538 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 721 



fuel. A very small amount of forest on 

 eacli farm was sufficient for these purposes 

 and so the settler did not hesitate to cut 

 down as much as he possibly could. The 

 other natural resources he knew little or 

 nothing about. It was many years before 

 coal came into use, and then only in those 

 sections where it could be dug from the 

 ground near at hand. Precious metals 

 were unknown. The little iron that was 

 used was brought from abroad. The water- 

 ways were used wherever possible and in 

 many sections of the country they were the 

 only avenues of travel and the supply of 

 water was sufficient for the purpose of 

 navigation. Under conditions such as 

 these it was only natural for the inhabit- 

 ants to suppose that the resources of the 

 country were inexhaustible. They had all 

 they could use and more, and if they had 

 thought of the question of exhaustion, it 

 would have seemed to them that all they 

 had to do was to move to another section, 

 north, south or west, and start over again. 

 While they depended for their livelihood 

 upon one of the natural resources, the 

 soil, they were practically independent of 

 most of the others. And hence they re- 

 garded them as of little moment. As the 

 country developed and civilization in- 

 creased their dependence upon the natural 

 resources increased also, but at first in a 

 scarcely perceptible way. This dependence 

 has grown up to the present time, but it is 

 still difficult to make people see the force 

 of this dependence. Most of the products 

 which come from the natural resources of 

 the country are used at a great distance 

 from the raw material, and hence it is 

 difficult for people to realize the connec- 

 tion between the two and their depend- 

 ence upon the latter. The natural re- 

 sources have been so freely drawn upon 

 and often so ruthlessly used that already 

 along some lines they are beginning to dis- 

 appear to an alarming degree. Investiga- 



tion has shown that they are in great dan- 

 ger of exhaustion. This is a grave state 

 of affairs and proper steps should be taken 

 so far as possible to prevent it by pre- 

 serving the natural resources that remain 

 and by carefully and judiciously using 

 them in the future. Unless we can prevent 

 the absolute destruction of the natural re- 

 sources the ruin of the nation is assured. 

 We should aim to transmit to the genera- 

 tions which are to follow us a country 

 which is better than the one we received 

 from our ancestors and not one which is 

 being rapidly depleted and impoverished. 

 That this can be done has been shown by 

 the work of scientific men during the past 

 few years. Of course some of the natural 

 resources can not be replaced, but their 

 rapid depletion can be stopped and they 

 can be preserved for our use for many cen- 

 turies. The soil should never be allowed 

 to grow poor. It should grow richer as it 

 is cultivated longer. The forests can be 

 retained through planting at the same time 

 that timber is being cut for use. Fuel and 

 iron can not be replaced, but they can be 

 carefully and economically used. The use 

 of water, either for navigation or power, 

 does not destroy the water and hence does 

 not endanger the waterways system. 



With the growth of civilization the wants 

 of men multiply and hence greater de- 

 mands are made upon nature, for the sup- 

 ply with which these wants are satisfied 

 must come primarily from nature. This 

 will cause a greater drain in the future 

 than in the past. The use of the natural 

 resources has made us a great nation, and 

 if we are to maintain our position among 

 other nations we must be able to use these 

 natural resources ia the future, and even to 

 draw upon them to a greater degree. This 

 makes it absolutely essential that the waste- 

 ful methods now in use should cease and 

 that a careful and systematic study of the 

 use of the materials we now have be intelli- 



