94 FORESTS AND MANKIND 



them. Thus the material he removes in releasing closely com- 

 peting trees the thinnings may be used for charcoal, for 

 fuel wood, or if they are large enough, for poles and fence 

 posts. A competent forester will study, not only his forests, but 

 the changing markets for his products, thus turning the lands 

 in his care to their highest value. 



But not all of a forest's value lies in the timber or by-products 

 it produces. Along the steep banks of streams it is often impor- 

 tant that lands should remain in their original condition, for 

 there, trees help hold the banks from slipping and washing 

 away, and so here, too, the forester will withhold his axe. 

 Along roads or lakes or bordering picturesque pathways for- 

 esters may decide not to cut a single tree. There they will leave 

 the forests as nature has created them, so that people may en- 

 joy their shade and beauty and protection. 



So it is that in this varied and many-sided science of for- 

 estry one value must be weighed against another and a decisio~ 

 made in favor of the greater. The forester guided by knowl- 

 edge, study and experience must steer his ship between two 

 extremes, both of which mean waste. On one side, he must not 

 cut too heavily for this impoverishes his forest and may impair 

 its productivity in future years. Neither must he withhold the 

 axe when trees are ripe and ready for harvest. This, too, is 

 waste, since ultimately the tree dies and decays, and unused 

 wood serves no useful end. 



Between these two extremes forestry with all the art and 

 science it possesses, strives to make the woodlands perpetually 

 productive of their greatest values to man. 



