LESSONS FROM THE FOREST 13 



of the undergrowth when it finds the upper story of the trees that cut off 

 the light removed. Possibly the feature of the forest which is most unique 

 and interesting in the study of light relations is the classification of trees into 

 "tolerant" and "intolerant"' species. To illustrate, we fiud the intolerant but 

 quick-growing aspen rapidly covering burned or cut over areas, but it ulti- 

 mately has to yield to the slow-growing but tolerant fir. The lesson which 

 might be drawn from this natural phenomenon of the forest is obvious, but I 

 am not given to appending morals to my stories. 



Another ecological phase of forest life is found in the study of water 

 loving types of trees which form the tree societies that line the banks of 

 streams. Compare this with the effect of flooding upon similar trees, and we 

 fiud the tree to be very temperate in its habits — it cannot stand too much to 

 drink. 



Again, temperature relations are shown by the appearance of the forests 

 at timber line on mountain sides; and soil relations by the stunted growth of 

 trees in poor soil as upon bare hills or when, perchance, a seed finds lodgment 

 upon granite rocks where there is almost no soil for it to feed upon. 



I remember that in the back of the text-book on botany which I studied, 

 there was a chapter which was never looked into by students and which the 

 teacher evidently did not care to tackle. The entrance to this chapter was 

 guarded by a Cerberus-like word so formidable in its appearance that we never 

 even attempted to find out what was concealed in those pages. The word was 

 "Cryptogamia." Many of the members of the family of plants designated by 

 this formidable name are found in the forest. I wish merely to introduce 

 you to one — a riotous, destructive chap whose given name is "Fungus." If 

 your excursions into the realms of botany are extensive enough, you may 

 spend many hours studying the destruction wrought by fungi in the forest. 

 Let us not altogether condemn him, however, for he is the scavenger which 

 cleans up the aisles of the forest cathedral, and tears apart the fallen trunks 

 of the monarchs of the forest, returning them to the dust from which they 

 sprang, thus enriching the soil with liumus and helping in a very important 

 work of the forest. 



FOKESTRr IN GEOGRAPHV. 



It would hardly be wise to close this rather hasty outline without adding 

 a word as to the importance of the consideration of the forests in the study ol 

 geography. It is of the utmost importance that the student of geography 

 should know something about the classification of lauds in the United States 

 and their value and productive powers. It is also desirable that he should 

 know something of the forest resources of the United States, where the chief 

 sources of our pine lumber and our hardwood supply are now found and about 

 the rapidly vanishing redwoods and big trees of the Pacific Coast. He should 

 know about the extent of the treeless regions of the Middle West and the 

 deserts of the Southwest, where only cacti and sage brush grow. 



The lumber industry, the fourth industry of the country in commercial 

 importance, is treated in every geogi-aphy worth mentioning and is full of in- 

 terest in all its varied phases from the taking of the logs from the forest 

 through the sawmill and lumber yards to their final utilization. But lumber 

 is not the only product of the forest worthy of consideration. The long-leaf 

 l)ine produces turpentine; spruce and poplar are used to make wood pulp 

 for paper manufacture ; the hemlock and tanbark oak are stripped of their 

 bark for the tanner; and we are even paving streets with wood blocks very 

 successfully. Each of these industries which I have briefly touched will fur- 

 nish material for weeks of study if followed up in all its pha.ses. 



