NORTH CAROLINA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 45 



still there is yet a generally vague idea of what forestry really is. In its 

 broad meaning, forestry is simply the growing of trees for profit. Trees are 

 considered as a crop of the soil, and the chief aim of forestry is to grow as 

 much timber as possible in the shortest period of time. 



In the practice of forestry a number of fundamental principles are consid- 

 ered. The first is that forests should eventually occupy only lands unsuited 

 for agriculture. No forester will contend that rich soil, more profitable for 

 growing agricultural crops, should be grown to trees. There are vast areas 

 in forest in the South that are suited only for the production of timber; 

 there are vast areas now in forest which will ultimately be used for agricul- 

 ture; and also there are areas of cleared land that are better suited for the 

 production of timber than for agriculture. Land should eventually be put 

 to the use to which it is best suited. Real forest land should be kept in 

 timber; real farming land eventually cleared. But, so long as any farming 

 land remains forested it should be made to produce the largest possible 

 amount of timber. 



Another principle of forestry is that the amount of timber cut from a forest 

 in a given period should not exceed the amount grown by the forest in that 

 period; the forest is producing capital from which only the interest should 

 be taken. Considerable cutting may be necessary for the improvement of 

 the forest; many trees may be removed to give others a chance to grow, and 

 low grade trees taking up valuable space may be eliminated. 



Perhaps the greatest principle of forestry is that the cutting should be 

 done in such a way that the forest will reproduce itself or, in other words, 

 grow timber continuously. 



Now, in order to practice forestry, and this is the point I wish to emphasize 

 in particular, we must prevent the forest from burning up. Fire protection 

 is a large part of the foundation on wliich the practice of forestry stands. 

 Protection is the first law of forestry. Obviously it is unwise to make an 

 investment in the form of conservative lumbering, or planting, or the like, 

 if one is not reasonably sure that fire will not come along and destroy it. It 

 has been estimated that the loss each year from forest fires in the United 

 States averages more than 10,000,000 acres burned over and $20,000,000 worth 

 of property damaged or destroyed. In North Carolina the average yearly loss 

 probably exceeds a half million dollars. 



I am going to show a number of views which I have selected for the pur- 

 pose chiefly of illustrating the good results from keeping fire out of the 

 forest as compared with the great damage that may come through lack of 

 protection. The first set of pictures will show virgin forests in North Caro- 

 lina; the second set, the lumbering of the forest; third, the effects of fire 

 and measures for prevention; fourth, the effects of erosion; and lastly, the 

 practical application of the methods of forestry where fire and erosion have 

 been prevented. 



About seventy-five views, principally of jSTorth Carolina (furnislied 

 by the United States Forest Service), many of them colored, were then 

 shown, and a short explanation made of each one by Mr. Peters. 



This is the first illustrated lecture that has been given in Ealeigh's 

 new Auditorium, and so far as the Association is aware, is the first 



