and weakened trees. There are some very marked exceptions to this, however, in the locust borer and white pine weevil, which attack trees in their most vigorous stages. Bark beetles at times also cause more or less damage to the younger trees. In 1876 and for the next ten years the bark beetles were particularly bad in the Adirondack spruce and destroyed many millions of trees.

In discussing entomology, its effects and remedies, as it concerns forest trees, we are attacking a very broad subject and for the needs of this pamphlet it is hardly necessary to go further.

Wild Animals:

ANIMAL DAMAGE.

Rodents damage principally the young tender rootlets of the small trees and cause more or less destruction to reproduction by eating the nuts and tree seeds. This damage must principally be guarded against in nursery work.

Squirrels do a great deal of damage in preventing reproduction of large seeded trees, as chestnut, oak, hickory, etc., and on the other hand, they undoubtedly serve as reforesting agents by burying more nuts than they use for food and thus leaving them to germinate. They sometimes serve as great aids in reforestation by storing large quantities of seed in pockets or holes where they can be easily collected by man.

Beaver, porcupine, etc., do some damage, but it is quite small when the forest is considered as a whole.

Domestic Animals:

If there is much young growth on an area, or if we desire young growth, domestic animals have a very injurious effect.

Cattle will graze if the grass is good, if not, they will browse more or less. Sheep usually clean up everything they can reach, but prefer grass. Goats are primarily browsing animals and would much rather eat twigs than grass.

If, then, we are trying to reforest an area, domestic animals must be kept away, as aside from browsing, they always do a great deal of damage by trampling. Grazing and forestry cannot be carried on together in our woodlots.

Man:

We now come to the damage caused by the highest type of animal, that is, man. The damage caused by man far outweighs that from any other source. He damages the forest in many ways. We shall consider only the principal sources, that is, clearing the land for agriculture or other purposes, lumbering and fire.

CLEARING OF LAND FOR AGRICULTURE.

In opening up a new country, the first thing of importance is to make clearings and till the land. On this the prosperity of the country depends. If this had not been done in the United States, the conditions would be just the same as when the Indians held possession. Timber in the early days was a drug on the market and prosperity demanded its removal in the shortest time at the least expense. Such conditions as these, however, have long since passed. All foresters agree that true agricultural land is put to its best use when used as such, but in cleaning such areas, it can now be done with great care because of the conditions of the timber market, and it is not necessary to burn over several hundreds or thousands of acres in order to clear a small place on which to grow our crops.

As a generalization then, we might say that agricultural land should be cleared of timber as fast as there is need for it, but it should be so done that there is no damage to the adjoining timber.

LUMBERING.

The methods of lumbering in the past have fitted conditions. A business run by private individuals is usually carried on in such a way that the greatest present profit is realized. Lumbering has been no exception to this rule. The time has come, however, when lumbering operations should be greatly intensified, as we are now in a position where we can see the end of our present supply of timber.

In many localities the lumbermen are rapidly coming to realize this situation and utilization is most complete. In the Michigan pine region, everything that will cut a 2 x 4 is taken from the woods and the red pine stumps are grubbed out to make turpentine. Still there must be a great advancement before conditions are ideal. The worst phase of this side of man's destruction comes from the pulp and acid mills. Size is no object to such concerns and an area is often stripped clear of everything that will make cord wood, and yet these are the very concerns that could practice most intensive management, because of the fact that size is not a necessary object and anything could be made use of which should be removed for the benefit of the forest.

FOREST FIRE.

Let us now consider briefly the most deplorable of all agents working against forest growth, that is, forest fire. We say the most deplorable because it is practically all unnecessary, about 99

per cent. of the fires being started through carelessness or avoidable cause. The greater part of the fires take place in the most accessible and best parts of the forests. This follows from the fact that there are more people, railroads, lumbering operations. and other agencies which would cause fires in such sections.

A fire is no respecter of young and vigorous trees, as are the fungi and insects. It takes everything in its path and does not stop here, but, more than any other agency, it damages the forest by consuming the most vital part, the soil. After the trees of a forest are removed, it is usually possible to grow others in fifty or seventy-five years, often in a much less time, but remove the soil and it will take a thousand years to grow trees on such an area again.

In burning up the soil we not only destroy the potential energy of the forest, but we utterly destroy it as a reservoir for the great streams of our country, as this soil has a very remarkable capacity to soak up and hold water.

Fire has an important indirect effect on lumbering in forcing operators to cut off areas sooner than they otherwise would when there is a fire risk present.

Most of us who have lived within sight of wooded hills have been used to seeing fires run at large and have never thought them of much consequence. It is therefore very hard to impress upon many people the seriousness of the situation. In the past timber was plentiful or most of us thought so. Now we know this is not true and it will only be a few years before a sufficient supply will be wanting. The key to the situation is fire. If we will have forest fire we shall not have timber, but if we will do away with forest fire nature will do a great deal toward helping us out with our wood supply in the future.