IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
5 
In no case has there been a more wanton disregard of these 
consequences than in the treatment of our forest resources. 
Before the conscienceless greed of the individual, encour^ 
aged by the lack @f appreciation and understanding on the 
part of the public, splendid forests vanished in a few years. 
Not only was there the legitimate cutting of timber for the 
sawmill, but enormous tracts were devasted by fire, some- 
times through carelessness, oftener by design. Nor has 
the destruction of wood been the only resulting calamity. 
Our forests grew naturally upon the poorer soils. When 
they were cleared, the veneer of soil upon the clay and 
gravel ridges, and of alluvium upon the sandy river bot- 
toms, was soon removed, and the clay and sand, often unfit 
for cultivation, were brought to the surface. The erosion 
which followed the clearing of the forest permitted the 
waters to run off rapidly from the surface, thus causing the 
disappearance of springs. It also filled the streams with 
sand and mud, and made their formerly clear waters tur- 
bid. The effect of this destruction was felt not only by 
the owner of the land which was thus denuded, but by all 
his neighbors, and the question became one not of indi- 
vidual rights, but of common good and public welfare. 
But information upon this subject so intimately 
connected with good citizenship was at first lacking, 
and as it gradually developed, it usually came too late 
to be of value in preventing wholesale destruction. 
As we approach the danger line as a result of our 
past recklessness, public interest in this question grows 
more and more in intensity. Our citizens are beginning 
to cry out for the preservation of the remnants of our 
forests, and to cast about for means and methods by 
which forests may be restored and extended. They are 
seeking information upon the great question of conservation 
of forest resources, and the botanist has here an oppor- 
tunity which should not be allowed to escape. Our citizens 
should be taught that the forest yields other than material 
products; that it is often most valuable when undisturbed; 
that it will grow upon soils which will produce but little 
