El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-07

acres, lies in Coos and Grafton coun-
7 ties.
! Five Glasses of Lands.
Lands of the following classes only
| have been considered for purchase Dy
! the commission:
% Timbered lands, including both
| land and timber or the land, with
| the timber reserved to the owner IN
der rules laid down for cutting to be
/ agreed upon at the time of the sale.
% CutOver or culled lands. CD Brush
or burnt lands, not bearing merchant
able timber in considerable quantities,
but covered with growth OF brush
which may be useful for watershed
protection, and burnt land whether
vovered with young timber growth
or not "a Abandoned farm lands,
whether remaining cleared or par
tally covered BY timber CROWN
60 Lands valuable for agriculture
have not been considered and when
such lands occur within areas deslS-
mated by the commission, they nave
not been recommended for purchase
except where they occurred in such
scattered areas that their exclusion
would be impracticable- Only cheap
lands have been considered
The Appalachian national forests will
act as a great storage reservoir Tor
rain water, which it will feed grad
ually to the rivers protected by it. 1t
will be enabled to perform this func-
tion largely through its humus, which
is the litter Of decomposed vegetable
matter and leaves which will form
the forest floor, once the forest is
managed according to conservation
principles It is a recognized fact that
from one to two weeks longer IS re-
Quired for the melting of snow which
falls beneath a forest that that which
falls on fields or pasture. This is but
one example of how the national for
est will regulate the stream flow by
temporarily retaining source water
MI =
largely of hardWOOds and the humus
produced by harGwoOds has much
greater capacity for absorption than
that of pines. At present this humus
has in many places either been de-
stroyed by fire or else the excessive
cutting of timber has depleted it by
exposing it to sun and wind.
VIII Cheek Erosion.
As related to navigation, this func-
ton Of the storage reservoir is Of high
Importance, but another function of
the new national forest of equal. If
not greater value, will be the checking
Of erosion of land upon the mountain
slopes In the southern Appalachians,
as the sleeper slopes have been cleared
for farming with the increase Of pop
ulatiOn, ii has been found that ero-
sion has increased rapidly. Erosion is
the decomposition Of uncovered slope
land until it is washed into streams
by rain flow. 1t chOkes I'D the stream
channel and finally requires expensive
dredging operations in order that the
navigability OF the stream may be
maintained Erosion viii be checked
by the gradual growth of humus which
will be undisturbed in the national
forest
The forest service has two other
policies which are looked to to bring
the forest into immediate favor with
the people living in the vicinity of its
various areas These are the encour-
agement of the use of the forest lands
for hunting. fishing and other modes
of recreation, and the employment to
the furthest possible extent of natives
Of the various localities for the ad-
ministratiOn of the forest areas of the
Appalachian national forests.
TomOrrow-Arlingt National Gem
etery.