INTRODUCTION 



surface, then the strength of any nation 

 may be measured largely by the extent and 

 quality of its forests; the decline of any 

 nation usually follows the decline of its 

 natural resources, of which the forests con- 

 stitute an important part. And if we speak 

 from the standpoint of trees as individuals, 

 we find that certain of them are identified 

 with events of nation-wide and even world- 

 wide importance. Forest trees are now being 

 systematically harvested and a new gene- 

 ration replaces them; individual trees, such 

 as grow upon our lawns, along our village 

 streets and in our meadows and pastures, 

 live on from period to period, witnesses 

 not only of the deeds of one but of several 

 generations of men. 



An historic tree commands in us the same 

 quality of admiration which we feel for a 

 great mind; it has been associated with the 

 noted characters of its time; it is related 

 to events whose results have affected the 

 life and development of the community; 

 it has demonstrated its ability to stand like 

 a conqueror in the face of storm and adver- 



