THE FORMATION OF FORESTS 101 
old age, a tree would have to produce only one ma- 
ture offspring to fill its place in order to maintain the 
forest regions of the world intact. Owing to the 
awtul struggle which the individuals of the world must 
wage against their enemies and their own kind, every 
tree must produce millions of seeds and thousands of 
seedlings to surely leave in its place a single repre- 
sentative. By coming to its aid and by guiding the 
forces of Nature over which the tree has no control, 
man may rescue from extinction many valuable indi- 
viduals and even species. He can control the produc- 
tion of wood, just as he controls the production of 
wheat or of corn. 
In the formation of forests nothing is of more 
importance than the quality of the seed. Seed should 
be ripe, fresh, and of standard weight and size, and 
all seeds should be tested before sowing. In a single 
pound of birch seed there are 800,000 seeds, while 
the fruit of the double coconut, which contains four 
seeds, weighs from forty to fifty pounds. 
It is usually conceded that the dominant trees of 
the forest are produced by the largest and richest 
seeds. The best seed produces the best trees and the 
best seed-producers. In the struggle for existence 
a small advantage in the beginning may mean life 
and vigor to one tree, and suppression and death to 
many others. 
