THE PLANT COVERING OF THE EARTH 231 



supply of this country came from the cattle raised on the 

 great ranches which formerly occupied the Western prairies 

 and plains. A large part of these grasslands is so level and 

 easily tilled that it has been transformed into farms wherever 

 there is sufficient rainfall or a supply of water for irrigation. 

 The land is more valuable for farming than it is for grazing. 



FIG. 114. Wasteful lumbering 



The more valuable trees were cut, and the brush was allowed to lie upon the 



ground. Fire has destroyed not only the refuse but also the remaining trees and 



the young growth. There will be no second cutting for many years. Photograph 



by United States Forest Service 



Though both the forests and the grasslands are valuable, 

 land that is suitable for agriculture will be of greater value 

 when it is farmed properly than when it grows only trees and 

 wild grasses. The best lands should be cleared of their forests, 

 but there are many thousand square miles of country in the 

 United States which are so hilly or rocky that they cannot be 

 farmed, and these areas ought to be preserved as forests in 

 order that we may have a supply of timber and that rainfall 

 may run off more slowly. There are also great areas of arid 



