THE FORESTER AND HIS WORK 229 



Destruction of Beasts of Prey. In 1911, For- 

 est Service men killed nearly eight thousand 

 beasts, of prey— mountain lions, wildcats, bears, 

 wolves, lynxes, and coyotes. This was an ines- 

 timable service to the people in the vicinity of 

 their reserves. In the Rocky Mountain section 

 it is claimed that a single bear has been known 

 to destroy $800 worth of stock in a year's time; 

 a timber wolf has been estimated as even more 

 destructive. 



Tree Planting. A community of trees is an 

 exceedingly interesting one. Behind the relent- 

 less competition for light, water, and food — the 

 three things trees need most, is a spirit of mu- 

 tual helpfulness that furnishes interesting study 

 for the forester. Each tree helps to protect its 

 neighbors against fierce onslaughts -of wind and 

 the warm overtures of the sun, which stands 

 ready to bake the soil about the roots and to 

 cradk the bark by shining too hotly upon it. 

 Each one contributes to the general welfare by 

 enriching the soil with its annual fall of leaves 

 and twigs and by serving as a canopy for the 

 protection of seedlings. Here and there 

 certain species show a tendency to gregari- 

 ousness: that is, they occupy the ground 

 to the exclusion of all others. Perhaps they 

 are able to thrive with less water, or to 



