274 



THE FORESTER. 



November r 



to believe that forest fires never occur in 

 the Old World, and that everything in con- 

 nection with the forests of Europe is as 

 nearly perfect as is possible for human 

 hands to make it. 



The truth is, fires do occur in the Pine 

 lands of France and often, as the note 

 quoted above says " as in America." The 

 cause of this fire was carelessness and the 

 size of it was due to negligence in the care 

 of firelanes. 



This fire was a grand harvest for the 

 natives who began at once to help them- 

 selves to the charred wood. The illustra- 

 tion shows a typical cart of the Landes. 

 The roads are sandy so that the tires are 

 wide. The mules have no harness except 

 a bridle and leather collar. The collars 

 fit in the wooden yoke to which they are 

 firmly bound. The yoke is fastened to the 

 end of the wagon tongue. This seems to 

 be a cheap and efficient sort of rig for this 

 level sandy country. It leaves the hind 

 parts of the mules free to escape holes and 

 stumps. 



Forestry in 

 Spain. 



" On my way to Brazil, in 

 1882, I went through France 

 and Spain, and was espe- 

 cially struck by the great contrast between 

 those countries in respect to forests. It was 

 a source of delight in France to see the lofty, 

 crowded and splendid forests, and particu- 

 larly on approaching the Pyrenees moun- 

 tains, which separate the two countries, to 

 observe how the thin, sandy soil, unfit for 

 agriculture, was made to yield a good 

 profit in Pine forest. On crossing into 

 Spain, how great was the change ! A vast 

 area of hilly land was passed which once 

 must have been covered with forest, but 

 which then was naked and sterile. The 

 Spaniards had cleared the forest from land 

 tliat was only fit to bear forest, and had 

 done nothing for its reproduction, just as 

 we Americans have been doing for two 

 centuries and are still doing. There was, 

 apparently, the same ignorance of forestry 

 in Spain that there is in this country. 



" That I may not be thought prejudiced, 

 I will state that I was attracted to the 

 Spanish people. The Spaniards are be- 

 hind in some things, because of their iso- 



lated situation off at one corner of Eu- 

 rope. They have not kept in touch with 

 the most advanced countries, and this they 

 show in a marked manner by their neglect 

 of forestry." C. C. Andrews, in Forest 

 Leaves. 



< 



"There are other matters 



Forests and the . 



New England relating to forests which 1 

 Landscape. should not pass entirely by, 



although time forbids more than mere 

 mention. For example, the relation of 

 forests to the beauty of the landscape. 

 This may seem like mere sentiment, but 

 this too has a practical business side and 

 in some portions of New England, [it is 

 the most practical of business matters. I 

 spent two weeks last month on a little 

 hill among the lakes of southern New 

 Hampshire. It had formerly been merely 

 a farming region and a poor one at that. 

 Now it has become a favorite summering 

 place because of its natural beauties. Bits 

 of a rocky hillside, which a few years 

 ago were not worth ten dollars per acre 

 for either agriculture or timber, are now 

 sold at fancy prices as sites for summer 

 cottages. A couple of acres to-day are 

 worth as much as the whole farm would 

 bring thirty years ago for merely agricul- 

 tural uses. But what would it be worth 

 if the landscape was despoiled of its forest 

 beauties? Strip the hillsides of their trees, 

 let blackened stumps and straggling 

 bushes adorn the despoiled slopes and 

 what would the land then be worth? We 

 often hear estimates made as to how much 

 money is brought into this or that region 

 by summer visitors from the cities. Do 

 you know of any place inland in New 

 England that attracts lovers of nature that 

 is without woodlands? I do not. 



44 * * * A better knowledge and prac- 

 tice in the management of our woodlands 

 is one of the factors in maintaining the 

 prosperity of New England, of perpetu- 

 ating its beauty and making its citizens 

 cling to it with loving hearts. 



" The beauty of New England is one of 

 her natural resources, it is an important 

 part of her capital and brings in a greater 

 income in proportion to what it costs to 

 maintain them than any other investment. 



