308 Birds of Buzzard's Roost 



fires of the Indians, and the fierce shattering of the lightning, 

 seemed to work together only for good in clearing spots 

 here and there for smooth garden prairies, and openings for 

 the flowers seeking light. But when the steel axe of the white 

 man rang out in the startled air their doom was sealed. Every 

 tree heard the bodeful sound, and pillars of smoke gave sign 

 in the sky.' 



"This, indeed, is a vivid picture of the situation then; 

 and behold, what it is now ! A continent in a great measure 

 denuded of its forests, with all the direful results that have 

 followed. One of these, and not the least of them, is the 

 extinction of many species of birds and the decimating of the 

 remainder; so much so, that they who have the future pro- 

 ductiveness and welfare of our country at heart have be- 

 come alarmed, and are inquiring what is to be done what 

 is the remedy? 



"How to solve the problem, what is best for forest preser- 

 vation and restoration, has been very puzzling and has been 

 worked at in different ways in different countries. To this 

 end laws have been passed and different means have been 

 adopted to diffuse a knowledge of them and create a public 

 sentiment in favor of them. Russia refuses to part with its 

 ownership of its forests. France has spent millions in planting 

 and making the planting of denuded areas possible ; Russia 

 has passed laws preventing further clearing of forests without 

 a license from the government, and Switzerland has a Federal 

 Forest Law with a school of forestry established. In Europe 

 there are more than a dozen of these schools. Notwithstand- 

 ing all this, 'Still,' as Mr. Pinchot says, 'America has her 

 own problem, and must solve it in her own way.' 



"Until a comparatively recent date, nothing in this regard 

 in a practical way has been done. While it is true that the 

 United States has established forest reserves in the far West, 

 embracing about 40,000,000 acres of land, and has enacted 

 laws for . their government, and that the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture has been giving much attention to 

 the subject of forestry, yet as to this subject the results are 

 very meager. 



"On the recommendation of Governor Black of the State 



