414 



THE AMERICAS MUSEUM JUUJLXAL 



France. To exploit these forests, bat- 

 talions of skilled forest and sawmill 

 workers from Canada were organized 

 and eqviipped. It was to aid in this 

 work that in 1!»1T several patriotic men 

 in Xew England financed and sent over 

 to '"Old England"' ten fully equipped 

 sawmill units. It was a gallant act and 

 deeply appreciated l)y the British au- 

 thorities. 



But the shipping of forest material 

 to France was largely stopped in the 

 spring of 1917 on account of the re- 

 duction of tonnage l)y the Gerinan sub- 

 marine. It was then that France opened 

 her forests to the Canadian forestry 

 troops, to produce material for the 

 British armies and to help the French 

 engineers to increase the production of 

 material needed bv the French armies. 



The entry of America into the war 

 placed a new burden upon the French 

 forests. At the beginning, a certain 

 amount of lumber, piling, and crossties 

 was shipped from this country. But 

 the need of ship space for men and for 

 ecjuipment and supplies that could not 

 be obtained in France was so great that 

 the French Government itself requested 

 that we send forestry troops to obtain 

 our lumber and other general forest 

 products from the French forests. Only 

 those familiar with the French forests, 

 with the long years of careful forestry 

 that has been necessary to build them 

 np, and with the sentiment of the 

 French nation for its forests, can ap- 

 preciate the great sacrifice involved in 

 this action. 



It was to prepare for the forestry 



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:rfc.-,=.-,=...\ 



j'lrtesi/ of L'ndrrwood atul i ndi' 

 and American Forestry 



Trench mats for the comfort of the boys who stand day in and day out in the trenches during the 

 rainy season. — Wood as an essential enters on a tremendous scale into the warfare of today, not only 

 for aeroplanes and hangars, wooden ships and docks, not only for hospital and camp buildings, but also 

 for trench timbers and camoiiflafje materials, for temporary railroads, telephones, and bridges just back 

 of the battle line. The miraculous must be accomplished in transportation of ammunition and food ; 

 there must be instantaneous communication with all parts of a long battle line. Therefore the forestry 

 soldier sings as he pushes the work ahead, perhaps to the accompaniment of bursting shells and in sight 

 of aeroplane fighting, — as one soldier writes: "If what we produce here is going to piit the Sammies 

 across the Rhine, you can all prepare to read soon that they have crossed over, for we are not going to 

 let anything interfere with pushing things to the very limit'' 



