1903 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



thousands of acres, ' ' so the grass will 

 start up a little sooner for the stock." 

 For the first two years the young pine 

 is more intent on pushing its root down 

 into the soil to moisture rather than on 

 reaching upward for light, and the 

 growth is tender, making it an easy prey 

 to fire. On the other hand, the south- 

 ern pine does not seem to be as seriously 

 affected by grazing as the northern 

 White Pine ; yet those persons who 

 should be interested in keeping the fires 

 out give but little heed to the matter 

 and often fail to see that fires alone are 

 the great agents of destruction. Yet 

 those states are worth more today, acre 

 for acre, for the forests they can grow 

 with the cheapest kind of care than for 

 the corn and cotton which they produce ; 

 and I feel that I am stating only the 

 truth of the matter when I say that with 

 fire protection such as the State of Min- 

 nesota now has, these states will be rich 

 in their woodlands, for only one-fourth 

 of their total area is under cultivation 

 or ever will be. Thev could then raise 



even more cotton and corn than they 

 do now. Personally I would rather own 

 the ' ' old fields ' ' of the South, with their 

 forest possibilities, if the flames are kept 

 out, than the bonds of any railroad in 

 the United States from the standpoints 

 of safety of the investment and eventual 

 sure returns. Moisture, climate, and 

 soil are all there, but, with the forest 

 floor annually burned over, growth is 

 retarded, if not effectually checked. 

 Moisture for the forest and other uses 

 is not retained in the soil, roots are 

 exposed, and there is loss where there 

 should and could be gain. If each state 

 spent $5,000 annually in preventing 

 fires, for patrols, for the enforcement 

 of the fire laws, and for the promo- 

 tion of interest and knowledge among 

 the people, who hardly realize the great 

 loss suffered by the community in a 

 forest fire, they would accomplish more 

 real good than they could with the ex- 

 penditure of $500,000 in any other way. 

 This is not the sentimental "forestry' ' 

 of " Woodman, spare that tree." It is 



PINE TREES 1 6 INCHES IN DIAMETER, THE RESULT OF NATURAL REPRODUCTION IN AN OLD 

 FIELD WHICH WAS CULTIVATED AS LATE AS 1877. 



