A FOREWORD 



To tell the story of our forests is to tell the story of man's 

 loyal ally in his long and perilous pilgrimage from cave- 

 dweller to master of the civilized world. Trees from the first 

 have been our staunch and constant friends. 



Here in America our forests present a unique background 

 to man's conquest of the new world. Without abundant wood, 

 without the far-reaching effects of widespread forests, the his- 

 tory of this country would certainly have been tremendously 

 modified. The American pioneer could never have made this 

 continent his own so quickly, or so easily, without the ex- 

 istence of those forest allies of his. 



And the story of these forests, the intimate tale of what 

 trees are, what they have done and how they have influenced 

 human development is all part of the epic of man. It is a story 

 that has to do with the forests of yesterday, today, and tomor- 

 row, with the ever changing aspects of the earth, the ceaseless, 

 but varying relationships between men and trees, and with 

 that very mysterious thing we call life. It is a story that began 

 as far back as the beginning of humanity and that will not 

 end until the end of time itself. 



In one sense the story of our forests is a reaffirming of old 

 Biblical wisdom, that tells us, "As ye sow, so shall ye also reap." 

 Not even from the great bountiful mother nature can we al- 

 ways take away and never replace. Some day comes a reckon- 

 ing. In America we have reaped, but we have not planted. We 



IX 



