CHAPTER III 
THE FOREST CANOPY——-FOREST FLOOR AND WOOD-MASS 
‘The fundamental idea of forestry is the perpetuation of 
forests by use. Forest protection 1s not an end of itself; it 1s a 
means to increase and sustain the resources of our country and 
the industries which depend upon them.’’—President Roosevelt. 
Tue bole, or trunk of a tree, divides and sub- 
divides into branches and branchlets, which bear the 
leaves, flowers, and seeds. This upper portion of the 
tree which bears the leafage and inflorescence is called 
the crown. When growing singly, in the open, the 
crown is wide-spreading, often beginning on a level 
with the ground and extending upward in a more or 
less spherical or conical form to the tip of the tree. 
In such a tree the wood is proportionately large in 
quantity, but poor in quality, because of the presence 
of knots, due to the limbage on the full length of the 
trunk. Such a tree, although beautiful in form and 
well-fitted for park and landscape work, where adorn- 
ment is the controlling factor, is what the forester 
usually endeavors to avoid. 
As has been already explained, the single tree is 
not the unit with the forester. .He deals with an 
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