. Bulletin (Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters), no. 35. Forests and forestry. I. y. â {. r- ^^ X '/. r; y. < s ^ -^ z \ lb lb - '/. y. LESSON THREE WHAT THE FOREST DOES The more we know about the forest and what it (l(jes for our wel- fare, the more we appreciate its presence and the more we will do to ])rotect and perpetuate it. The forest is a soil saver. Every acre of land should be ke])t i)ro- ductive. The forest utilizes soil too ])0()r to produce food crops. There are at least thirteen million acres of such land in Pennsylvania. A forest increases the value of bare soil by
. Bulletin (Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters), no. 35. Forests and forestry. I. y. â {. r- ^^ X '/. r; y. < s ^ -^ z \ lb lb - '/. y. LESSON THREE WHAT THE FOREST DOES The more we know about the forest and what it (l(jes for our wel- fare, the more we appreciate its presence and the more we will do to ])rotect and perpetuate it. The forest is a soil saver. Every acre of land should be ke])t i)ro- ductive. The forest utilizes soil too ])0()r to produce food crops. There are at least thirteen million acres of such land in Pennsylvania. A forest increases the value of bare soil by the production of a crop with very little labor, and thus enables it to bear its just share of taxation, tending l)y so much to reduce the taxes on farm lands. A forest increases the fertility of the soil on which it grows and pre- pares it for agricultural use when needed for that ])urpose. A forest prevents erosion of the soil. The leaf litter covers the sur- face c)f the .soil and makes it difficult for rains to carry away the small particles of soil. Likewise the roots bind the earth so that even though the surface soil might be disturbed to .some extent, the cutting out of the soil by flowing water is i)revente(l by the mass of roots. The forest is a reiiezcable natural resource. By this is meant :hat the forest is a crop of the soil and that one crop of trees after another may be raised on the same area, just as successive crops of corn are raised, except that the forest cro]) requires more time from seed to harvest. A forest may also be a continuous crop, if it contains trees of all ages from seedlings to trees ready to be used. Only the scattered usable trees are harvested and their space is immediately taken by new seedlings. The soil is never completely bare. The forest trees use the productive powers of Nature, sun, wind, rain, and soil, and transform them into wood. These forces of Nature are always available and as long as there are tree leaves present to use the
Size: 1245px × 2007px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectforests, bookyear1923
