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tree and the average product per acre. Knowing these facts, it is 

 comparatively a simple matter to determine whether a given forest 

 can be maintained and yet made to yield satisfactory returns to the 

 owner. The next obstacle, more important because harder to over- 

 come, is fire. I am frank enough to say that in this matter lumber- 

 men themselves are largely responsible, sometimes even to the extent 

 of fighting reform. But the lumberman is not only culprit but 

 sufferer also, and he must be protected in this loss from fire by the 

 rigid enforcement of proper laws. With a sufficient patrol during 

 dry seasons, and reasonable care on the part of those who start fires, 

 this source of awful destruction can certainly be checked, though 

 it can never be entirely eliminated. 



The final obstacle is taxes. If anywhere, it is here that lumbermen 

 practicing forestry under present conditions will be checked, for 

 the lumberman more than any other manufacturer is the subject of 

 heavy taxation. This policy of drastic taxation results inevitably 

 in the slashing of the timber and the complete destruction of the 

 forest. Assuming that the land held for forestr}^ purposes is valuable 

 for timber, the State would far better collect a low annual tax 

 over a long period of years than levy a heavy tax for a short period ; 

 and this is obvious when we consider that an important industry is 

 thus maintained and a considerable and constant pay roll secured. 

 * * * Practical forestry ought to be of more interest and impor- 

 tance to lumbermen than to any other class of men. At present lum- 

 bermen are ready to consider seriously any proposition which may be 

 made by those who have the conservative use of the forests at heart. 

 Private forestry is practicable, and can be applied profitably under 

 favorable conditions. 



JOHN L. KATTL, 



President The Kaul Lumber Company. 



My acquaintance with the southern-pine belt has extended over a 

 period of seventeen years. During that time I have constantly 

 observed the deplorable effect upon the forest of lumbering without 

 regard to the future. The cut-over lands have no general value for 

 agriculture. Their best use is for the growth of timber. A large 

 amount of small timber was left standing on these lands after lumber- 

 ing because it did not pay to handle it. This situation prompted 

 the company to give serious consideration to the practicability of 

 introducing modifications in the method of lumbering which would 

 insure the leaving, in good condition, of a sufficient basis for another 

 crop. * * * I am free to confess that I turned to forestry with 

 some doubts. I was not entirely sure that its policy, admirable in 

 the abstract, concerns itself sufficiently with business considerations 



