FORESTS OP POETO RICO. 47 



protection to the birds, live stock, and even man himself in the form, 

 respectively, of small groves at intervals throughout the cane and 

 tobacco districts, open cover in the pastures, and shade trees along 

 the roadsides. Of scarcely less importance than these phases of the 

 practice of forestry are painstaking investigations and a thorough 

 campaign of educational propaganda. 



Planting. 



The planting of new forests is by far the most important, in point 

 of magnitude at least, of the forestry work to be done in Porto Rico, 

 Tree planting figured rather conspicuously in the early Spanish laws. 

 "Law First "^ of ''Laws of the Indies," which concerned the allot- 

 ment of lands to settlers, provided "two 'huebras' of land for 

 orchard, and eight for planting other trees," while "Law Eleventh" 

 promulgated by Emperor Charles in 1536, provided even more exphc- 

 itly for the planting of "willows and trees," so that in addition to other 

 purposes "it be possible to use the timber (wood) which might be 

 necessary." As the Indies were generally well wooded, these laws, 

 it may reasonably be inferred, were merely Spanish laws devised to 

 meet conditions in Spain and more or less perfunctorily extended over 

 the new possessions. Certain it is that they were never given force or 

 effect in Porto Rico. 



The need for reforesting the headwaters of the streams has aheady 

 been mentioned. In most cases, however, protection can be as well 

 supplied by the forests managed from the standpoint of wood pro- 

 duction. It will not often be necessary to refrain from any cutting 

 whatever. A system of harvesting the wood crop which will expose 

 the soil on the steep slopes as little as possible to the unbroken force 

 of the sun, wind, and rain, will usually be sufficient. For planting 

 work along the streams to prevent the banks from washing, it may be 

 necessary to adopt special material, such as bamboo. But with 

 proper care even this could be harvested without impairing its useful- 

 ness as a soil binder. 



In planting for the production of a wood crop the first consideration 

 is, what products are most needed. Many would plant mahogany, 

 ebony, rosewood, and all the other valuable cabinet and dye woods 

 solely because they are valuable. Some time in the future it may be 

 good forestry to try producing these woods for export, but that time 

 wiU not come until the virgin supply of Santo Domingo and other 

 countries is much nearer exhaustion and the growth qualities of these 

 woods is much better known than now. In the meantime the home 

 market is urgently in need of attention ; its requirements are known, 

 and it can be profitably supplied. Those trees which will produce 

 fuel wood in the greatest abundance, the shortest time, and the most 



1 See p. 9. • 



