colleges and universities with regard to 

 the giving of popular instruction upon the uses of 

 lumber. The University of Wisconsin offered such a 

 course two years ago, and similar courses were later 

 offered by 10 or 12 of the leading schools. Since the 

 war began there have been such great advances in the 

 prices of all other materials, and such actual scarcity 

 of some of them, that now is the best time we have ever 

 seen to talk the right use of wood as a building material. 

 The attention of the schools is being called to these facts, 

 and it is expected that considerable interest will be 

 aroused in instruction along these lines. It is proposed 

 later to outline also a course of instruction upon struc- 

 tural timber for engineering students. 



