Albuquerque evening citizen., 1907-04-26
NUMBERING FROM
NATIONAL FORESTS
The Government Issues 800
Pound Atlas Covering Every
Phase of Them.
DEAD TIMBER A MENACE
Rights Of PeOple--UnCle Sam
RedDS Where He Has
Not SOWn.
DEAD TIMBER A MENACE

An atlas, which stands twenty-five
inches i'm heighth and weighs 500
pounds and consists of forty volumes,
has just been issued from the gov
ernment printing office at Washing
ton, containing information about the
national forests of the United states.
The contents of the book treat of
every phase of the forests of the Cnl-
ted states and the privileges the peo-
pie have with them.
The national forests are for the use
of the people. but in such a way as
will insure their perpetual value for
protective purposes, timber supply and
for the grazing of stock our lavish
destruction Of salmon, Holsters buff
falo. or seals. We're errors which can
be corrected within a short period OF
time. but If we destroyed our for
ests without replacement. it would be
sin which we have no right to COM
NIT against our grandchildren.
The sale of timber or privileges
| by the government is in some respects
I a different transaction from the or
dinary business principles with which
| we are familiar. A successful mer-
chant has only to buy wisely and sell
at profit which will cover all his
risks. The government reaps where
ii has not sown, but proposes to SOW
now that the equilibrium of nature
| may not be disturbed. 1t charges for
| timber and privileges to cover the
| cost of maintaining and increasing
| the supply In each transaction II
| is necessary that all the conditions be
| considered, that Justice be done and
| good result. The atlas is to supply
| the necessary facts.
|
| chase a certain amount of timber
| from one of the national forests
The questions of agreement arise over
| the price To be paid and the condi-
| tions of the sale. There are a num-
| Der of conditions under which the
| government is most anxious to sell
| 4 forest may be overmature; IL may
be a benefit to a growing forest tc
| thin out the stand. for the light and
| air will increase the yield of the re-
| naming trees; the amount of dry
tdead and down timber maybe a men,
Z ace to more valuable adjoining
/ areas for forest fires are very de-
structive; 1t may be necessary tC
stop the ravages of bark-beetles and
to sacrifice infested areas. 1t is only
in the atlas that such facts could bt
kept in convenient form for the mil
lions of acres covered by national for
ests.
In addition to the limited free us,
which actual settlers enjoy, there art
conditions under which the cash price
for timber must be low to be equit
able. The trees may be almost in
accessible and it will be expensive tC
get the logs to the mill; there may
be considerable underbrush to be re-
moved it may be an uphill pull tC
the mill; the wood may be infiam
mable, and. therefore, the limbs ant
tops must be disposed of without en-
dangering the standing forest; tn,
timber may be for local use, to as
sist enterprises which will help tn,
people. The atlas is collection o
all kinds of information which vii
help the expert who consults its page.
/ when dealing with the public
shows the topography and streams
roads, railways and trails; houses
schools and other structures, tn,
title to the lands: the stand of tn,
forests and the species represented
the locations and dates of burns anC
cuttings, and if they are restocking
with young trees. 1t also contains
history of each national forest from
the time that it was created by pro
clamation by the president of tn,
United States. Truly. it is a valuabl,
compilation, so valuable that for III
thousands of pages only the best o
papers and inks are used, and all o
the maps are mounted on muslin. Il
should be in good condition fifty year!
hence, when some of the baby tree
in the present national forests have
demonstrated the wisdom of conser
VatiNp lum herring