CHECKING THE WASTE ***

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CHECKING THE WASTE

A STUDY IN CONSERVATION

_By_

MARY HUSTON GREGORY

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_What you would weave into the life of the nation, put into the public schools._

--EMPEROR WILLIAM I.

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INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT 1911 PRESS OF BRAUNWORTH & CO. BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS BROOKLYN, N. Y.

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I WHAT IS CONSERVATION? 1

II SOIL 10

III FORESTS 42

IV WATER 86

V COAL 124

VI OTHER FUELS 144

VII IRON 164

VIII OTHER MINERALS 181

IX ANIMAL FOODS 198

X INSECTS 217

XI BIRDS 236

XII HEALTH 265

XIII BEAUTY 302

XIV IN CONCLUSION 312

PREFACE

Much has been said and written on the subject of conservation and many excellent ideas have been advanced, but as yet too little has been accomplished in the way of practical results. Probably this is due largely to the fact that most people think of conservation as a problem for the federal and state governments, mine owners, great lumber companies, owners of vast tracts of land, and large corporations; and have not realized how much the responsibility for the care of our natural resources and the penalty for their waste rest with the whole people, that every one has a part in this work which has been called "the greatest question before the American people."

One cause of the failure to realize this personal responsibility is that while there have been college text-books and scientific treatises on various branches of the subject, such as Forestry, there has been no book treating of the entire problem of our natural resources, their extent, the amount and nature of their use, their waste, and what may be done to conserve them, prepared in a way that can be readily understood by the ordinary reader, and dealing with the practical, rather than the technical, side.

It is to supply the need for such general knowledge, and to show how such saving may be accomplished, that this book has been written. It is designed as a short but complete statement of the entire conservation question, and should be of service for study in teachers' reading circles, farmers' institutes, women's clubs, the advanced grades in schools, and for general library purposes.

Every statement of fact bears the weight of authority, for no facts or figures are given that have not been verified by government reports, reports of scientific societies, etc.

Information has been gathered from many sources, chief among them being the Report of the Conference of Governors at the White House, in May, 1908; the Report of the National Conservation Commission, the Report on National Vitality, the Report of the Inland Waterways Commission, of the Geological Survey, the Census Reports, and many government departmental pamphlets.

M. H. G.

Indianapolis, November 24, 1910.

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CHECKING THE WASTE

CHAPTER I

WHAT IS CONSERVATION?

A Nation's Riches lie both in its people and in its natural resources. Neither can exist in its highest estate without the other. Goldsmith predicted the certain downfall of lands "where wealth accumulates and men decay," but, in the truest, broadest definition, there can be no national wealth unless the men and women of the nation are healthy, intelligent, educated and right-minded. On the other hand it is equally true that if the people of a country are to make the most of themselves in mind and body; if they are to get the most comfort and happiness out of life and to become in the highest degree useful, they must develop its natural resources to the greatest possible degree.

The United States is particularly fortunate in its abundant riches of soil, forest and mine, and in the fact that from the beginning of the nation these have been the inheritance not of a people slowly learning the use of tools and materials, and emerging from ignorance and savagery, but representing the most advanced and enlightened ideas and spiritual ideals of the time.

The result of these conditions has been inventions and discoveries that have developed a great nation at home and have done much to better the condition of the world. But the very magnitude of our natural wealth has made us careless, even prodigal, in its use, and thoughtful men are beginning to realize that with the natural increase of population which is to be expected, we shall, if the present rates of use and waste continue, find ourselves no longer rich, but facing poverty and even actual want. But it is not too late to save ourselves from the results of our past extravagance. We are only beginning to see the danger into which we have almost plunged, but we see enough to make us realize that every one must do his part in checking the waste. Before this can be intelligently accomplished we must understand something of the great national movement for the conservation of our national resources.