266 



It will also ;iiil us in din (.(inception of the.situation to know that the saw mill capacity of the 

 country in 1SS7 was round 200,000,000 feet (hoard measure) daily, which again may be figured 

 equivalent io a prohable consumption of wood of all kinds to the amount of at least 20,000.000 

 cuhic feet round. 



It remains to be seen what the chances are of supplying ourselves from the natural repro- 

 duction of our present forest area. 



1 have shown else- where that, while under the careful management of the German forest 

 administrations, the a\ entire yearly new growth i* computed at 50 cubic feet per acre, or 2.3 

 cuhic feet for every li cubic feet standing timber, we can here, where there is no management 

 at all, whore tire and cattle destroy not only young growth but also the fertility of the soil, in 

 spite of the originally greater reproductive power, expect no such annual crop. 



From my observations I would not admit that more than one-half such annual growth is 

 reali/.ed on the average over the whole arei of 500,000,000 acres, and the likelihood is that much 

 less is reproduced per acre. 



Hence, while 500,000,000 acres reserved as forest at the very best would satisfy our annual 

 consumption of '25,000,000,000 cubic feet we need some 5,000,000,000 feet to supply our annual 

 conflagrations we are presumably cutting into our capital at the rate of at least 50 per cent, of 

 our annual consumption ; that is to say, only one-haif the annual cut is represented in annual 

 new growth. What do these figures mean with reference to the subject in question ? Simply 

 this, that while as yet prices for timber lands, and still less the price of lumber, are by no means 

 advancing in proportion to the constantly growing reduction of standing timber supplies, when the 

 general truth of these figures is recognized, which cannot fail to occur soon, timber lands will 

 appreciate rapidly in value, and lumbermen, especially in the South, will regret their folly of 

 having marketed their best supplies at unprofitable and unsatisfactory margins. 



Nevertheless, it may be possible by a common-sense management and more 

 rational methods of utilizing the timber, having some regard to the young growth, 

 inaugurated now, to avoid the necessity of replanting at great cost and to main- 

 tain the present forest resources of the United States in sufficient and ever 

 increasing productiveness. 



(5) It is also established beyond controversy that the forest cover, and espe" 

 dally the forest floor of leaves, twigs, decaying vegetable matter, underbrush, and 

 root system, influence the regularity of the waierflotu in springs, brooks, and rivers, 

 as well as the state of the ground water level, the presence or absence of an efficient 

 forest cover determining the percentage of subterranean or superficial drainage. 

 Whatever the theories or facts regarding the influence of forest areas upon meteoro- 

 logical phenomena and climatic conditions and these are partly at least still in 

 controversy there exists but little doubt, if any, among students and observers in 

 regard to the influence ^vhich a forest cover exerts over the water drainage and 

 soil conditions. 



Since it is in part upon the assumption of the existence of such an influence 

 that the government is called upon to look to the preservation of forest conditions,, 

 and since the ideas regarding such influence are still more or less confused, it may 

 be proper to explain more at length the action of the forest in this direction. 



So far as formation of springs is concerned, no doubt, geological conditions 

 and structure are of primary importance. This does not, however, exclude that the 

 vegetable cover of the soil has at least a secondary influence upon the feeding and 

 regular flow of springs. Even if we exclude any action of the forest upon the 

 increase of precipitation, such as is claimed and partly sustained by observation, 

 there are various ways in which the supply of springs is influenced by forest 

 cover. 



The forest floor and the foliage breaking the force of the rain drops, prevent 

 a compacting of the soil ; it remains porous and permits the water to percolate 

 readily, changing a large amount of it from surface drainage into subterranean 

 channels ; the root system, no doubt, works in the same direction. Forest floor 

 and foliage also prevent rapid evaporation, and although the trees consume a/ 

 large amount of water in their growth, evaporation is the worst dissipator of 



