United States National Forests 75 



to the trees, for they eat the dry grass which 

 might become fuel. 



Thus the forest is benefited, and so is the stock- 

 raiser. Cattle which graze in the national forests 

 are so well fed that they bring from two to five 

 dollars a head more than others. They are sure 

 of sufficient water too, for the streams are shad- 

 owed, in many places, from the parching sun, 

 and forest officers look to the condition of the 

 watering places where stock go down to drink. 



Each year a quantity of timber from the na- 

 tional forests is cut and sold. A young and vig- 

 orous tree puts on wood very rapidly. Then comes 

 a period when growth is much slower, and after 

 that a time when there is almost no increase in the 

 size of the trunk from spring to spring. The tree 

 is now at the beginning of old age and is peculiarly 

 subject to the attacks of fungus or insect enemies 

 which may spread from it to its neighbor. This 

 is the time to cut it down. 



Such a tree when it stands in a national forest 

 is marked " U. S." by a forest officer and sold. 

 The purchaser is required to cut every marked 

 tree, and to spare all trees which are not marked. 



Some trees are left standing to sow their seeds 

 round about on the cleared land, and whoever has 

 bought the timber is required to cut thriftily, not 

 wastefully, and to leave no piles of dry branches 

 to become nurseries for forest fires. 



When land is cut over in this way, and the little 



