promising to the private
owner only when the investment can be borne easily. Since it has
three forms--land value, fire protection, and taxation--all must
be moderate or, if one or more is high, the rest must be low.

9. With the fire hazard great at present, and taxation so uncertain
as to require allowing for its being excessive, the initial investment
must be insignificant.

10. This confines it to land of low sale value and precludes much
expense to insure the second crop.

11. To secure the perpetuation of forests on the scale essential
to public welfare, the public must provide the private owner better
fire protection and an equitable taxation system. _Or else it must
purchase sufficient cut-over land and engage in forestry itself,
bearing the cost and taking the risk._

12. Nevertheless there are several practical exceptions to the somewhat
unfavorable situation theoretically outlined above:

(a) Many owners are warranted in holding cut-over land for some
time, if not indefinitely, because of the upward trend of land
values generally. Unless clearly most useful for agriculture, such
land will be made more valuable by a growth of young timber. However
indefinite the profit of encouraging this growth and protecting it
from fire may be if the present sale value and taxes are computed
against such outlay, _the two latter charges are being carried
anyway_ and are the most important ones. Merely that it cannot
be proved that they can be more than offset is no reason for not
trying to compensate as far as possible at slight further expense.
While this may not often permit any great effort to reforest, it
will usually warrant protection of the natural new growth that
will follow if given a chance.

(b) Many owners would prefer to have their milling business continue
indefinitely. If such have or can purchase virgin timber to carry
them 50 years or more they may do well to grow a log supply to
come into use at that time, even if they would not do so merely
as a stumpage investment.

(c) It is highly probable that history will repeat itself in the
United States, especially in the Pacific coast states where every
other condition is so favorable to making forestry a great benefit
to the community, and that fire and tax discouragements will be
removed as soon as the public realizes the situation. The owner
who anticipates this and gets his crop started first will be the
first to profit from it, and since it is the