458 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



lands is extremely conservative, less timber being sold 

 each year than the estimated annual replacement by 

 growth. In spite of these conditions, the receipts for the 

 fiscal year 1919 on the then acquired area of 1,347,660 

 acres amounted to $71,942. 



Increase in population and expansion of industry have 

 been confronted with a constantly decreasing acreage of 

 timberland from which to draw lumber, wood for paper 

 manufacture, tanning materials, and other uses. As a 

 means of meeting this constant demand the National For- 

 ests were created from the public domain. The purpose 

 of the National Forests was, by regulating cutting and 

 by the protection from fire of forest lands, especially 

 when cut over, to assure timber for future industrial 



The Weeks law, for constitutional reasons, limits pur- 

 chases to lands which promote navigability of navigable 

 streams. But the benefits to navigation through the 

 maintenance of an equable stream flow by the conserva- 

 tion of the precipitation on the watersheds and through 

 reducing deposits of silt in channels are not the sole 

 advantages to be derived. As a provision for the main- 

 tenance of a supply of hardwoods and of spruce for pulp 

 and for airplane construction the measure is of prime 

 importance. 



The tendency of the forest cover, when kept in good 

 condition, to promote absorption of heavy rainfall renders 

 the maintenance of woodland an essential consideration 

 in any project seeking to mitigate floods and to reduce 



use. These forests, however, contain only about one- 

 fifth of the timber supply of the country. Furthermore, 

 except for small and relatively unimportant areas in 

 Florida and Michigan, the entire forest system created 

 from the public domain is located west of the Mississippi 

 River. There was at the time of the establishment of the 

 National Forests no adequate provision for maintaining 

 the timber supply of the Eastern States. The eastern 

 supply of hardwoods is of special importance since the 

 timber of this class is practically limited to the Eastern 

 States and to restricted areas within these States. Dis- 

 cussion covering a number of years and looking particu- 

 larly to measures for maintaining a supply of hardwood 

 timber for American industries eventually culminated in 

 the Weeks law. 



flood losses on streams which head at high altitudes in 

 the eastern mountains. At the same time there is an 

 accompanying benefit to water-power development in 

 lessening sedimentation, which lowers the storage 

 capacity of reservoirs, as well as in equalizing stream 

 flowage, especially in increasing the dry season flow. 



A collateral advantage is that enjoyed by such towns 

 as secure their supply of domestic water from water- 

 sheds in whole or in part owned by the Government and 

 lying within the forests. There are 17 municipalities, 

 including 4 large hotels, which now make use of this 

 privilege, while 29 municipalities and 5 hotels secure 

 their supply from lands which have not been acquired 

 but which are located within the purchase areas. Gov- 

 ernment control assures the sanitation of such water- 



