The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-26

trails; in places cleared fire lanes. Maps should be made of the entire forest. These maps should show the location of the springs, lakes and streams; the trails and roads should be marked; the slope should be shown, and the charac- ter of the growth noted. Rangers should report frequently to their su- iperintendent. There should be signals for day and for night use. All forests in the state, not alone those in re- serves, should be protected by rangers.
 Except on the reserves, it is no ones business either to report fires or to fight them. Under these conditions fires frequently burn for weeks. In the northern part of the state, four years ago, saWmiller burned his slab pile; the fire developed into a destructive forest fire. The next year the same man again burned his slab pile; again the fire spread, and this time about ten Isquare miles of veteran forest was burned over. No one reported the fire, no one fought for 1t; no attempt was made to locate the responsible Anarch- ist. --. -l..
 I Water for irrigation is already in- sufficient, and the removal of the forest leover from the streamlets would rather reduce the quantity from increased Joss from evaporation. The removal lof the forest cover from the Elbe river is said to have caused loss through eyaporation of IS per cent. of the wa lter. Water is already too precious to If forest cover means 15 or 20 per cent. more water, this in turn would mean a like increase in the quantity lof irrigated crops.
 The State Forestry association asks that all forests above the altitude of IS,500 feet be thrown into forest re- lserve. In midsummer, if one travel la1ong the eastern. slope of the range lfrom the Wyoming line to Sierra fBi- ianca and see how few and small the Istreams are which rise below the alti- Itude of $500 feet, he will see how vast fly important 1t is that the request of the Forestry association should be com iplied with. At 10000 feet the precipi- tation Is about 40 per cent. greater than lit is at 5000 feet. Streams which rise below $500 feet have less water to flow, and most streams below that al ltitude have their forest shelter almost lcompletely burned or cut away, So that lon thirsty summer days the wind and lthe sun easily drink the brooks dry. t Keeping in mind the idea of forest reserves is to increase the annual crop (which can be cut from the forest, and leaving out the benefit which the forest lwould give to the streams, 1t may cas- lily be seen how much more profitable the reserves would be than the unpro- ltected forest could be. Reserve for tests avoid waste; they mean systematic linstead of destructive metods of 1un-5 i bering, Under the reserve system for lest fires will not be allowed to brun land lumber hogs will not be allowed Ito operate. The government does not lstop cutting on reserves. Trees, like
 other growing objects, get ripe, and If lnot used when ripe, the trees will not Eonly waste, but, what is far worse, they Twill hamper the regroWth.
 Of the many thousand acres of burn- \ led areas only a small portion has any
 regroWth.
 Tn most sections nature requires
 many years to ,replant burned areas,
 On may slopes burned over thirty years tago there is not a single tree. Water land timber are already scarce. The lpopulation is growing, and this, along
 with the increasing uses of both water and timber, presents a serious problem.
 Forest destruction has impoverished lmany localities, and certain it is that Inc nation has ever fallen from having
 too much forest Forest destruction and neglect may soon tif not already bring
 harm to the people of the state. In the words of Henry Michelsen: With the
 agriculturalists of the west forest pre-
 servation is not cult. but a matter iof dire necessity It is doubtful if any one thing could be done that Iwould be 50 generally beneficial to the people of Colorado sto cause upon the Ecleared and burned spaces once more
 to fall the shadow of the pines. New
 York Sun.