86 FORESTS AND MANKIND 



and occupation to the people for over six centuries, and today 

 it is more productive and more valuable than ever before. 



With the passing years man has been constantly discovering 

 new benefits from the forests and new uses for its products. 

 With these new discoveries, and new values forestry itself has 

 broadened until today it is a widely diversified profession. For- 

 estry has had to cover a wide field because it has to do with 

 all gradations of climates and soils, different kinds of forests, 

 different products and methods of utilization, and different 

 economic conditions. With changing industrial and social con- 

 ditions the problems of the forester have multiplied and their 

 proper solution has taken on greater public importance. One 

 result of this has been that foresters are finding it necessary to 

 divide the field and specialize on certain phases of their ever- 

 widening profession. 



Forestry is becoming many sided and the practice of forestry 

 itself, in different regions has become widely diversified in 

 both its methods and in the results it seeks. In the western 

 states protecting forests from fire is the forester's big problem. 

 In New England planting is most important. In parts of Italy 

 the forester is most concerned with bringing back forest 

 growth on steep hillsides. In southern France his chief prob- 

 lem is to establish on the shifting sand dunes, forests whose 

 roots will anchor them in place. 



Yet behind all these outward differences, the fundamental 

 purpose of forestry is everywhere the same to make the for- 

 ests most useful to mankind. It includes planting trees when 

 planting is needed, helping valuable species in their struggles 

 against underbrush, harvesting the trees that are ripe to cut 

 and establishing cutting methods that will leave cut-over land 



