VI 



DIFFICULTIES OF REFORESTATION 



IT must be admitted that the reforestation of our cut- 

 over and burned-over lands is beset with many difficulties. 

 Few of our people have thought that we should ever be 

 compelled to replace them by planting trees. We have 

 given little or no attention to restoring our forests, and 

 have allowed the very worst conditions to fasten themselves 

 upon much of the area upon which the forests of the future 

 must stand, and we now find ourselves confronted with 

 difficulties which neither should nor would have occurred 

 had proper measures been taken in time to avert them. 

 That it will be expensive and difficult successfully to re- 

 plant our cut-over and burned-over lands must not deter us 

 from undertaking the work. Whether it will cost little or 

 much, or whether it will be easy or difficult to bring about, 

 cannot now be considered, for it is an absolute necessity. It 

 is a duty which we cannot evade, for the prosperity of the 

 nation is at stake, and wisdom dictates that we should 

 make thorough investigation and adopt the best possible 

 measures. 



The land upon which the forests of the future must grow 

 can be divided into four classes, but the lines of demarc- 

 ation are not very distinct. One class is where all tree- 

 growth has been destroyed by the axe and repeated fires, 

 and where nothing but bare ground or ferns, briers, weeds, 

 and shrubs can be found. Such land has suffered greatly 

 from having its humus practically destroyed and, in addi- 

 tion, its fertility greatly lessened by erosion. In the main, 

 such areas can be reforested with a fair chance of success 

 if erosion has not gone too far ; but the growth will be slow 

 for a long time, consequent upon the loss of fertility. The 



