Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 59.djvu/138

128 silt. To prevent this filling, the forests must be preserved; they must be protected from fire, in so far as an efficient forest service can protect them, and also from grazing, wherever it seriously interferes with the effectiveness of the forest floor as a water absorbent. In some of the Southwestern reservations, notably in Arizona, sheep-grazing has been carried so far that natural reproduction is at a standstill, and the forest floor has been made in some places almost as bare and compact as a road-bed. It is reasonable to expect that overgrazing will continue, until every hoof that enters the reservations is there under a permit based upon the judgment of a competent forester, who shall have absolute decision as to the portions of the forests that can be safely grazed and those that cannot.

One of the most fertile causes of injury to the forest cover of the reservations arises from the numerous private holdings of non-agricultural lands within their boundaries. From personal experience I know that the harvesting of the timber on these small areas of private lands in the San Bernardino reservation and the leasing of them for grazing purposes have been harmful to the reservation to a marked degree. The conducting of logging operations during the dry season by means of traction engines or by donkey engines and cables have caused numerous fires, some of which have escaped and burned over large areas of the reservation.

In driving sheep to the leased lands within the boundaries of the reservation, they have been grazed for months on the reserved lands, the leasing of the private holdings being primarily an excuse to get the stock within the reservation. It would seem desirable, therefore, that all such holdings be acquired by the Government, in order to eliminate the constant danger arising from them.

We should not overlook the value of the forest reservations as great national parks for recreation and sport, where those so inclined can go and get in touch with nature at her best; where the streams abound in trout, and wild animals are not confined behind iron bars; where there are no signs, 'Keep off the grass,' and, best of all, where one can build himself anew from wholesome mountain air and water, vigorous exercise and plain food.

With so much to commend both State and National reservations and with such vast areas of public lands at the command of the Government, it is somewhat surprising that their realization remained until the last decade of the nineteenth century. At last the forest has gained the resepctrespect [sic] due it as a great economic and civilizing factor and is taking its true place in the esteem of all classes of public-spirited citizens.