88 North American Forests and Forestry 



the national interests is too indispensable to let us 

 believe that this disappearance will be more than a 

 change of methods. To the art of utilizing timber 

 will be added the art of producing timber. Hith- 

 erto, the influence which lumbering has exerted 

 upon our forests has been a purely destructive one ; 

 the time has come when it must also become a pro- 

 tective force. But before we proceed to discuss 

 the manner in which this great change may be 

 brought about, we must devote a chapter to the 

 ways in which the destruction and deterioration 

 of forests has gone on since the influence of man 

 was first felt by the primeval woods. 



