320 ELEMENTS OF GENERAL SCIENCE 



easily tilled that it has been transformed into farms where- 

 ever there is sufficient rainfall or a supply of water for 

 irrigation. The land is more valuable for farming than it is 

 for grazing. 



Though both the forests and the grasslands are valuable, 

 land that is suitable for agriculture will be of greater value 

 when it is farmed properly than when it grows only trees 

 and wild grasses. The best lands should be cleared of their 

 forests, but there are many thousand square miles of country 



FIG. 155. Grazing country 



In some regions stock raising is almost the only industry. The land may be more 



valuable for this purpose than for any other, especially where it is hilly or stony. 



Photograph by the United States Department of Agriculture 



in the United States which are so hilly or rocky that they 

 cannot be farmed, and these areas ought to be preserved 

 as forests in order that we may have a supply of timber 

 and that rainfall may run off more slowly. There are also 

 great areas of arid lands in the West which can scarcely 

 be used for anything but grazing except when irrigation is 

 practicable. 



In order to preserve these benefits for the people, to 

 protect important natural features, and to supply places of 

 recreation and pleasure the national government and the 

 states have set aside certain areas as forest reserves, parks, 

 and game preserves. 



