These early measures were probably with out effect on the general timber supply. In fact, the timber laws were disregarded for the most part, and little effort was made to en force them for the reason that the supply' of i timber seemed inexhaustible. And, indeed, this was pretty nearly true so long as no prog ress was made beyond the primitive methods of lumbering then used and the petty scale on which operations were conducted. With the development of sawmill machinery and modern methods .of lumbering and the extension of railways, however, the destruction of the for ests took on a new aspect. The lumber in dustry increased in proportions so swiftly and the forest disappeared, under the saw and the fires that followed in the wake of careless lumbering, at so rapid a rate that thinking men were finally aroused to the danger of the possible failure of the country's timber supply unless measures could be taken to protect and renew the forests. In 1873, the committee on forestry of the American Association for the Advancement of Science memorialized Con gress on the subject and recommended the ap pointment of a commission of forestry.
Government Forest Work.— In 1876, an agency was established in the United States Department of Agriculture for the study of forest conditions in the United States, the consumption of wood, the probable future sup ply of timber, etc. This agency was held by Dr. Emerson B. Hough. In 1881, the agency became the Division of Forestry. In 1886, a professional forester, Dr. B. E. Fernow, was placed in charge; technical investigations were begun; and the results were published in bulletin and circular form, so that they be came available to all who were interested in forestry. For a long time the Division of Forestry received an annual appropriation of less than $30,000, so that its activity was much restricted by lack of money. The field of work gradually expanded, however, and the division grew (1901) into the Bureau of Forestry, and finally into the Forest Service (1905) with an appropriation for the fiscal year 1915 of $6,007,461.24, of which about $4, 750,000 was spent for the administration and protection of the National Forests.
National Forests.— In 1891, Congress au thorized the President to set aside forest re serves, as National Forests were then called, in order to protect the remaining timber on the public domain from destruction and to ensure a regular flow of water in the streams. The first one —Yellowstone Park Timberland Reserve — was created by President Harrison that same year, and placed under the administration of the Land Office of the Department of the Interior.
Government administration of the reserves soon made apparent the necessity for scientific forestry. It was the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to prescribe regulations which would ensure the fulfilment of the objects aimed at in creating the reserves. Timber cut ting must not destroy the forests, but must provide for the growing of a new timber crop. Grazing had grossly abused the range; it was necessary to devise methods for increasing the forage. Both timber use and grazing use must he so managed that water supplies would he maintained and bettered. All the resources of the forests needed to he given careful con sideration and plans devised for their best de velopment. Without such plans, little of the value of the forests could be made available to the people. Technical problems were involved which the officials of the Interior Department felt to be outside their province. They there fore at first requested the aid of the experts of the Department of Agriculture as advisers, and soon recommended the transfer of adminis tration of the reserves to the latter department.
This transfer took place in 1905 and the Forest Service was put in charge of the work. The following year the name Forest Reserves was changed to National Forests, to indicate that their resources were not locked up as for a distant future. In administer ing the National Forests the first aim of the Forest Service has been to protect their re sources so that they will always be there to use, and at the same time to see to it that as many of the people as possible have an equal chance to use them.
There are now 152 National Forests with an area of about 155,407,920 acres, including the Alaska and Porto Rico forests. Within the forest boundaries are also some 21,179,035 acres in private ownership, consisting of lands granted or taken up for one purpose or another before the forests were created or of home stead entries made since.
Since the first establishment of the national forests the government has been carrying on a systematic stock-taking as the basis, from one standpoint, for systematic and regulated management. , An immense area has already been covered, and the Forest Service will ulti mately be in possession of fairly complete in formation regarding the amount of timber of various kinds on the forests and the conditions in each case which are important as having some bearing on the best method of utilization.