EDUCATION 



Forestry Essays in the Schools 



One of the most promising things for the 

 future of forestry in this country is the 

 growth of the movement to instill its prin- 

 ciples and interest in it into the minds of 

 young people. After all, when the reformers 

 of today have done and said everything that 

 they can, the future lies with the rising 

 generation more than with that which now 

 handles the controls. In Indiana the State 

 Board of Forestry offers prizes for essays on 

 forestry by pupils of the schools of the State. 

 The same thing has been done elsewhere. 

 But this is not the best part of it. The 

 really heartening fact is that the children 

 themselves are easily aroused to an enthu- 

 siastic and intelligent interest, if they are 

 approached in the right way. 



As an example of this thoughtful interest 

 the accompanying paper, by a girl of four- 

 teen in the pulDlic school of Fessenden, North 

 Dakota, is worth reading. It is also worth 

 while to consider the value of leading hun- 

 dreds of thousands of those young people 

 who will have the grave economic problems 

 of the future to wrestle with to thinking 

 along these lines. 



Why Plant Trees? 

 By Esther Macdonald 



The question of "Why Plant Trees" is a 

 great topic of discussion throughout our 

 nation. Many men versed in forestry have 

 been employed in the conservation of the 

 forests. There are numerous reasons for 

 planting trees and for preserving them after 

 they are planted. 



It would be a very dull nation indeed that 

 had no forests. Animal life as well as the 

 nation in general is largely dependent upon 

 forests. The forest is the home of the bear 

 and many fur-bearing animals. The furs of 

 these animals bring the United States many 

 thousands of dollars each year. The forest 

 is also the home of the deer and the hunts- 

 man would not have the pleasure of hunt- 

 ing this animal if there were no forests. Be- 

 side the animals living in the forests there 

 are many fish which live in the fresh-water 

 streams, many times the result of forests. 

 The fish are worth great sums of money 

 and I think that every person who enjoys 

 fish would regret very much to see them 

 destroyed. 



Everyone needs a house to shelter him and 

 this he would not have but for the forests. 

 We employ many men and women to work 

 in the field harvesting grain, to work in the 



factories making articles to use in our own 

 country and to export to other countries, 

 but the question arises, "How are we going 

 to get them over to the other countries?" 

 We must have something to carry them over 

 in; they will not float like Ivory Soap. The 

 answer quickly comes, "Why, vessels, of 

 course." But where would we get the many 

 wonderful vessels that we possess if some 

 trees did not forfeit their lives to furnish the 

 lumber for them. Many forests are de- 

 nuded for the purpose of furnishing poles 

 for various telephone and telegraph lines, and 

 while this rnay seem a deplorable fact, it is 

 a commercial necessity. The pencils and 

 paper which we use in our schools are de- 

 rived from trees. 



Did you ever stop to think that forests are 

 a source of health? When the pure air is 

 taken into the body it becomes gaseous or 

 impure and when breathed out is called car- 

 bon dioxide. The forests breathe in the 

 carbon dioxide which we breathe out and in 

 return breathe out fresh air or oxygen. 



The_ forests have a great deal to do with 

 the climate of any country. They serve as 

 wind-breaks and in summer when the 

 weather is exceedingly warm, what is more 

 pleasant than to crawl away from the out- 

 side world with an interesting book and 

 spend the hottest hours of the day in some 

 shady nook well surrounded by trees? 



The soil of the forest is very porous or 

 sponge-like. It absorbs the moisture and 

 gives it up as it is needed. The origin of 

 many large rivers is from the forests. First 

 we see a bubbling, sparkling spring formed 

 in some wood and perhaps many miles away 

 that little spring has created a large river. 

 Thus our water supply is largely dependent 

 upon forests. 



In the earth are many minerals whi<:h, 

 when the water flows through them, purify 

 the water and make it fit for drinking pur- 

 poses. 



The buzz of many factories would be for- 

 ever hushed if forests were abolished. Many 

 of the things which we wear are made in 

 factories whose machinery is run by water. 

 The number of factories in our country 

 would be greatly decreased if there were no 

 forests. As it takes water to carry a vessel 

 we need many rivers to transport our goods 

 from place to place. Water transportation 

 is much cheaper than railroad. 



The United States uses much more lumber 

 than the forests produce, in fact they use 

 three and one-half times as much. We are 

 sorry to say that the countries of Europe 

 have conserved their forests more than we, 



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