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 The Future of Forestry 
 
 In Kentucky 
 
 And the South 
 
 By J. E. BARTON, 
 
 STATE FORESTER OF KENTUCKY 
 
 FRANKFORT 
 
 FRANKFORT. KY.. 
 
 THE STATE JOURNAL CO. 
 
 1913 
 
The Future of Forestry in Kentucky 
 and the South 
 
 By J. E. BARTON, 
 
 State Forester of Kentucky. 
 
 Reprinted from The Southern Lumberman, Nashville, 
 Tenn., issue of December 21, 1912. 
 
 Published by the direction of the State Board of 
 Forestry. 
 
 Governor James B. McCreary, 
 Chairman. 
 
 John W. Newman, 
 Commissioner of Agriculture. 
 
 Joseph H. Kastle, 
 Director, Kentucky Experiment Station. 
 
 Hon, Johnson N. Camden, 
 Versailles. 
 
 Hon. W. H. Mackoy, 
 Covington, 
 
 Mrs. Mason Maury, 
 Louisville. 
 
0, OF i. 
 APR 14 1918 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 In the publication of this article as a bulletin for 
 distribution throughout tlie State, the State Board of 
 Forestry desires to put into the hands of as many in- 
 dividuals as possible a statement in popular form of the 
 scope of the work proposed along forestry lines by the 
 Board and the reasons for and necessity of this work. 
 It is realized that there is a desire on the part of a large 
 number of people for information in this direction and 
 it is hoped that this publication will in some degree meet 
 this demand. 
 
 Thanks are due the Southern Lumberman for per- 
 mission to reprint the article and for the loan of the 
 cuts used in its illustration. The United States Forest 
 Service kindly furnished the photographs used in illu- 
 minating the text. 
 
The Future of Forestry in Kentucky and the South 
 By J. E. BARTON, 
 
 State Foeester of Kentucky, Frankfort, Ky. 
 
 The greatest single step forward in the South for 
 the cause of the conservation of our national resources 
 as a whole and forestry in particular was undoubtedly 
 the Act of Congress approved March 1, 1911, which is 
 usually termed the "Weeks Law." This act provided in 
 general for the "maintenance of a perpetual growth of 
 forest on the water sheds of navigable streams where 
 such growth will materially aid in preventing floods, im- 
 proving low waters, in preventing erosion of steep slopes 
 and the silting up of the river channels, and thereby im- 
 prove the flow of water for navigation," and the bill 
 further provided that the Secretary of Agriculture may 
 "stipulate and agree with any state or group of states 
 to co-operate in the organization and maintenance of a 
 system of fire protection on any private or state forest 
 lands within such state or states and situated upon the 
 water shed of a navigable river." 
 
 The passage of this bill marked the success of a 
 struggle wdiich has been carried on before Congress for 
 years, for the passage of bills of like character had been 
 previously vigorously opposed by certain interests. Now, 
 while it is not to be supposed that the work looking to- 
 ward the conservation of forests and stream flow had not 
 been heretofore vigorously pushed in the various South- 
 ern States, nevertheless, the passage of the "Weeks 
 Law" indicated a positive and definite stand by the Fed- 
 eral Government and, undoubtedly, did much to strength- 
 en the work of the advocates of conservation throughout 
 the South, since it offered a point to tie in to and fur- 
 nished a concrete argument for like legislation in each of 
 the Southern States. 
 
 The effort in Kentucky to fornnilate into law a for- 
 est policy stretches back almost a decade, during which 
 a continually growing body of earnest men and women 
 
6 
 
 have seen with dismliy the wide-spread depletion and 
 waste of the forests of the state and have endeavored 
 each year to secure the passage of a bill establishing a 
 State Board of Forestrv and creating the office of State 
 Forester. Finally, March 19, 1912, an act of the General 
 
 Fifty-two Year Old Upland Forest, Original Growth 
 Cut and Used in Iron Furnaces. 
 
 Assembly was approved, establishing ^'a State Board of 
 Forestry, prescribing its duties, and for conserving the 
 forests and waters of the state and appropriating money 
 therefor." The law was unusually well drawn up, and 
 too much credit cannot be given to the men and women of 
 
Kentucky who labored so untiringly for the passage of 
 the law. This act, together with acts creating a "Good 
 Eoad Commission," a "Tuberculosis Commission," a 
 "Fish and Game Commission," "Insurance Commis- 
 sion," "Banking Commission," and others, reflect the 
 greatest credit on the administration of Governor James 
 B. McCreary and indicates him as one of the foremost 
 men of the South in the advocacy of progressive legisla- 
 tion. 
 
 Time for Real Work at Hand. 
 
 Upon the passage of this act the real work in for- 
 estry in Kentucky was ready to begin, and on September 
 1, 1 was appointed State Forester and assumed the duties 
 of the office. In view of the fact that the last seven years 
 had been spent by men in the Federal Forest Service in 
 the Northwest, I found it hard at first to realize the 
 changes that had taken place even in so short a period 
 in the hardwood producing region of which Kentucky 
 is the center, since within that brief span of years the 
 production of hardwood by Kentucky and the South had 
 climbed to its zenith and was passing to its decline. The 
 condition then is surely alarming since it means not only 
 the depletion and destruction of the state's forests and 
 a great source of wealth, but it also means a serious dis- 
 turbance in the industrial and economic conditions which 
 are the outgrowth of the timber and lumber business. 
 
 Kentucky's Position in Hardwood Industry. 
 
 Let us take a survey of the situation as it applies 
 specifically to Kentucky, since in view of the fact that, as 
 I have heretofore said, Kentucky is the "hub of the 
 greatest hardwood producing region in the world," the 
 same reasoning can be extended to the balance of the 
 South in general except the pineries which present many 
 problems. There are several factors which make for 
 Kentucky's supremacy in the hardwood producing in- 
 dustry, and of these the chief are: 1. Geographical situ- 
 ation with relation to the hardwood timber supply ; 2. 
 Large variety in supply; 3. Cheap fuel supply; 4. Abund- 
 ance of cheap transportation facilities; 5. Large and ac- 
 cessible markets. These will be discussed in their order. 
 Up to the present time the supply of hardwood has 
 
8 
 
 seemed inexhaustible; for Kentucky, situated in the cen- 
 ter of the Southern hardwood prodocing belt, has had not 
 only her o\vn magnificent forests to draw from, but has 
 made large drafts on the supplies in the neighboring- 
 states. . But of late, plain indications are not wanting, 
 even to the most casual observer, that the supply of tim- 
 ber within the borders of the State is diminishing. River 
 points which formerly supported several saw mills are 
 
 Western Kentucky Hardwood Forest 
 Where Fire Has Not Entered 
 
 now practically deserted, or are completely abandoned. 
 Where it was once no uncommon sight to see large rafts 
 of logs go floating down the rivers to the manufactur- 
 ing points, this has now become an unusual and occa- 
 tional sight. Also timber which is now being cut indi- 
 cates that the best has been culled from the forests and 
 that it is now a question of taking whatever can be used. 
 The forests of Kentucky and the Southern hardwood 
 region furnished an almost indefinite variety of species, 
 
9 
 
 and this exceeding richness of variety has added to the 
 value and diversity of the manufactured products, since 
 almost any demand could be fulfilled which might exist. 
 The oaks, walnut, gums and others furnished the finest 
 character of timber for finishing lumber and furniture; 
 the tulip poplar, basswood, magnolias furnished a soft, 
 clear, easily worked lumber for a large range of uses; 
 the oaks and hickories have furnished unexcelled mate- 
 rial for the vehicle industry; the varieties are as in- 
 numerable as the uses to which they are put. The beau- 
 ty, diversity, and usefulness of the Kentucky timber sup- 
 ply is practically unexcelled. The third factor in build- 
 ing up the hardwood manufacturing industries in Ken- 
 tucky has been the abundance of cheap fuel, for both the 
 eastern and the western ends of the state are underlaid 
 with large coal deposits of the best grades of bituminous 
 coal, so situated that it is readily mined and easily ac- 
 cessible. The extent of the coal in Kentucky, coupled 
 with the ease of working it, has rendered a cheap fuel 
 supply indefinitely available. Again the facilities for 
 cheap transportation have been on hand throughout Ken- 
 tucky and the neighboring states, with the result that it 
 has been an easy matter to get the raw material and fuel 
 to the manufacturing centers and to ship the manufac- 
 tured products to the markets. The rivers of Kentucky 
 form a network of arteries within and circumscribing her 
 borders down which the timber and lumber has been 
 floated and driven or transported in barges and rafts to 
 the mills, and the fuel has come through the same chan- 
 nels. The Cumberland, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, 
 Green, Big Sandy, Tradewater Rivers and others have 
 all played their part in this moving drama. Then the 
 numerous railroads of the state as they have developed 
 have continually opened up new fields, continually added 
 their quota to the flow of fuel and raw materials to the 
 centers of manufacturing. Also in like manner these 
 agencies have entered just as much into the distribution 
 of the manufactured products throughout the Common- 
 wealth and the country in general. Always there has 
 been the two streams, the flow of fuel and raw material 
 to the manufacturing centers and the flow of finished 
 products to the markets of the world. It was not far 
 to go for market either, since large distributing points 
 
10 
 
 Waste in Logging— In First Picture a 20-inch Poplar was felled to Dis- 
 lodge an Oak Tree and left Unused. In other Picture note 
 amount of Sound Oak Timber left in Unused Top. 
 
11 
 
 were witliin a comparatively small radius, and the de- 
 mand for the character of manufactures involved was 
 stable and reliable. 
 
 Lumber and Woodworking Industries of the State. 
 
 Attention has been called to these factors in detail 
 because they have served to build up the lumber and 
 woodworking industries within the state to their now 
 commanding proportions and consequently have served 
 to deplete to their present condition the forests of the 
 state; but again they are the very factors which make 
 possilole the initiation of a forest policy within the state 
 which shall have a sound economic and industrial basis, 
 without which any forest policy is vain, indeed. Lum- 
 bering witliin Kentucky, as everywhere, has up to 
 the present time been conducted with the lavish prodi- 
 gality typical of the American people, and this prodigal- 
 ity was largely the result of conditions which the lumber- 
 man had to meet. A waste naturally resulted, and this 
 was largely unavoidable under the then existing condi- 
 tions ; but the face of conditions has changed and the time 
 is ripe economically for the practice of forestry, which 
 largely, so far as the lumberman and timber owner is con- 
 cerned, means conservative logging and manufacture and 
 the closest character of timber utilization, together with 
 the most adequate protection to the existing forest. 
 
 I 
 Kentucky's Consumption of Hardwoods. 
 
 Kentucky today consumes in round numbers over 
 400,000,000 feet of timber annually, about one-half of 
 which comes from her own forests and one-half of which 
 is imported from the neighboring states. Approximate- 
 ly $10,000,000 is paid annually for this raw material. 
 "When one figures how much is spent in the manufacture 
 of this raw material and the transportation of the man- 
 ufactured product, he will have a fair idea of how much 
 the timber industry means to Kentucky from an indus- 
 trial and commercial standpoint. Yet from ]909 to 1910 
 the production of lumber cut within the state fell off 
 I2V2 per cent. The result of this depletion will ultimate- 
 ly be that the wood using industries will have to move to 
 
View Showing Effect of Deforestation an 
 
osion on Hill Slope in Western North Carolina. 
 
14 
 
 new fields or ship their raw material from increasing dis- 
 tances, either proposition involving- financial loss to the 
 state and increased cost to the consumer. Further, the 
 coal mining industrj^ within the state is growing each 
 year as new fields are opened up and this industry alone 
 consumes about an average of Si/o feet board measure for 
 every ton of coal mined. The forest problem for Ken- 
 tucky then is to create as nearly a balance as may be be- 
 tween the amount of timber consumed annually and that 
 produced each year. Surely a herculean task! 
 
 FoEEST Fires a Source of Great Loss. 
 
 In tackling this problem, as in dealing Avith any bus- 
 iness, the first thing to do is to look for leaks and waste, 
 and we find leakage and waste on every hand. One of 
 the greatest sources of these is forest fires, which occur 
 annually throughout the state. No steps are taken to 
 prevent these fires, yet the damage they do to standing 
 timber and young grow^th is incalculable. Leaving out 
 of the consideration young growth, fires damage mature 
 timber by actual destruction, by lowering the grades, by 
 offering points of attack for insects and subsequent fun- 
 gus decay. Fires also destroy the soil fertility and 
 greatly lower the productive capacity of the forest area. 
 Here then is a big leak in our business and an actual 
 waste. It is a waste, however, that can be mitigated in 
 a large degree, for forest fires are largely preventable, 
 as has been adequately shown in the various sections of 
 the country, particularly the Northwest, where the close 
 co-operation of the timberland owners, the railroads, the 
 state and the Federal Forest Service has resulted in a 
 notable diminution of serious fires. The proposition of 
 dealing with forest fires presents the same features as 
 dealing with fires in a city. The first aim in a munici- 
 pality "is so to build and manage the city that there will 
 be a minimum of fire hazard, the second is to suppress 
 what fires occur in their incipiency, and the third and 
 last aim is to deal adequately with large fires which may 
 get underway in spite of the greatest care. In a state 
 such as Kentucky, wdth valuable wooded and forested 
 areas, exactly the same thing must be done. The timber- 
 lands must be managed so that there will occur a mini- 
 
15 
 
 mum of fires. This we propose to accomplish by a cam- 
 paign of education wherein the economic losses to the 
 community from forest fires are made clear; by securing 
 the co-operation and support of all the interests adverse- 
 ly affected by forest fires and of all good citizens of the 
 state; and lastly by organizing a system for patrol of 
 forested areas during tlie danger seasons and the ade- 
 quate suppression of such fires as occur in their earlier 
 stages. 
 
 Incomplete Utilization is Another Waste. 
 
 Another source of waste is incomplete utilization, 
 and this usually occurs in the actual logging operations. 
 It is a remarkal)le fact, but one capable of ample demon- 
 stration, that whereas the manufacture of timber at the 
 mill and the disposal of the manufactured product has 
 been so completely systemized -and organized that the 
 least leakage or w^aste can be detected by the manufac- 
 turer, yet the woods end of the lumbering business is 
 the most haphazard kind of an operation for the most 
 part, and very few operators can give you any accurate 
 idea of how much the various steps of their w^oods opera- 
 tions are costing. Here then it is probable that a big- 
 waste occurs. It does as a usual thing, and in these ways. 
 Very rarely is the attention given to laying out woods 
 roads that they deserve. Since a logging operation 
 makes or loses, ordinarily, by the cost of the transporta- 
 tion of the material, too great care cannot be used in the 
 laying out of the main haul roads. In one operation, 
 which came under my observation, the cost per thousand 
 feet of placing the logs at the mill was reduced one-half 
 by the expenditure of a few^ extra dollars at the start in 
 laying out the main haul road. With the cost of trans- 
 portation reduced to a minimum a large amount of tim- 
 ber can be cut and taken to the mill which ordinarily it 
 w^ould not pay to handle. Again, all material should be 
 cut and taken out which is available. This is the simplest 
 economy, since the cost per mile per thousand feet of 
 roads and transportation is reduced in proportion as the 
 amount of material removed is increased. This can only 
 be accomplished by the most careful wood supervision, 
 which ordinarily is not given or considered necessary. 
 The contract system, so universally in vogue in woods 
 
16 
 
17 
 
 operations in Kentucky and the Soutli, is vicious beyond 
 expression. The next source of waste is one which is not 
 plain to the casual observer, and that is lack of foresight 
 for the rapid regeneration of cutover areas. In the or- 
 dinary woods operation no thought is directed to the fu- 
 ture of the forest, with the result that large quantities of 
 healthy young growth is needlessly destroyed, the tim- 
 ber is not cut at a time of year when regeneration from 
 sprouts may be secured, and the brush and debris is left 
 on the ground in such a condition as to be a serious 
 menace to the remaining stanch Again, no seed trees are 
 left, where natural seeding is to be depended upon for re- 
 stocking the area, and lastly live stock are allowed to 
 graze over the area so that quantities of nuts, seeds and 
 young growth are destroyed. The chief sources of waste, 
 as I have said, are in the logging operations, but some 
 waste undoubtedly occurs in the mill operation by failure 
 to use certain classes of apparently useless material in 
 the manufacture of by-products. 
 
 It has been pointed out that the very features which 
 have been paramount in hastening the alarming exploita- 
 tion of Kentucky's timber supply are also the features 
 which will make for the building up of the forests of the 
 state, since with cheap fuel and transportation and good 
 markets, it is a practical business proposition to insist 
 upon complete utilization of our supply on hand and 
 raise thereby the productive capacity of our forests. 
 For instance, in harvesting the timber on coal lands, it 
 is not industrial economy to cut up into mine timbers 
 trees which can be utilized for more valuable products 
 and leave on the ground as culls timber which will make 
 satisfactory mining props, stulls, etc., jvist because it is 
 slightly easier for the woods laborer to work up the first- 
 class material. But in addition to this, Ave have got to 
 have an active constructive forest policy throughout the 
 state, and the basis of this is protection, as has been pre- 
 viously outlined, protection from fire and from live stock. 
 Even a casual survey of the forests of Kentucky shows 
 that they are depleted in two ways, in quantity and sec- 
 ond in quality and kind. The ordinary forested area is 
 not fully stocked, which means that certain ground is 
 merely dead capital. All our forests areas should be 
 stocked to their full capacity, which is usually about a 
 
18 
 
 
 P 
 
 
19 
 
 hundred per cent increase over the material on the 
 ground. In regard to the method of securing a full- 
 stocked area, I sliall not be able to enter into details in 
 this article, since tliis is largely a question of the silvi- 
 cultural methods applicable to individual tracts and can 
 only be determined after an examination of the area. 
 Again, our forests have deteriorated most perceptibly in 
 the kind and quality of timber produced. Where are the 
 magnificent forests of white oak, tulip poplar, walnut 
 and other valuable species. Gone, absolutely gone ! The 
 quality and kind of the material plays a very decided 
 part in any scheme of reforestration, for we must con- 
 tinually bear this in mind, that we are raising our trees 
 with the expectation of marketing them eventually, and 
 we want to raise what we can sell most readily, and we 
 want to do this in the shortest space of time. We have 
 first, then, to study the varieties of trees indigenous to 
 the state to find out what varieties grow most rapidly 
 and lend themselves most readily to cultivation on the 
 soils available, and next we must scrutinize carefully the 
 present markets and forecast as sagely as we can the fu- 
 ture markets. So far as my observation goes, it will be 
 wise in Kentucky to confine our future forest crops to a 
 few varieties which have well defined qualities of com- 
 mercial importance. Among this list I may include sev- 
 eral varieties of ash, oaks and hickories, one or two gums, 
 basswood or linn, tulip poplar, chestnut (if the course 
 of the chestnut blight is cheeked), black locust, and, 
 among the conifers, white pine and short-leaf pine. 
 
 The A'ery latest movement in agriculture has been to 
 bring the most approved scientific methods of agricul- 
 ture to the very door of the farmer by demonstration 
 farms in his county and expert demonstrators who will 
 be available to minister to his individual needs. It is 
 axiomatic with children, and the same thing applies to 
 adults, that they learn more easily from concrete exam- 
 ples than from any abstract line of reasoning. This is 
 particularly true as regards the progress of forestry in 
 Kentucky and in the South. We want state forest re- 
 serv-es upon which we can demonstrate ocularly the ma- 
 terial benefits of scientific forestry, since in no other 
 way can this be done as quickly and convincingly. We 
 want to establish nuseries in which good trees of stand- 
 
20 
 
 ard varieties can be raised and furnished to the people 
 of the state at cost. We expect to do this by obtaining, 
 either by purchase or gift, suitable areas within the 
 state. One area which will be utilized as a small demon- 
 stration nursery and forest is twenty acres at the State 
 Fair Grounds at Louisville, which will be accessible as 
 a practical demonstration each year to thousands of vis- 
 itors. Earlier in this article I mentioned tlie consump- 
 tion of wood in the coal industiy (approximately 3i/> 
 feet board measure for every ton of coal mined). It 
 seems to me that on the timbered coal lands of Kentucky 
 is one of the best chances for demonstrating the practical 
 utility of scientific forestry and we cannot afford to lose 
 sight of the fact that to the vast bulk of the people it is 
 still a matter for demonstration. The coal lands are a 
 long-time investment, and the mine operator desires a 
 sustained annual yield of timber for his mine, both of 
 which premises are fundamental in scientiiic forest man- 
 agement. It will then be the object of the development 
 of forestry in Ketnucky to get coal land owners inter- 
 ested in practical forestry and secure co-operation be- 
 tween them and the office of the State Forester and 
 among themselves in attaining this end. 
 
 Welfare of Streams and Forests. 
 
 Thus far in this article attention has been directed 
 entirely to the forests of the state and the lines which 
 their proposed development should take, but there is an- 
 other feature of the matter which has equal weight and 
 significance, and that is the water of the state. In a re- 
 cent address before the Rivers and Harbors Congress in 
 Washington, D. C, President Taft lays stress on the 
 fact that in the regulation and conservation of stream 
 flow the part played by the forests at the head of the 
 streams is a vital one, and surely not to be overlooked. 
 The welfare of waters and streams of the state, both from 
 the mechanical and sanitary point of view, is ultimately 
 linked with the welfare of the forests, and the office of 
 the State Forester in Kentucky is charged with the over- 
 sight of both. Everywhere are evidences of the interre- 
 lation of the forests and waters of the Commonwealth, 
 the denudation of the hills and mountains, the conse- 
 
21 
 
 qiient erosion of slopes and the snbsequent floods and 
 silting np of the streams speak eloquently of the need of 
 regulation and conservation. In Kentucky — in practi- 
 cally every state — there are certain areas and, ofttime 
 regions, which are ])rimarily what may be termed abso- 
 lute forest land; that is, land upon which, taking into 
 consideration all economic questions involved, should be 
 perpetually maintained a forest cover. These lands 
 are, as a ru'e, in the mountain region at the headwaters 
 of the streams and rivers. It is a mistake to maintain in 
 forest cover land which is more valuable for agriculture, 
 all things considered. It is just as much an economical 
 blunder to try to cultivate land when the result of such 
 cultivation is an actual loss far outbalancing the money 
 value of the agricultural crops ol)tained from the land. 
 The problem, so far as Kentucky and the Southern 
 States generally are concerned, is not more hind to cul- 
 tivate, Init the scientific cultivation of the land which is 
 obviously agricultui'al land and the restoration to forest 
 cover of land which is obviously non-agricultural land. 
 
 Some Things Which Need Emphasis. 
 
 Now, as to the practice of forestry in the state, there 
 are some things which unquestionably need em])hasis. 
 Pure forestry is a business and must stand or fall on our 
 ability to reduce its practice to a question of dollars and 
 cents. That forestry is a good investment from this 
 point of view, not only in the matter of direct returns, 
 but also in the matter of indirect returns, is beyond 
 question. It must be borne in mind, however, that this 
 is a long-time investment and is not ordinarily a proy^o- 
 sition for the private individual. It is a matter for the 
 Federal Government, the states, municipalities and long- 
 time corporations (such as railroads, coal land compa- 
 nies, etc.). Only in certain phases does it recommend 
 itself as an investment for yirivate individuals, as in the 
 raising of fence posts, wind breaks, or a maple sugar 
 grove on the farm, or where it is desired to increase the 
 ultimate value of the property by the presence of a 
 healthy young grove of trees on the place. The positive 
 and direct benefits of a concrete forest policy in Ken- 
 tucky then will be an increase in the forest area of the 
 
22 . 
 
 state and pronounced increased productivity of the pres- 
 ent suitable forested areas as a wliole, with a consequent 
 tangible revenue from the forest crops. The more im- 
 portant indirect benefits will be the resultant regulation 
 and purification of stream flow and the increased health- 
 fulness of the people of the state as a whole. 
 
 To recapitulate, Kentucky is the center of the 
 Southern hardwood region ; her forests have been rapid- 
 ly exploited because of certain favorable industrial con- 
 ditions, with a consequent diminution of the supply; the 
 result will be a great economic loss to the state unless 
 steps are taken to restore a balance between supply and 
 demand ; the waters of the state are in need of regulation 
 and purification. The application of scientific forestry 
 to the large wooded areas will increase the productivity 
 of the wooded areas enormously, with a consequent ben- 
 efit to the streams of the state ; the time is now ripe for 
 the vigorous prosecution of this work; the practice of 
 forestry is a business proposition and a paying invest- 
 ment, but is not under ordinary conditions a proposition 
 for small individual owners. 
 
 Applied to Other Southern States. , ; 
 
 What has been said in this article relates to the fu- 
 ture of forestry in Kentucky in particular, but there is 
 nothing in it which cannot be applied with equal force to 
 the Southern states as a whole. A large share of the 
 Appalachian region is within the borders of the South 
 and the Southern hardwood region stretches from the 
 Atlantic seaboard through Missouri and Arkansis, and 
 from Maryland and Virginia, Southern Indiana and 
 Illinois soutli to the Gulf. The conditions do not differ 
 materially throughout this region and its importance 
 from an individual and commercial standpoint cannot be 
 overestimated because of the vast timber supplies which 
 do now and will hereafter come from this region, and 
 because of the close interrelation between the forested 
 areas and the great rivers of the region, the Ohio, Cum- 
 berland, Tennessee, Red and others. The indirect ben- 
 efits of a forest policy in the Soutli are as far-reaching as 
 the direct benefits. In a few of the Southern states the 
 movement for the conservation of the forests and waters 
 
23 
 
 is either well organized or lias assumed the form of a con- 
 crete forest policy, but since the region embraces the 
 states as a whole and the conservation problem applies 
 equally to all the states, and will eventually involve co- 
 operation among the states, there sliould be an earnest 
 endeavor in those states which have not already done so 
 to crystallize into law a definite forest policy. This is 
 essential if we are to have an adequate control of our 
 floods and rivers and a solution of the annually recurring 
 Mississippi flood problem. 
 
Syracuse. N. Y. 
 
 PAT. JftN. 21. 190S