Evening star., 1913-08-10

as the coyote. against which woven wire
fences are being built in different national
forests that the young sheep In those
Enclosures may escape this sly denizen OF
the plains It is true OF the black bear.
which is being hunted by men especially
employed for that purpose. 1t Is true or
the great wolves that occasionally drift
for thousands OF miles, hamstringtng live
stock as they go and calling to arms the
cattle men OF these wild regions.
But as the forest service has taught the
trusting sheep the trick of going without
water for months at a time. so has IL
taken advantage OF certain qualities OF
the wise old goat. This creature that has
contributed to the welfare OF man since
he first domesticated any members OF the
four-legged world. has been set 10 the
performance OF strange tasks by the for
est service.
There are certain regions in the west
that are overrun by profitless thickets
These thickets may be OF scrub oak or OF
chapparal or OF many other varieties OF
brush. They produce no timber nor will
horses nor cattle nor any other OF the
useful creatures feed upon them. Not so
the goat. This waste material OF the
plains or the mountains furnishes the
food that appeals TO its appetite as does
the most succulent OF grasses.
So the forest service has come to en-
courage the introduction OF large herds OF
goats into the regions that are overrun
by these thickets. The advantages OF the
goat as a producer of meat and milk and
mohair have been carefully studied and
are urged upon the stockmen OF given re-
gions. In New Mexico. for instance. the
goat industry is developing into one OF
the best OF that new state. All western
Texas, which in oidlen time was kept
swept clean of every shrub by occasional
forest fires is now becoming a chap
paral waste that is next to useless. Cat
tlemen grazed of the grass to such an
extent that the prairie fire no longer
burns out this underbrush. There II n re-
gion in which all New England might get
lost that is developing into one Of the
finest goat ranges on earth. The forest
service insists that goats be introduced
into such regions as this.
But the service also uses the goat in q
more direct way. II causes this animal
with the ambitious appetite to eat trails.
which serve as fire breaks through
forest regions against the time when the
demon OF the flames runs riot This NAV
be accomplished by obtaining a large
flock Of goats and herding them close to-
gether as they are grazed up mountain
side. They lick eve.y sprig of vegeta-
ton from the strip over which they pass.
and leave 1t SO bare that when creep
ing fire reaches it that fire is turned back
on itself and burns out.
The Olympic elk Is another Of the crea-
lures of the wild that have been saved to
posterity through the efforts of the
forest service and that kindred bureau
OF the Department OF Agriculture the
biological survey. The Olympic elk is
one Of the finest game animals that Amer
ica ever knew Some years ago 1t was
discovered that this species Of elk, the
largest of them all, many specimens
being near the sire of horse. was fast
nearing determination. 1t remained only
high up in the Olympic mountains. i'm the
state of Washington. The forest service
knew of its haunts, of its virtues and or
the danger OF its determination.
The Olympic mountains were converted
into a game preserve, and this maSnifi-
cent elk has since been constantly in
creasing in numbers 1t is believed that
there are now some ZOO OF these elk:
that they are safe from determination,
and that the time will come when they
may be distributed broadcast.
Most OF these phases Of the fanciful
work OF the forest service are in the
open. 1t occasionally develops, however.
that that bureau finds a novel and unique
piece of work that needs accommodation
to the public which develops In the
heart OF the cities II has just issued =
ing alleys that is along this line. II ad-
monishes the proprietors OF these estab-
lishments to save their tenpins after
they have become battered and dtsquali-
fed and will no longer stand up that
that may be knocked down. The manu-
facturers of shoes are anxious 10 OBTAIN
these old tenpins. In the very excellent
hardwood of which each is made there
reposes a high-quality shoe last and
the shoe people are more than anxious
to whittle it out.
oCoryrisht, 1913, by ". A. Du Puy.i