A Division of Forestry was organized in the Department of Agriculture, some years ago, and the most earnest efforts are being made to prevent any needless waste of our timber lands.

The usefulness of forests to man lies: (1) In furnishing him with timber for building, manufacturing, fuel, etc., and with various other useful products of trees. (2) In their influence on climate. (3) In their influence on water-flow, by keeping the ground more moist, making the outflow more regular, checking the rapid melting of snow, and keeping the hillsides from being denuded of their soil, thus setting up streams and covering cultivated valley lands. The necessity of a proper preservation of the forests seems highly evident, but the nations have been slow in waking up to this fact. Several of the countries of Europe have been largely stripped of their woodlands by indiscreet cutting in the poorest countries, and only recently have the nations been roused to the necessity of their conservation. This is now being carefully attended to in several countries, especially Germany. In China broad mountain regions have been stripped of their trees, with the result that this soil has been swept away by the rains, leaving the rocks bare, while broad reaches of formerly fertile lowlands have been made sterile by the material spread over them by the rains that swept the mountain slopes.

In the United States the broad original forests have been very largely cut away, and those remaining have of late years been so largely reduced by indiscriminate cutting and the ravages of carelessly kindled fires that great alarm is felt as to the future of the lumber supply. Within recent years vigorous efforts have been made to overcome this growing evil. The American Forestry Association, founded in 1882, its purpose being the conservative use of our forest resources, has now over 5,000 members, residents of every state, and of Canada and foreign countries. The first State Forest Commission was organized by New York in 1885 and has now a very large forest reserve set aside in the Adirondacks. Pennsylvania has also large forest reserves in its mountain districts, and many other states have taken similar action. The art of forestry is also being taught in the schools, and a large body of skilled foresters are now in the service of the states and the general government. In the new and active movement for the conservation of national resources the preservation of the public forests ranks high, and to aid in this purpose the government has withdrawn as national forest areas a vast amount of the public lands, amounting at the present time to 192,931,197 acres, an area about equal to that of Texas and Ohio combined. These woodlands are under the charge of the National Forest Service and cared for by about 3,000 men, of whom 250 are professional foresters. The trees in these forests are cut with careful discrimination, and new trees are planted to take their place, there being forest nurseries containing about 20,000,000 plants and capable of supplying 18,000,000 a year. New York has 1,600,000 acres in its forest reserve, Pennsylvania over 920,000, and the reserves of the other states amount to a very considerable area..

Forest Service - A Lookout Station.