REFORESTATION TO PAY DIVIDENDS 147 



for National forest extension, for the town forest, 

 and for public education in the importance of the 

 whole problem. When the public recognizes the 

 value of reforestation it can be practised with suc- 

 cess and certainty; before that, only with the aid of 

 good luck. 



Thank Heaven, however, there are a few large 

 lumber manufacturers who are willing to take the 

 chance and who, through their endeavors, are 

 assisting in the educational process. One of the 

 largest manufacturers of wood products in this 

 country announces that it has now permanently 

 established itself in Louisiana and will follow this 

 Hew trend to its logical conclusion. It will never 

 again cut the last of its timber and pull up stakes in 

 the old way to follow the ever-receding forest be- 

 cause its own supply is to be made inexhaustible. 

 In common with most other lumber manufacturers, 

 this company once looked askance on the idea of 

 reforestation. Its hope was to build up, coinci- 

 dently with the lumber industry, a great agricul- 

 tural center based on the cut-over lands, which, 

 when the mill had finished its work, was to give 

 profitable occupation to all comers. After several 

 years of experimenting, however, it was evident 

 that the returns from this plan were hardly suf- 

 ficient to form the basis of industrial permanency. 



