.114 OUR VAxNISHING FORESTS 



ber thereon, under methods which have constantly 

 tended to increase rather than decrease the forest 

 productivity, has yielded a substantial income. 

 Nevertheless, the program has fallen far behind 

 and today only about seventeen per cent, of the 

 forest land of the United States is publicly owned. 

 Moreover, since much of this area is at present com- 

 mercially inaccessible and still other portions have 

 only a thin forest cover, not over five per cent of the 

 lumber on the market today comes from national or 

 state forests. 



Politics and false economy have been the greatest 

 obstacles encountered. Congressmen still find it 

 easier to vote many thousands for distribution of 

 free garden seeds among their constituents than to 

 give them back the forests which they need. The 

 five million acres contemplated by the original plan 

 were located in about ten different eastern states 

 from Maine to Georgia, and these commonwealths, 

 through the passage of legislation necessary to 

 enable the federal government to purchase land 

 within their boundaries, have already shown an 

 eagerness to cooperate. There are now very con- 

 siderable additional areas, both in the White 

 Mountains and In the Appalachians, which have 

 been approved by the government engineers, and, 

 due to business depression, these lands have been 



