THE FOREST FAMILIES 27 



value of the land is too high to permit it to remain 

 longer in forest cover. Even in the Mississippi 

 Valley and the Great Lakes belts there are still 

 large areas of forest land. Most of the farms 

 have woodlots which provide fuel, fencing, and 

 some lumber. For the most part, these farm 

 woodlots are abused. They have not been man- 

 aged correctly. Fortunately, a change for the 

 better is now evident. The farm woodlot owners 

 are coming to appreciate the importance of pro- 

 tecting the trees for future use. In some cases, 

 they are even replanting areas that have been cut 

 over. There are large tracts of sandy, rocky and 

 swampy land in these districts that are satisfac- 

 tory for tree production. In fact, about all these 

 fields are good for is the growing of timber. Cam- 

 paigns are now under way to increase tree plant- 

 ing and develop the production of lands adapted 

 for forestry which previously have been idle. 



The United States of the future will not be 

 a desert, tree-less country. However, immediate 

 measures to save our remaining trees must be 

 developed. The greater part of our virgin timber 

 has already been felled. The aftermath forests, 

 which succeed the virgin stand, generally are 

 inferior. Our supplies of ash, black walnut and 



