Ill 



RESTORATION AND TREATMENT OF FORESTS 



THERE are now to be found practically two classes of 

 forests in the United States. One of these is known as 

 " Virgin Forest," the poet's " forest primeval," 

 where the full stand of trees planted by Nature still exists, 

 and would, if not interfered with, be by her constantly 

 maintained. The other is composed of such growth as may 

 have been left by the lumberman after he has taken all he 

 desired, and with no thought of reproduction, to- 

 gether with that which has been allowed to grow since the 

 removal of the more valuable portion. This class is called 

 "Second-Growth Forest." The areas covered by the 

 latter class are sometimes spoken of as "Cut-over," or 

 " Stripped " lands. When considering the increase of pro- 

 ductive forests there can very properly be placed with this 

 class such non-agricultural areas as were once covered with 

 forests, but which have been repeatedly burned over and 

 all valuable species of trees destroyed, and which are 

 now practically barren wastes, containing little or no tree- 

 growth that can ever become valuable. If left to the slow 

 processes of unaided Nature they will not be reforested 

 with valuable species in a thousand years, if ever. The 

 area of virgin forests is far less than that of the other and 

 it is being constantly and rapidly reduced ; and from these 

 virgin forests must our main supply of forest products be 

 drawn until others are grown. Through judicious and con- 

 servative management, as elsewhere indicated, the capacity 

 of our virgin forests may be increased to some extent, but 

 the claim that it can be increased threefold (see page 4), 

 no careful student of forest problems will concede. Look- 

 ing at the problem of a future supply from any standpoint 



