FOBESTEY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. 25 



would have if used for the purpose approved by the classification 



would undoubtedly help to encourage its use for that purpose and 

 to discourage speculation. 



CONTINUOUS FOREST PRODUCTION. 



When the lauds that are to be devoted to the production of wood 

 have been definitely marked off, preferably by some system of expert 

 public classification, or. if that is not yet possible, by the judgment 

 of the individual owner, destructive lumbering must be replaced by 

 forest management. The first step in this direction is to insure ade- 

 quate fire protection both of standing timber and cut-over lands. 

 During recent years a great deal has been accomplished along this 

 line through the combined efforts of the National and State Govern- 

 ments, some 40 fire protective associations, and many individual 

 owners. With an average annual loss of at least $10,000,000 from 

 forest fires, however, much still remains to be done. Adequate fire 

 protection is absolutely essential for the practice of forestry. 



A second step is to keep the forest lands of the country continu- 

 ously productive. A policy that allows immense areas of potentially 

 productive forest lands to lie idle is not only short-sighted but 

 exceedingly wasteful. If the 100 million acres of logged-off and 

 burned-over forest lands on which, according to the estimate of the 

 National Conservation Commission in 1908, little or no growth is 

 now taking place, are capable of producing an annual return of $1 

 an acre, by allowing them to lie idle we are practically throwing 

 away each year $100,000,000. Probably an equal amount is being lost 

 each year through failure to secure the greatest possible growth on 

 the remaining forest lands of the country. Even a nation so richly 

 blessed with natural resources as the United States can ill afford such 

 prodigality. 



To reforest by artificial means the devastated areas is a task of 

 enormous magnitude and in its entirety of almost .prohibitive ex- 

 pense. Even if planting can be done successfully at an average cost 

 of from $5 to $10 per acre, it will involve an outlay of several hun- 

 dred million dollars. From this outlay, moreover, no return can be 

 received for many decades. If compound interest is charged against 

 it, the original investment will have doubled over and over again 

 before the crop can be harvested. This means that there are very 

 definite limits to which artificial reforestation can be conducted prof- 

 itably, particularly by the private owner. Forestry that starts with 

 the bare land is at best an expensive undertaking, and from a purely 

 financial standpoint has very distinct limitations. If forestry is 

 not to be practiced until the land has been denuded, we shall have 

 but little of it for many years. Planting will be necessary in some 

 cases, but it will not solve the whole problem or any great part of it. 



