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to a place far up the mountain side where the trees seem to be all evergreens, and yet not all, because among them are willows and birch. As they go higher and higher up, the trees grow more dwarfed, and, finally, the only trees that are left climbing upward and upward are the willow and the birch. They keep on, and side by side with them runs the heather, and they say to the heather: "Go back! We do not want you with us; you are not a tree." But the heather says: "I can help you, for I can help to make the soil so that you can climb." And so they allow the heather to grow, and away up the mountain side, close to the eternal snow and ice, you find this little willow tree and still higher up the little dwarf birches, sometimes not more than six inches high but perfect little trees. A friend of mine cut some of these little trees across, not larger than my little finger, and with a strong microscope counted two or three hundred rings, showing that for nearly three hundred years they had been doing their part in clothing the mountain side. So in the lessons as we learn of these little myths we find some helpful story, something that gives us courage, something that asks us: "Are you doing for the mountains what we are doing; are you trying your best to conserve the forests?"

In connection with my tree work we have encouraged the observation of Arbor Day, and I should like to close my remarks by reading you the "Nature Lover's Creed," which I prepared for our Arbor Day work, and which has been adopted in many States:

NATURE LOVER'S CREED.

I believe in Nature, and in God's out-of-doors.

I believe in pure air, fresh water, and abundant sunlight.

I believe in the mountains, and as I lift up mine eyes to behold them, I receive help and strength.

I believe that below their snowy crowns their mantles should be ever green.

I believe in the forests where the sick may be healed and the weary strengthened; where the aged may renew their youth, and the young gather stores of wisdom which shall abide with them forever.

I believe that the groves were God's first temples, and that here all hearts should be glad, and no evil thought come to mar the peace; I believe that all who seek shelter within these aisles should guard the noble heritage from harm, and the fire fiend never be allowed to roam unwatched.

I believe in the highland springs and lakes, and would have noble trees stand guard around them; upon the mountain sides I would spread a thick carpet of leaves and moss through which the water might find its way into the valleys and onward to the ocean.

I believe in the giant trees which have stood for thousands of years, and pray that no harm shall come nigh them.

I believe in the axe of the trained woodsman, and would have it hew down the mature trees of today that we may secure lumber for our needs, and the trees of smaller growth have more light and air and space.

I believe in the seeds of the trees and would gather and plant them, and I would care for the seedlings until they are ready to stand with their brothers in the forests and plains; then the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad and the desert shall rejoice.

I believe in protecting the birds and the animals that live amidst the trees, and the ferns and mosses and blossoming plants.

I believe in all the beautiful things of nature, and would preserve, protect and cherish them.

"Come let's to the fields, the meads and the mountains,
The forests invite us, the streams and the fountains."

(Applause.)

MR. PINCHOT: I have now much pleasure in introducing to the Congress Prof. Ralph S. Hosmer, Superintendent of Forestry and Chairman of the Territorial Conservation Commission of Hawaii, who will deliver an address on the progress of conservation in Hawaii.

THE PROGRESS OF CONSERVATION IN HAWAII.

RALPH S. HOSMER, SUPERINTENDENT OF FORESTRY AND CHAIRMAN OF THE TERRITORIAL CONSERVATION COMMISSION OF HAWAII.

Conservation is a term fraught with meaning for the Territory of Hawaii. The economic prosperity of the Islands rests on the right use of waters, lands, and forests. The purpose of this paper is briefly to enumerate the reasons why this is so and to outline what the people of Hawaii are doing to develop their Territory through the utilization of its natural resources.

Hawaii is essentially an agricultural country dependent on irrigation. From its geographic position and its topography-mountainous islands lying in the path of the trade winds-it follows that Hawaii possesses a climate characterized by contrasts. On the windward sides of the mountains are areas of high precipitation; on the leeward slopes, dryness, almost aridity. But the fertility of the soil does not depend on rainfall. Much of the most valuable land is situated in districts where the artificial application of water is necessary to secure profitable returns. As a natural consequence, irrigation has come to be practiced largely in Hawaii and will more and more fill a leading rôle in the upbuilding of the Territory.

The production of sugar cane is the main industry. Starting from small beginnings about 1835, Hawaii now supplies

more than one-sixth of the sugar annually consumed in the United States. Last year the crop was 521,123 tons, valued at more than $40,000,000. The total area under cultivation in sugar cane is 213,000 acres, of which over half is irrigated. Water is brought to the land both from surface streams and from artesian sources. Over $15,000,000 has been expended, wholly by private enterprises, in developing the irrigation systems now in use on the sugar plantations. This amounts to an investment in irrigation works of $140 per acre.

Irrigation is no new departure. Before the coming of the white man the native Hawaiians brought out water from the mountains for irrigating their taro, while in modern times Hawaii has held a front place in the practical application of irrigation knowledge. In 1857, within ten years of the beginning of American irrigation at Salt Lake City, a ditch costing $7,000 was dug on Kauai, an appropriate forerunner of the modern systems of ditch, flume, and rock tunnel that with daily capacities for sixty to eighty-five million gallons have recently been constructed on several of the islands of the group at a cost of from one-third to one-half a million dollars each.

With so extensive a development of irrigation, it is only natural that careful attention should be paid to the sources of the water supply. With the steep, short watersheds and the peculiarities of local climate, to insure dependability and regularity of flow, it is essential that a cover of vegetation be permanently maintained on the catchment basins of the streams needed for irrigation, power development, and other economic use. The Hawaiian forest is admirably adapted for watershed protection. It consists of a dense jungle of tall trees under which are tree-ferns, high growing shrubs, climbing vines, and a heavy undergrowth, with a cover of moss, ferns, and bracken. For preventing rapid run-off,

protecting the soil from erosion, and serving as a reservoir to hold back the heavy rainfall, it could not be bettered. But it is a forest susceptible to injury and one that must be properly cared for if it is to do its full duty in the part it has to play. This fact is well understood in the islands and has resulted in organized consideration of the forest problems of the Territory.

In Hawaii forestry is primarily a matter of conservation. The protection of the forest is directly connected with a sustained flow in the streams. This has led to the creation of forest reserves and the establishment of a territorial forest service charged with the administration of the reserves and with other forest work. The forest reserves include both public and private land, the main object being permanently to safeguard the important sources of water supply, regardless of ownership. There have now been created under the law, by proclamation of the Governor of Hawaii, twenty forest reserves with a total area of 545,764 acres, of which 65 per cent (357,180 acres) is land belonging to the Territorial Government. The greater part of the other 35 per cent is in the ownership or control of private corporations, which, fully aware of the importance of safeguarding the water supply, are actively cooperating with the Government in its forest policy. The total forest area in Hawaii is approximately 1,175,000 acres, or about one-fourth of the total area of the Territory. It is estimated that within the near future the area included in the forest reserve system will be brought up to three-quarters of a million acres, of which 70 per cent will be Government land.

Forestry has been a live issue in Hawaii for the last thirty years. Definite forest work began with tree planting by certain of the sugar plantation companies and has been continued both by private interests and by the Government. This phase of forest work has constantly broadened, until

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