32 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 



prairie chickens in Texas. Most of the birds and 

 animals of the field and forest have a part to fill in the 

 Creator's great plan and the destruction of a species 

 means far more than wiping out of a family of God's 

 creatures which can never be created again. It means 

 the destruction of a small cog in the great machine. 

 Some animals, however, like the gray wolf and one or 

 two of the hawks, are truly undesirable and their 

 killing is justifiable. 



The resources just listed form the evident resources; 

 those that quickly come to mind when the riches of 

 a nation are thought of. It remained for the Third 

 Conservation Congress in 1911 to add to this list the 

 conservation of human life and energy. This resource 

 of a nation is so necessary that everyone takes it for 

 granted, yet how much has it been overlooked! The 

 waste of life in our mining operations and upon our 

 railroads has been the marvel of Europe while through 

 lack of organized effort but a small fraction of our 

 total energy has been utilized. The American nation 

 has succeeded because of the wonderful natural richness 

 of this continent and because the climate and the 

 mingling of bloods of all races has given the American 

 people a boundless supply of energy of mind and body. 

 This energy, together with the courage inherited from 

 the pioneer, and unlimited opportunity has builded a 

 nation in one hundred and forty years without parallel 

 in the history of the world. 



The Future of Conservation. The above list briefly 

 states what riches this country was given in the begin- 

 ning and what we and our forefathers have done with 

 the talents. Our stewardship has been remarkable 

 chiefly for its lack of thrift since we have drawn heavily 

 upon our store and have almost used up some of the 



