1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



21 r 





FOREST EXTENSION IN NEBRASKA. HELPING THE GRUB WAGON ACROSS THE PLATTE. 



They note the topography, course and 

 flow of streams, species, quantity, and 

 location of timber, and obtain all pos- 

 sible information with regard to mining 

 and grazing matters, so important in 

 the western country. 



Available agricultural lands are also 

 noted, and when possible excluded 

 from reserves, for it is not intended that 

 the reserves shall hinder any useful and 

 lawful industry, but rather benefit the 

 greatest number possible. 



Upon the recommendation of the Bu- 

 reau agents, large tracts have been tem- 

 porarily withdrawn from settlement, 

 some, or parts of which, have been 

 made permanent reserves, and the re- 

 mainder again thrown open to settle- 

 ment if its nature proved to be such 

 that it was not necessary or desirable to 

 make a reserve of it. 



The men of the Division of Forest 

 Extension do a number of different 

 kinds of work. Some visit citizens who 

 request advice, inspect their land and 

 locality, and then offer the best sugges- 

 tions the experience of the division has 

 to offer for successful planting of forest 

 trees. 



Others are now at work in Nebraska 

 planting jack -pine and other well- 



adapted species on the great Sand Hill 

 country. They grow the seedlings in 

 seed beds from seed previously gathered 

 in Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, 

 Arizona, and other favorable localities, 

 and when the seedlings are large enough , 

 set them out where they are expected 

 to grow. Down in the California moun- 

 tains the slopes denuded by fire or 

 otherwise are being planted with tree 

 seeds. 



The study of forest fires is a negative 

 means of forest extension. On this 

 work the investigators either work from 

 the point of view of the scientist or that 

 of political econom} r . In one case it is 

 to find just how the fire burns and 

 progresses, and its effect on different 

 species, and how it can best be checked. 



The other man looks everywhere for 

 the causes that started fire, the amount 

 of loss, actual and involved, studies fire 

 laws, and reports what changes ought 

 to be made to remove the causes and 

 decrease the loss. 



Then there are the forest-products 

 men, who work both in laboratories and 

 out of doors. In the laboratories they 

 test the strength of different kinds of 

 wood and experiment with various pre- 

 servative processes intended to lengthen 



