Larger use of water power would conserve another valuable
resource--coal. Of this fuel we have vast resources--"in West
Virginia alone more than Great Britain and Germany combined." But
the supply is not inexhaustible and we are mining it and using it
in an extravagant manner. The loss here is not merely of heat and
power and light, but of many valuable products of coal, including
dyes, ammonia, vaseline, and many others.

DESTRUCTION BY FLOODS

Floods are increasing in the United States. This is due chiefly to
the destruction of our forests by wasteful lumbering and by fire.
In forested areas the ground absorbs the rainfall more easily,
while in areas barren of trees and other vegetation it runs off
the surface. The destruction of the forests, therefore, involves
not only the loss of the timber, but also the loss caused by the
floods, including the washing away of the soil.

THE FOREST RESERVES

In 1891 Congress authorized the President to establish "forest
reserves," the first to be created being the "Yellowstone Park
Timberland Reserve." From time to time new reserves were
established, and in 1907 the name was changed to the National
Forests. In 1917, more than 176 million acres were included within
the National Forest boundaries, 21 million acres of which,
however, belonged to private owners. They are administered by the
Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, at the head of
which is the Chief Forester. They are grouped in seven districts