hills may affect his water supply. Irrigation — the life- 

 blood of agriculture in the West — is largely dependent 

 upon forest -protected watersheds. 



13. What interest has the average citizen in the 

 forests ? 



Whether he lives in the backwoods or in a crowded 

 city, regardless of occupation or activity, every citizen is 

 concerned with the welfare of the forests. He may be 

 inclined to take most things for granted — his news- 

 paper, his easy chair, the water that flows from his 

 kitchen tap — without stopping to think that they come 

 from the forest. Forests provide the raw materials for 

 countless products essential to modern living. Most 

 American homes are built of wood ; all have some wood 

 in their construction. Furniture, books, magazines, 

 radio cabinets, baseball bats, rolling pins, turpentine for 

 paints, and rosin for soaps are products of the forest. 

 Plastics, rayon, sausage casings, and photographic film 

 are some of the newer products made from wood. Forest 

 products paid the third largest freight bill before the 

 war. And the railroad lines are laid on wooden ties. 

 More than 10,000 products of wood have been listed, 

 and wood enters in some degree into the manufacture, 

 processing, or delivery of practically all other products. 

 The Army says that wood is required for some 1200 

 different items of military equipment. Modern tech- 

 nology is constantly developing new uses for wood, and 

 the prospects are that our needs for timber will increase 

 in the future. 



Well-managed forests on the watersheds can conserve- 

 water supplies, help to reduce floods, and regulate 

 stream-flow. Forests are the home of much of our wild- 

 life; they provide scenic beauty and afford recreational 

 opportunities for millions. 



Forests are the principal economic support of 

 hundreds of communities. When the trees are gone, 

 the mills shut down, payrolls stop, homes are lost, and 

 towns decay. Some of the worst areas of unempioy- 



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