THE CREATION OF THE EASTERN NATIONAL FORESTS 



523 



potentially productive requiring merely protection from 

 tire for a reasonable time. On the recently established 

 Allegheny Purchase Unit in Pennsylvania ihere are con- 

 siderable areas of badly burned land, but it is believed 

 that even these areas can eventually be made to con- 

 tribute to the needs of the highly developed industrial 

 region within which this purchase unit is situated. 



The government began purchases in the White Moun- 

 tains just in time to assure the preservation of their for- 

 est cover, for, fol- 

 lowing the example 

 of the government 

 in protection, sev- 

 eral owners of 

 large holdings in 

 these mountains 

 are likewise care- 

 fuilly prot)ec1:ing 

 their lands from 

 fire as the timber 

 is cut ofif; thus 

 permanency of for- 

 est cover has been 

 assured. Some con- 

 cerns are even em- 

 ploying, at least in 

 part, the govern- 

 ment's methods of 

 conservative c u t 

 ting. It is not in- 

 tended to imply 

 that the fine stands 

 of old spruce have 

 been preserved 

 th r o u g h o u t the 

 White Mountains, 

 although this has 

 been done in part 

 within some of the 

 highly scenic areas 

 such as Tucker- 

 man's ravine, on 

 the slop>es of Mt. 

 Chocorua and with- 

 in the Great Gulf. 

 But these moun- 

 tains have been 

 saved for the use 

 of the people be- 

 fore they were 



THE ABUND.'\NT GENEROSITY OF NATURE 



On land which has been cut over under the Government's directions the pointed 

 fir still maintains its verdure. These young stands have followed mature 

 forests which supplied natural and economic needs. 



fill their highest utility. But for the inauguration of the 

 government's policy of purchase and protection in the 

 White Mountains it is probable that a large portion of 

 the lands there would have been closely stripped of 

 timber on account of the high prices which prevailed. 

 for wood, even of small size, for the manufacture of 

 paper. Once these lands were rendered unproductive, 

 on account of their closely cut condition, they would 

 have been neglected, if not abandoned ; would have been 



ravaged by fire, 

 and left in a deso- 

 late condition, such 

 as actually has 

 been the case with- 

 in restricted areas. 

 There are certain 

 lands, especially at 

 high altitudes, on 

 which it may not 

 be desirable to cut 

 any timber, or, if 

 cut, the fellings 

 must be conserva- 

 tive, since the pro- 

 tective function of 

 the forest is of 

 paramount consid- 

 eration on such 

 sites. The general 

 policy, however. 

 will be to cut the 

 timber in such 

 manner as to sta- 

 bilize the yield and 

 thus promote the 

 establishment o f 

 permanent wood- 

 working industries 

 in place of the 

 transient operations 

 which have here- 

 tofore characteriz- 

 ed the region. The 

 result of protection 

 to the cut-over 

 lands is finely 

 shown in many 

 places in the 

 White Mountains 

 In no place, how- 



stripped of their trees and before their surface was burn- 

 ed over and made a dreary waste such as has been the 

 fate of much of the once fir and spruce clad slopes of 

 the Black Mountains in North Carolina and of por- 

 tions of West Virginia. The pointed fir still maintains 

 its verdure and although much of it is in young stands, 

 these have followed mature forests which supplied nat- 

 ural and economic needs. In due time they too must 



ver, is it better exemplified thctiiuu ii<autiia ,if..Mi-fc.-,' 

 the town of Woodstock, Grafton County, Here a won- 

 derfully thick and most beautiful stand of young spruce 

 trees has established itself. It is already a solid mass of 

 green lo to 15 feet in height. Within a few years as 

 the trees become larger the moss will again form a 

 velvety rug and the dense thicket of saplings will open 

 up into the mature forest with its dense shade ever 



