1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



471 



way of 



the Southern 



convincing 



the lumberman of 

 Appalachians that con- 



servative lumbering pays better than 

 ordinary lumbering than by an experi- 

 ment on the ground, based upon a 

 thorough study and effectively car- 

 ried out. 



The question of direct returns from 

 the proposed reserve is, from the point 

 of view of the federal government, a 

 secondary one. Its highest benefit will 



make conservative lumbering a sound 

 business measure. The pecuniary ad- 

 vantage of practical forestry depends 

 naturally upon whether it offers bet- 

 ter returns than those to be had from 

 ordinary lumbering. Since it reduces 

 present profits slightly in order to in- 

 sure a second crop of timber upon the 

 lumbered area, its superiority from a 

 business point of view rests upon the 

 safety and value of the second crop. 



Tops Left Among the Trees in Logging. These Feed the Forest Fires so Effectively 

 that They Sometimes Destroy Everything in Their Path. 



lie in those indirect returns which are 

 so vital an importance to the best de- 

 velopment of this region and its re- 

 sources. However, that the forests 

 of the Southern Appalachians can un- 

 der systematic and conservative meas- 

 ures be made to yield a profit from 

 their management is certain. Al- 

 though local stumpage values are not 

 sufficiently good to warrant the appli- 

 cation of an elaborate system of forest 

 management, they are high enough to 



Serious danger from fires, a poor mar- 

 ket, excessive difficulties to overcome 

 in logging, or any other adverse con- 

 ditions which seriously impairs stump- 

 age values, may render the probable 

 future returns from a forest insuffi- 

 cient to justify conservative measures 

 in lumbering it. 



Not only is there no unfavorable 

 condition in the Southern Appala- 

 chians which is sufficient to render 

 practical forestry inadvisable as a bus- 



