90 PRACTICAL FORESTRY 
ful plants and animals. The great work of the future 
should be directed toward the subjugation of the wil- 
derness for perpetual forest supplies, and the reclama- 
tion of the waste lands of the earth. 
All the above influences have been at work for a 
long period of time. They are at work at present, 
and we have as an inheritance all sorts of combina- 
tions in the way of plant communities or societies. 
These conditions vary with every district, and the 
products vary accordingly, and, in consequence, the 
industries and occupations of the people. The for- 
ester by careful cultural methods endeavors to pre- 
serve or improve the quality of the soil in such a way 
that the struggle of the forest with the environment 
is reduced to a minimum, and to control the struggle 
between the individuals of the forest in such a way 
that the largest quantity of the best material desired 
will be produced in the shortest length of time. 
