Here is wood enough to supply thousands of people with pleasant winter fires. But there are, alas, no people living near these vast woodpiles and often no road to them. The logs must lie there and rot.
Now let us see if we can state the chief reasons why we should be exceedingly careful about setting fires in the woods:
1. Fires destroy an enormous amount of valuable timber every year.
2. Between fires and lumbermen our forests are disappearing faster than they are growing.
3. Fires destroy the young trees, and if they happen often enough will keep them from growing up to replace the mature trees.
4. Fires do not permanently help the cattle ranges, but injure them by burning the humus and grass seeds.
5. Fires leave the ground bare, so that it will dry out quickly.
6. Fires leave the soil unprotected, so that it will wash away quickly.
7. Fires destroy property and endanger lives.