purposely or come from engine sparks or from somebody's carelessness.
Many fires are set purposely by stockmen who think by this means to
clear away the brush and thus obtain better feed for their cattle and
sheep. These men often care nothing for the forests or for the
preservation of the summer water flow. They would, indeed, be pleased to
see all the forests burned away if by that means they could increase
their feed. If you could travel through some of the mountainous portions
of the Southwest, you would see how much harm has been done in this way
to the trees, the streams, and the soil.
It is a hot summer day and two men are riding along a mountain road. One
of them thoughtlessly throws away a lighted cigarette, which falls upon
some dry pine needles. In a few moments the pine needles are ablaze. The
fire spreads with incredible rapidity and a great column of smoke rises
above the treetops. Before any one can reach it, the fire is sweeping up
the mountain side, and it may not be stopped before it has destroyed
thousands of acres of valuable timber. All this terrible loss is due to
one careless man who, in the first place, should not have been smoking
cigarettes, and in the second place should have known better than to
throw a spark into the forest powder magazine.
Some campers, enjoying the summer in the mountains, go away leaving
their fire burning. By and by a stick burns outward until the fire
reaches the leaves, or a gust of wind comes along and carries a spark to
them. In the hot sun the leaves and needles are almost as easy to ignite
as powder, and in a few moments another fire is making headway into the
surrounding forest.
A farmer clearing land thinks he can get rid of the brush and young
trees more easily by burning. But the undergrowth is drier than he
thought, and, the wind coming up unexpectedly, the fire is soon beyond
his control. It may destroy his own fences and buildings and, sweeping
on, ruin those of his neighbors also.
[Illustration: _H. W. Fairbanks_
The dead stubs of a once beautiful forest.]
Few people have perished from fires in the West, for there the forest
regions are generally thinly inhabited, but in some of the Eastern and
Northern states there have been terrible fires that have destroyed whole
villages together with their inhabitants.
In many mountain regions of our country there are large areas now
covered with useless brush where there were once valuable forests. In
regions where the lumbermen have not utterly destroyed the forests, but
have left some seed trees, the forests will come back again, but in
these large burned areas conditions are not favorable. The destruction
of the humus as well as the trees has been so complete that the seeding
of a new forest is slow work. It may be hundreds of years before the
trees will spread over and again take possession of the waste land.
A single fire often destroys more timber than would be destroyed by a
whole camp of loggers working for years. In the Northwest there are many
sad and desolate pictures of the destruction caused by forest fires. We
may travel for miles through forests of tall, dead stubs, the remains of
once noble trees. Where they have fallen the trunks lie piled many feet
high and trails had to be cut through an almost solid mass of timber.
Here is wood enough to supply thousands of people with pleasant winter
fires. But there are, alas, no people living near these vast woodpiles
and often no road to them. The logs must lie there and rot.
Now let us see if we can state the chief reasons why we should be
exceedingly careful about setting fires in the woods:
1. Fires destroy an enormous amount of valuable timber every year.
2. Between fires and lumbermen our forests are disappearing faster than
they are growing.
3. Fires destroy the young trees, and if they happen often enough will
keep them from growing up to replace the mature trees.
4. Fires do not permanently help the cattle ranges, but injure them by
burning the humus and grass seeds.
5. Fires leave the ground bare, so that it will dry out quickly.
6. Fires leave the soil unprotected, so that it will wash away quickly.
7. Fires destroy property and endanger lives.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EVILS THAT FOLLOW THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FORESTS
We have already learned something about the poverty of the people in
those lands where the forests have been destroyed. This poverty is due
not so much to lack of wood for fuel and other purposes, but to a whole
series of troubles which the removal of the forests has brought upon
them.
The burning of the humus, when a fire sweeps the forest, is the next
greatest loss to that of the timber itself. Where there has been no
fire, the ground under the trees is covered with decaying leaves and
stems which are slowly mixing with the soil and becoming a part of it.
The more there is of this humus in the soil, the more thriftily plants
will grow.
Many people purposely burn over their pasture lands in the fall,
believing that this will make the grass better the following year. They
should know that every time this is done the soil is made poorer, and
that it kills the seeds lying on the ground ready to sprout when the
warm spring days come. Instead of a better pasture there is more likely
to be a crop of almost worthless weeds. The ground is full of worthless
seeds which are always ready to take the place of the grasses when they
have a chance.
Before the fire came, the roots of trees, bushes, and grasses kept the
earth from washing; and the humus helped to hold the rainwater from
running away rapidly, so that more of it had time to soak into the
ground. How well this is shown on yonder hills which were once covered
with brush. A fire swept over these hills and burned every living thing.
What a barren appearance they presented after the heavy winter storms!
The slopes were completely covered with little furrows and gullies where
the rainwater had done its work. It will be a long time before
vegetation will again gain a foothold there and stop the washing of the
earth.
When a fire occurs in the dense forests of the Cascade Range, all the
trees are killed and the thick layer of decaying vegetation underneath
is burned. The spruce, which is one of the most important lumber trees
of this region, does not at once spring up again. Its seeds may be
scattered there, but the soil is not now in a condition to nourish them.
In its place springs up the tamarack pine, which, because it can grow in
poor soil, has the whole burned area to itself.
If we should return to the same place perhaps one hundred years after
the fire, we should find that the tamarack pines had formed a thick
forest. The lumbermen have little use for the tamarack and so have
passed it by. In looking carefully through the tamarack forest, we find
that other trees are now springing up. They are already struggling for
the food, the moisture, and the sunlight which the tamaracks are making
use of.
During the many years that have passed since the fire swept this region,
decaying vegetation has been slowly accumulating and forming humus
again. Now at last the seeds of the spruce find the soil rich enough
again to sprout and grow. Here and there are thrifty young trees which
will in a few years grow up and choke out the tamarack. Thus the
tamarack, though of so little value itself, has done a great work in
preparing the soil for a new growth of the valuable spruce.
Upon the drier slopes of the Western mountains shrubs, such as the
manzanita and chaparral, spring up and cover the surface after a forest
fire. Nature does not seem to want the surface left bare and usually has
something at hand, even though it be nothing better than brush, with
which to clothe it again. As the years pass humus begins to collect upon
the ground and finally restores it to much the same condition it had
before the fire. Now, if by any means seeds can reach such places,
scattering trees will first spring up in favored spots and, after a
time, the trees will become thick enough and large enough to shade the
ground and the brush will be killed out.
[Illustration: _American Forestry_
The work of the water where the forest has been cut away.]
The cutting of the forests, especially from the steeper mountain slopes,
has in many parts of the world changed water, one of Nature's most
valuable gifts, into an agent of destruction. Throughout the Eastern and
Southern states the floods are higher in spring and lower in summer than
they used to be, because of the removal of so large a part of the
forests that once covered this whole region.
In the West it is even more necessary that the forest cover be disturbed
as little as possible. One reason is that the greater part of the
forests are found upon the lofty mountains in which the streams rise. If
we deforest these steep slopes, water is going to injure them much more
than it would the gentler slopes of the lower lands, if they had been
deforested. Another reason is that since little rain falls in the summer
in this region, we must do nothing to lessen the summer flow of the
streams, which is so much needed for irrigation.
[Illustration: _American Forestry Association_
This beautiful valley in the Southern Appalachian Mountains has been
ruined by the floods due to cutting off of the forests upon the
headwaters of the river.]
The more water that can be held back in the mountains of the West for
summer use, the more prosperous the farmers are. There is nothing that
helps to hold the water better than the forests. They help to equalize
the flow of the streams so that the floods are not so high in the spring
nor the water so low in the summer as they would be if there were no
forests.
One of the first questions asked by a man who is thinking of buying a
farm is about the water supply. He wants to know whether there are
wells, springs, or living streams on the place. Almost everything
depends upon the water supply. If there is an abundance, the farmer is
likely to be prosperous. When he is prosperous all the rest of us are
prosperous, no matter what our business is.
Are you not ready now to say that the Swiss are right in not permitting
tree cutting upon any land except under the supervision of a forester?
The careless removal of the forests from the mountain slopes may affect
the farmer in the valley fifty miles away. Do you not think that this
farmer is very much interested in the management of the forest, although
he does not own a foot of it?
Trouble always follows the destruction of the forests on the headwaters
of the streams.
CHAPTER TWENTY
HOW OUR GOVERNMENT IS HELPING TO SAVE THE FORESTS
As long as the forest shall live,
The streams shall flow onward, still singing
Sweet songs of the woodland, and bringing
The bright, living waters that give
New life to all mortals who thirst.
But the races of men shall be cursed.
Yea, the hour of destruction shall come
To the children of men in that day
When the forest shall pass away;
When the low woodland voices are dumb;
And death's devastation and dearth
Shall be spread o'er the face of the earth.
Avenging the death of the wood,
The turbulent streams shall outpour
Their vials of wrath, and no more
Shall their banks hold back the high flood,
Which shall rush o'er the harvests of men;
As swiftly receding again.
Lo! after the flood shall be dearth,
And the rain no longer shall fall
On the parching fields; and a pall,
As of ashes, shall cover the earth;
And dust-clouds shall darken the sky;
And the deep water wells shall be dry.
And the rivers shall sink in the ground,
And every man cover his mouth
From the thickening dust, in that drouth;
Fierce famine shall come; and no sound
Shall be borne on the desolate air.
But a murmur of death and despair.
ALEXANDER BLAIR THAW, _The Passing of the Forest_; in _Century
Magazine_, June, 1907
For many years it was thought the forests were inexhaustible and needed
no special care. The national government encouraged people to acquire
forest land and practically gave away 160 acres to every one who would
build a cabin upon the land and live there for a short time.
Suddenly some of the wise people among us awoke to a realization of what
was going on. They discovered that the forests were going very fast and
that soon we should have none if something were not done. Between the
fires that swept them every year and the wasteful lumbering, the forests
were in a fair way to leave us as they had the wasteful and careless
peoples of other parts of the world.
How fortunate it is that some of us did look ahead before it was too
late; for, although the Eastern forests have largely disappeared, there
still remain millions of acres of government-owned forests in the West.
These forests have now been withdrawn from sale and are to be held for
the use and benefit of all. They are not to be permitted to pass into
the hands of a few, to be cut and sold for private gain.
Our government is acting like a wise father who is interested in the
welfare of his children, and who understands the need of taking care of
their treasures until they are wise enough to manage them for
themselves.
We are all concerned in many ways in the welfare of the forests. Whether
we own any forest land or not, we are affected by the way in which the
trees are managed. Because we are all dependent more or less upon the
forests, they should be regarded as the property of us all, just as the
air and water are. But because some of us do not yet know how, or do not
care, to protect them, it is best that the government should do so for
us.
[Illustration: _American Forestry Association_
These men are replanting a mountain slope from which fire once swept the
forest.]
It may be that you live in a brick, or stone house and burn coal in your
stoves. You think that it makes no difference to you whether or not
there are any forests. But stop and think a moment. Are you sure that
you are really independent of them? How many things do you use every day
that are made of wood? The list is surely a long one. If wood is rare
and expensive, the articles which are made of it add to your cost of
living and allow you less money for other things.
Let us suppose for a moment that you have no use for wood in any form.
Will this take away all interest that you may have in the forests? In
any event you are dependent upon the fertility of your fields for the
food that you require. Now, if there is a lumber company stripping the
mountains at the head of the river upon which your home is situated, and
as a result of clearing the timber from the slopes the floods become
worse, your garden is buried beneath gravel and sand, and your orchard
washed away, will you not think it _does_ make a difference to you in
what way the forests are treated?
The timbered lands which the government is holding and caring for are
known as National Forests. About two thirds of the forests yet remaining
in the West are included in them. These lands are mostly mountainous and
not suited to agriculture.
In the East the government has no lands except those which it buys.
Because of the great damage which is being done to the streams and
valleys of the Appalachian Mountains by careless lumbering, a great
tract of land is being acquired by purchase. This is called the
Appalachian Forest. The timber in this region will be carefully cut and
those areas from which it has been stripped will be replanted.
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, with Mt. Washington as the
center, is a remnant of a once beautiful forest, which has been acquired
by the government. This is known as the White Mountain Forest. It will
be enlarged as the years pass and carefully guarded. It will serve for
all time as a beautiful pleasure and camping ground.
It is not the government's plan that the National Forests shall remain
unused, but they are to be used wisely, so as to be of the greatest
permanent good to the greatest number of people. The men who have been
placed in charge of these lands are called "forest rangers," and their
duties are of many kinds.
The rangers supervise the sale and cutting of the mature or ripe trees
as they are needed for lumber, mining timbers, or posts. They see that
the waste parts of the cut trees are piled so as to lessen the danger
from chance fires.
During the long summers the forests become as dry as tinder and the loss
from fire amounts to millions of dollars every year. It is the chief
duty of the rangers at this time to patrol the roads and trails leading
through the forests and keep a sharp lookout for fires.
Stations have been established upon high points from which there is a
view over a wide extent of country. In each of these stations there is a
man constantly on watch for columns of smoke which indicate the
beginning of a forest fire. When smoke is seen a message is telephoned
to the ranger station nearest the fire, and from this station men are
sent as quickly as possible with the object of putting out the fire
before it spreads beyond the power of control. The forests are now
watched so carefully that hundreds of fires are thus stopped before
there has been any serious loss of timber.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| STOP |
| Forest Fires |
| |
| They are a Curse to the People |
| of Pennsylvania |
| |
| FOREST Existing Forests |
| FIRES Possibility of Future Forests |
| DESTROY Possibility of Labor |
| Beauty of a Region |
| Comfort |
| Homes |
| Lives |
| Prosperity |
| |
| Protected Forests Increase in Value |
| |
| They Furnish Labor, Promote Industry, Afford Recreation and |
| Sport, Make a Region Beautiful, Make Home Safe and Comfortable, |
| Make Life Worth Living, and a Prosperous State |
| Inhabited by a Contented and Industrious People. |
| |
| Which Would You Rather Have |
| |
| FOREST FIRES } { GREEN FORESTS |
| FLOODS } { PURE WATER |
| DISEASE } OR { HEALTH |
| DESTRUCTION } { THRIVING INDUSTRIES |
| DEVASTATION } { PROSPERITY |
| |
| For Information Respecting Pennsylvania Forests and |
| Tree Planting, write to |
| |
| COMMISSIONER OF FORESTRY, |
| |
| Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
[Illustration: This large poster, printed on sheets 14 by 22 inches,
has been of excellent service in Pennsylvania.]
[Illustration: _American Forestry_
The seed trees left by the lumberman are giving rise to a new forest.]
In convenient places the rangers store boxes of tools, which include
axes, picks, shovels, and rakes to be used in fighting any near-by fire.
They also have at hand provisions and camp outfits, so as to be able to
live anywhere in the woods.
In some parts where there is a great deal of small timber and brush,
"fire lines" are cut along the ridges where it is easiest to stop a
fire, should one occur. Our forests are so vast that it is not possible
to remove the dead wood as is done in Europe and thus lessen the danger
of fire.
The forest rangers also wage a warfare against insect pests. In regions
where the bark beetles carry on their destructive work among the pines,
the rangers sometimes cut down and burn thousands of trees. Another duty
of the rangers is that of replanting burned or logged-off areas. In this
way many thousands of acres which would otherwise remain waste land for
years, not being suitable for agriculture, are made in a short time to
produce a new forest.
A limited number of cattle and sheep are allowed in those forests which
can be pastured without doing injury to the young trees or affecting the
flow of the streams. The rangers have charge of this work and collect
the rent. A part of the money derived from the sale of timber and for
pasturage rights is expended in the improvement of the roads and trails
in the forests and in making the forests more safe from fire.
[Illustration: _H. W. Fairbanks_
A beautiful grassy meadow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.]
The National Forests are open to all for pleasure and recreation, but
under strict regulations about the cutting of trees and the care of camp
fires. Violators of these rules are severely punished. Visitors to the
forests are expected to take care in the selection of places for their
camp fires so that there will be no danger of the fire spreading. When
the camp is left, the fire must be put out with water or covered with
earth.
Many states have forest services of their own, and some have
conservation commissions. It is the business of these organizations to
look after various natural resources, including the forests, water,
soil, minerals, and wild game. All forest rangers as well as state fire
wardens are authorized to aid in the enforcement of the game laws.
We should assist the foresters and wardens in every way possible. Most
of these men love the woods, the birds, and the animals. They are doing
their best to protect the forest and its wild life for the good and
happiness of us all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
OUR FOREST PLAYGROUNDS
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants the friend of sun and sky;
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard--
The treble of heaven's harmony--
These things he plants who plants a tree.
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
He plants the glory of the plain;
He plants the forest's heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see--
These things he plants who plants a tree.
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good--
His blessing on the neighborhood
Who in the hollow of His hand
Holds all the growth of all our land--
A nation's growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.
H. C. BUNNER, _The Heart of the Tree_; in _Century Magazine_, April, 1893
Our National Parks and Forests form the grandest summer playgrounds that
any people have ever had. The National Forests, we have learned, were
set aside for the direct purpose of preserving the timber supply and
regulating the flow of the mountain streams. The National Parks were
created for the purpose of preserving for all time the most beautiful
and attractive scenic features of our country. Among the most important
of these are the Yellowstone, Grand Canon, Yosemite, Rainier, and Crater
Lake parks. They include many thousands of square miles of forested
mountains, cliffs, lakes, waterfalls, and rivers, which are open to all
of us with no restrictions except that we do not injure them.
How delightful it is to have these wild and picturesque parts of our
country left unspoiled and just as Nature made them, and to be able to
wander through them at will! In the parks we can become acquainted with
the flowers, trees, birds, and animals as they were before the country
was discovered and settled by white men. Here the wild creatures are
protected from the hunters. The deer no longer fear the sight of men,
and the mother grouse can raise her brood in safety from them.
When summer comes we feel a strange and mysterious longing to get out of
doors and live in the forests with the wild creatures. The parks offer
just the opportunity to satisfy this longing, for in them we can get
away from the worries and perplexities of our everyday life.
We feel the "call of the wild," perhaps, because long ago our savage
ancestors dwelt in the forests among the hills. They were a part of
Nature and lived much as the animals do in caves in the hillsides, or in
homes of the rudest sort made of the bark of trees or the skins of
animals.
Our ancestors spent nearly all of their time out of doors in the pure,
fresh air. Their eyes and ears were trained to every sign of the forest,
for upon the sharpness of their senses their very lives depended.
[Illustration: _George J. Young_
A forest playground on Virginia Creek in the Yosemite country,
California, in one of Uncle Sam's forest reserves.]
We have lived in houses so long, where the air is often close and impure
and where we have no need of sharp senses for protection, that we have
lost some of the strength and sturdy self-reliance of our wild
ancestors.