36 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photo from U. S. Forest Service 



forest service men on the fire line 



over $2,400,000 worth of timber were 

 refused during the past year. 



One result of this policy has been to 

 bring about a decline in the average price 

 of stumpage sold. In general higher 

 prices are obtainable through large than 

 through small sales. The most important 

 consideration in making sales of timber, 

 however, is not the price obtainable, but 

 the serving of the public interest. Obvi- 

 ously, to sell timber in quantity at less 

 than the market price through any other 

 method than competitive bids would sim- 

 ply work to the profit of specially favored 

 individuals; but care must be taken at 

 the same time both to prevent local con- 

 sumers from being overcharged by those 

 who buy stumpage from the government, 

 and to prevent the exaction of a monop- 

 oly price for stumpage by the govern- 

 ment. 



smau, losses from fire 



The work completed during the year 

 included 3,400 miles of trails, 3,200 miles 



of telephone line, 100 miles of wagon 

 road, 40 miles of fire line, 250 bridges, 

 550 cabins and barns, and 600 miles of 

 pasture and drift fences. In addition to 

 the sum provided by the special-improve- 

 ment fund, over $100,000 from the gen- 

 eral fund of the service was turned from 

 current expenses to defray the cost of 

 this work, but much of the work planned 

 and urgently needed could not be carried 

 out because there was nothing with which 

 to pay for it. 



The fire record also deserves mention. 

 Since the fiscal year ends in the midst 

 of the fire season, reports of fires are 

 made not for fiscal but for calendar 

 years. During the calendar year 1907 

 the loss of timber by fire was less than 

 half that of the previous year, though 

 this in turn was less than ever before. 

 About one-seventh of 1 per cent of the 

 forests was burned over in 1907, with a 

 damage so slight as to be practically 

 negligible. The ratio of loss to the value 

 of the timber protected, allowing that it 



