FIVE INDIRECT VALUES 



315 



a long list of other articles that are needed on the farm or 

 in the arts. Mr. Fernow, while Chief of the Division of 

 Forestry, estimated that the net yearly income from an 

 acre of ordinary mixed forest would range from $1 to 

 $3 in the value of the wood products. If we consider 

 how little attention is demanded, and the kind of land 

 from which this income 

 can be derived, it is easy 

 to see that few other 

 crops can show superior 

 net results. 



232. Five indirect values 

 of timber cultivation 

 may be explained briefly. 



(a) Absorption and 

 retention of water. The 

 leaf mold and matted 

 roots absorb and hold 

 back the rainfall. This 

 tends to prevent loss of 

 soil by washing, and the 

 filling up of streams by 

 silt, and the consequent 

 interference with navi- 

 gation. Forests have 

 little effect on the total 



A MIXED STAND OF TIMBER. 



Contrast the shape of forest trees with 



that of trees in an open field. 

 amount of the rainfall. 



They do, however, exert a marked influence on the avail- 

 ability of the rainfall for farm purposes. The leaves 

 of trees, and the litter of twigs, branches, and mold in 

 the soil, break the force of the raindrops ; and for this 

 reason the soil of the forest floor is not so compacted 

 as a similar soil in the open. The water dripping from 

 the branches, trunks, and leaves soaks into the loose, 



