1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



109 



can regulate forest matters, that is (i) 

 by education and persuasion; (2) by 

 restrictive measures or indirect con- 

 trol, and (3) by direct ownership and 

 management, only the first seems ap- 

 plicable to conditions in Indiana. It 

 is a splendid agricultural region where 

 practically every acre of land is owned 

 by actual farmers. No great rivers 

 take their rise within our borders, al- 

 though some quite important smaller 

 rivers are fed from streams within the 

 State. Great bodies of forest are un- 



annual farm crops. With a little well- 

 directed effort the farmer can employ 

 such areas in the growing of timber 

 for posts, fuel, and lumber. When 

 rightly managed these waste lands be- 

 come a profitable source of revenue 

 and materially increase the value of 

 he farm. When the farmer has once 

 lealized this fact and acted accordingly 

 the whole forest question has been 

 solved, and, best of all, the solution has 

 beeii effected by the parties most di- 

 rectl) concerned. For it is the farmer 



'/r-ii \ v,ir- A'. i-t &' 



' ' 



Small white ash grove southwest of Crawfordsville, containing four or five acres oi 



young ash trees in excellent condition. 



necessary and could not be established 

 without including valuable agricultural 

 land. Although the total amount of 

 waste and non-agricultural land is 

 enormous, it exists in relatively small 

 areas well distributed over the entire 

 State. On nearly every farm there 

 are portions suitable for tree cultiva- 

 tion. The broken lands along the 

 Ohio and its tributaries, banks of 

 streams, sides of ravines, steep hill- 

 sides, stony areas, knolls and ridges, 

 offer places where forest trees would 

 be more profitable than cultivation in 



who is chiefly responsible for the pres- 

 ent condition of our forests and upon 

 him falls the burden of their restora- 

 tion. Fortunately, he will be the first 

 to derive benefit from his labor. 



The adoption of restrictive measures 

 or indirect control of private property 

 by the State or Government would 

 meet with much opposition. The 

 policy of our Government is that of 

 non-interference, and should not be 

 changed except in cases of urgent ne- 

 cessity. 



There still remains the most impor- 



