110 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



form of a vapor, what moisture would otherwise have 

 been lost. Every foot of forest timber that is wasted 

 weakens the vitality of the nation." 



Alice Plane, of Evansville, submitted a very interest- 

 ing paper, in which she says : 



"Forestry is the science or art of forming, caring for 

 and cultivating forests. A simple definition is forest 

 management, again it is called conservative lumbering. 

 Its object is to make the forest render its best service, 

 yet to increase rather than to diminish its usefulness in 

 the future. 



"Forestry is a new science. Before the latter part of 

 the eighteenth century there were few people who knew 

 anything at all of this science and these people were 

 either scholars or practical woodsmen. Although it is 

 hard for us, today, to credit Germany with anything 

 worth while, we must admit that it was she who gave 

 this knowledge to the world. The science spread from 

 Germany to France and thence to the rest of the world. 

 With the exception of China, America has been the last 

 to accept this doctrine and make it practical. We should 

 all be vitally interested in this subject because it is a 

 question which affects each one of us individually, and 

 which affects the welfare and prosperity of the nation 

 as a whole. Forests prevent the drying up of our 

 streams; they protect the headwaters of streams for 

 irrigation. The union of the many streams which have 

 their origin in the forests of the Rockies form our mighty 

 Mississippi River. Navigable rivers would help to obtain 

 quick communication in time of war. A country which 

 is well wooded has a larger rain-fall than that country 

 which is not; and a country which has plenty of rain- fall 

 produces more food than one which has little. Forests 

 prevent the erosion of hillsides and so prevent the de- 

 struction of fertile farm lands. They also regulate our 

 water supply that is used for irrigation, and everyone 

 knows the part that irrigation has played in the barren 

 west, to make that country more productive. Because 

 of the condition of the European countries during the 

 war, we know that plenty of food is essential for victory. 



"There are three things which win war: men, money 

 and food. Since the forests make better men and pro- 

 tect the people from natural dangers, since it is expected 

 that in the future the national forests will be a source of 

 income to the Government, and since they help in so many 

 ways to make our country more productive, we are, by 

 by taking care of our forests providing the three essen- 

 tials of war." 



The following is taken from the essay of Jesse S. 

 Baily, another prize-winner : 



"Wood plays a wonderful part in the life of a nation. 

 It cannot live without it. It is said that Greece and 

 Rome fell because they had no great forests. For many 

 years before the great war, Germany bought all the 

 walnut that she could get in America, but even so she did 

 not have the wood she needed and failed. For years 

 the European nations nave known that wood was abso- 

 lutely necessary for the defense of a nation and have 

 planted great forests. The European nations have no 



ground to waste. Europe is smaller than the United 

 States but she has many times as many people. She 

 has seen the need of having timber so has planted vast 

 forests. 



"The relation of forests to National Defense need 

 hardly be mentioned. During the war something was 

 heard from the Government on this subject. Spruce 

 was needed for airplanes. Not common, ordinary spruce, 

 but the finest, straight grained spruce only could be used. 

 Black walnut was in demand for gunstocks. Boy scouts 

 searched the country over for walnut trees and many 

 were found. No satisfactory substitute has been found 

 for wooden railroad ties and these form a large item in 

 the expense of railroads. 



"Wooden ships are used more extensively than any 

 other, and the United States needs every ship it can get 

 for use in foreign trade to make a market for our goods 

 and thus stimulate our manufacturing and production 

 of raw products. We do not always understand the ad- 

 vance in price of our favorite newspaper. It is because 

 wood pulp cannot be gotten. Why is this? Because 

 the timber has been wasted, there is less wood pulp and 

 the manufacturers wish to save for future use. The 

 United States might do as foreign governments have 

 done start forests, but plant such trees in the forests 

 as will be beneficial for the defense of the country. 

 Spruce and black walnut are two that it would be well 

 to plant." 



While Charles W. Hebbinghaus, of the Central High 

 School of Evansville, writes : 



"If we should go deeply into the question of what the 

 essentials to the defense of our great country and, in 

 fact, any nation we would find that one of the chief 

 factors is forestry. For were it not for this great in- 

 dustry, no ships could sail upon the ocean, nor could 

 any guns equip our soldiers. 



"In the first place, the trees which grow in our many 

 great forests, furnish the wood for the construction of 

 the great ships which constitute our navy ; or, in 

 case of our modern iron-clad vessels, they furnish wood 

 for the framework, furnishings, flooring and all the 

 woodwork of our ships. 



"In the second place, no army could carry on a war 

 were the country devoid of forests. For it is of the 

 strong, hard wood of our black walnut trees that the 

 stocks of the guns which equip our fighting men are 

 constructed. A third instance, last, but by no means 

 least, is that the trees yield wood for the providing of 

 shelter for our soldiers that is, the dugouts of the 

 trenches, in which our soldiers repose; and these are 

 constructed almost solely of wood, and it is quite plain 

 that no army which was utterly devoid of means of 

 shelter could continue to exist very long. 



"Therefore, from these three illustrations, it is quite 

 evident that one of the chief essentials to national de- 

 fense is forestry, since it yields such a useful product 

 therefor, and for these reasons, it behooves every owner 

 of large forests to obtain from them as high an amount 

 of production as possible." 



