THE WOOD CROP 217 



most important tree, both for lumber and naval stores, 

 is the southern yellow pine. In the Mississippi valley 

 lies the interior hardwood forest of oaks, hickories, ashes, 

 gums, and other hardwood trees. It is bordered on the 

 west by the plains, which cover the eastern slope of the 

 continental divide until they meet the evergreen Rocky 

 mountain forest which clothes the slopes of this great 

 range from the Canadian line to Mexico. Separated from 

 the Rocky mountain forest by the interior deserts, the 

 Pacific coast forest covers the flanks of the Sierras, the 

 Cascades, and the coast ranges. Its largest trees are the 

 giant sequoia and the great coast redwood, and its most 

 important timber is the fir. 



204. The Settler and the Forest. "When the early set- 

 tlers from the Old World landed on the Atlantic coast 

 of North America they brought with them traditions 

 of respect for the forest created by generations of forest 

 protection at home. The country to which they came 

 was covered, for the most part, with dense forests. There 

 was so little open land that ground had to be cleared for 

 the plow. It is true that the forest gave the pioneers 

 shelter and fuel, and game for food, but it was often filled 

 with hostile Indians, it hemmed them in on every side, 

 and immense labor was required to win from it the soil 

 in which to raise their necessary crops. Naturally, it 

 seemed to them an enemy rather than a friend. Their 

 respect for it dwindled and disappeared, and its place 

 was taken by hate and fear. 



"The feeling of hostility to the forest which grew up 

 among the early settlers continued and increased among 

 their descendants long after all reason for it had disap- 



