“During 1916 the United States Forest Commission constructed 227 miles of new roads through national forests, 1975 miles of trails, 2225 miles of telephone lines, 89 miles of fire lines, 81 lookout towers, 40 bridges, 222 miles of fencing, 545 dwellings, barns, and other structures, 17 corrals, and 202 water improvements.”
As Hilda concluded and sat down, the audience expressed amazement at the gigantic losses to beautiful forest districts of this country, and Mr. Remington stood up to speak.
“O Chief, I think this is the right time to warn every Woodcrafter present to be careful and impress upon friends to use the utmost care in helping the forest fire commissioners. We can do this by never leaving a spark of live fire from our camp-fires, by not throwing waste paper or other inflammable trash about that others may, through carelessness, set fire to, and not to smoke in a forest where dry leaves and tinder ignite very quickly.”
“How! How!” approved the Woodcrafters as Mr. Remington sat down.
“The next reader on my list is Nita,” announced Zan.
“Miss Miller gave me a paper about fish. Why this should fall to my lot, goodness only knows. I hate fish for food, and simply can’t bear the smell of them. But I discovered some interesting facts about them, nevertheless.
“First I found that Alaska shipped 4,916,000 cases of salmon to the United States trade and the value of this shipment was over $23,800,000.
“Then I read that an attempt is being made to establish lobster beds on the Pacific Coast. Recently over 5400 crustaceans were shipped from Maine to Washington.
“Also, salmon worth $250,000. at the great canneries of the Northwest States left Seattle, Washington, for the New York markets. There were fifty trains packed full of cases holding cans of salmon.
“I learned that two great fish banks abounding in millions of sea bass have been discovered off Cape Fear bar on the North Carolina coast. One bank is more than three and a half miles wide and two and a half miles long.