146 OUR VANISHING FORESTS 



more interested in finding a way out of the dif- 

 ficulty than the men who depend for their livehhood 

 upon the production of wood. 



The first lumbermen who have seriously taken 

 up the idea of growing timber to maintain their in- 

 dustry have been those fortunate enough to be still 

 located near the principal markets. The freight 

 saving helps foot the bill. There are exceptions and 

 short-sighted individuals everywhere, but it is al- 

 ready the general rule in the east that lumbermen 

 no longer cut entirely by the wasteful methods for- 

 merly necessary under strenuous competition. Even 

 where no regulations exist, they are trying to pro- 

 tect the young growth or to leave seed trees ; and, 

 where they sell in the same market with lumber 

 upon which freight must be paid from the Pacific 

 Coast, many can and do set aside a fund for re- 

 planting. Were it not for the fire hazard, for the 

 fact that a few hours of forest fire are sufficient to 

 completely destroy the accumulated investment of 

 years, there would be much more work of this kind. 

 What is the use of setting aside money to plant 

 seedlings if there is more than an even chance of 

 their being burned up before they reach maturity? 

 Lumbermen are accordingly behind every movement 

 for state and national cooperation in fire protec- 

 tion, every movement for the farmer's wood crop, 



