xii INTRODUCTION 



Until recently the practice of economic forestry was 

 confined to certain parts of Europe and India ; but now 

 Japan, Cape Colony, and the United States of America 

 have at least made a beginning in forest organisation. Apart 

 from these cases, the world's timber resources are being ex- 

 ploited with wanton carelessness without regard to future 

 needs. The treatment accorded to most of the forest regions 

 in the United States may be specially instanced in this 

 connection. 



So soon as man cuts into the primeval forest and begins to 

 appropriate its stores, the country affected quickly undergoes 

 a change. It may be that the area becomes permanently the 

 site of fields and pastures ; too often, however, it becomes 

 a barren waste. When the forest is systematically handled, 

 the cleared ground is regenerated and further timber raised. 

 But, though still forest, the term " primeval " is, of course, 

 no longer applicable. 



Any definite subdivision of a forest may be called a 

 " wood." Both the land and the crop of trees upon it are 

 included in the terms "forest" and "wood." Woods 

 may be intended only to beautify the landscape, or to add to 

 the amenity of the district, and if they really serve their 

 aesthetic purpose, this may be considered as an end in itself. 

 It does not follow, however, that a wooded area, managed 

 simply with a view to the production of timber on economic 

 lines, is necessarily unlovely. Sylviculture certainly is based 

 upon commercial principles, but in its results it often rivals 

 for beauty the much less valuable productions of the land- 

 scape gardener. As dealt with in this volume, forestry is the 

 science or art of raising trees mainly for profit. Together 

 with this subject are considered the methods of harvesting, 

 extracting, and valuing forest produce. 



