PROTECTION OF FORESTS AND GAME. 



103 



to produce a heavy crop of hay. Willows 

 are appearing along all ditches, and in some 

 instances timber trees are starting. During 

 June the streams can hardly be forded, but 

 a month later they are nearly dry and the 

 settlers below are crying for more water. 



Would it not be practicable to hold back 

 the water from a thousand small streams 

 in the mountains, let the water saturate the 

 ground thoroughly, and so promote the 

 growth of timber and grass, reduce the 

 number of forest fires, keep the flood back 

 during June, and have plenty of water for 

 irrigation purposes in the valleys below, 

 later in the season? 



I should be glad to see this problem dis- 

 cussed in Recreation, and hope some prac- 

 tical suggestions toward its solution will 

 follow. I regard as foolish the idea that 

 sheep should be grazed on a timber pre- 

 serve to keep the grass down so that fires 

 will not run. 



I send you a photograph of timber in 

 Jackson's Hole killed by fire. 



S. N. Leek. 



ANSWER. 



No immediate remedy can be suggested, 

 except the change of sentiment and condi- 

 tions for which the advocates of forestry re- 

 form have been working the last 15 years. 

 The problem can only be solved by proper 

 organization and enforcement of laws, to- 

 ward which such a body as the Teton 

 Guides Association can do a great deal 

 as soon as they recognize the necessity 

 of preserving satisfactory conditions for 

 the sake of their own business. An educa- 

 tional campaign, it seems, is necessary, to 

 teach that fires must be avoided, for they 

 can hardly be extinguished if once started. 

 If the people of those regions would 

 meet at least half way the efforts of the 

 Federal government to cope with th^ forest 

 fire problem, the damage from this cause 

 would be greatly lessened. For the starva- 

 tion of game I can not propose any remedy 

 on such large areas, except to allow them 

 access to haystacks whenever that is feasi- 

 ble ; and the growing of soft v/ood trees, 

 such as willows and aspens, on which such 

 animals browse. — Editor. 



THE EVENING MEAL. 



Some of Charles Payne's Pets. 



