Government Forest Work 27 
meant to supply the country’s future needs for timber 
after the more accessible lands have been cut over, 
rather than its present needs, while others are chiefly 
valuable for watershed protection, which, though of 
the greatest importance to the people and industries 
A source of “white coal” and “liquid gold” 
‘The forest cover has a very decided influence on the purity and abun- 
dance of water supply for power, for irrigation, for domestic use. Many 
communities have entered into cooperative agreements with the Forest 
Service for the better protection of the watersheds from which they get 
their supplies. 
of the country, does not yield the Government a return 
in dollars and cents. In the case of almost every 
forest, moreover, a great deal of money must be spent 
for roads, trails, bridges, and telephone lines before the 
resources ¢an be used.