8 INTRODUCTION 



ning. Surely the nation must have a program of planned economy 

 for a resource which is renewable and capable of yielding such a 

 myriad of benefits to mankind. Prior to our federal and state policies 

 of forest conservation, which were inaugurated early in this century, 

 we paid little if any attention to this valuable resource. For many 

 decades prior to 1900, our policy was characterized by wasteful ex- 

 ploitation, frequent and destructive forest fires, negligence toward 

 young and growing forests and their possibilities, and an attitude of 

 indifference toward forest insects and diseases. Our forests were once 

 considered inexhaustible. A laissez-faire attitude toward our forests 

 and soil resources was widespread. The same attitude was largely 

 displayed toward the non-renewable resources such as oil, coal, iron, 

 and other metal deposits. Farmers have been exceedingly wasteful 

 of our soil resources. The last westward frontiers have been discov- 

 ered and developed; the expansion of our population into the great 

 agricultural belt of the Central West and across the Rockies to the 

 Pacific Slope has slowed down. An agrarian people has quickly 

 changed its occupations to industrial vocations. The growth of great 

 urban, commercial centers replaced agricultural expansion and de- 

 velopment. Social and economic forces have been seeking readjust- 

 ments in our living conditions and our thinking processes. Conserva- 

 tion is replacing the spirit of widespread exploitation in many of our 

 national habits and methods. Primitivism which signalized our atti- 

 tude toward our forests is being replaced by a recognition of their 

 worth for present and future generations. The values to be derived 

 from their perpetuation and conservation are being widely realized. 

 Today forestry is a recognized profession, charged with the responsi- 

 bility of managing and putting to the best use a considerable share 

 of the entire land surface of the United States. 



Thus it is indicated that forestry is a combination of those things 

 that have to do with trees and forests. It embraces the field of plant- 

 ing trees, of properly cultivating our forests to obtain the best results, 

 the harvesting of the mature forests, together with the conservation of 

 the products to serve mankind. The broad field of recreational use, 

 with the closely related hunting, fishing, and game management, is 

 also involved in the study of forestry, as well as the protection of the 

 forest against fire, insects, disease, rodents, erosion, and the influence 

 that forests may have upon water flows. 



The reverse of planned forest economy is found in the experience 

 of other countries, such as China, Palestine, and Spain, where forests 

 have been denuded and burned until many mountains are barren of 

 forest cover, erosive floods are prevalent, top soils are washed to lower 



