CHAPTER XLI 

 FORESTS AND WHAT THEY GIVE US 



Trees are the oldest and largest living things on our 

 earth today. Undoubtedly some of the giant redwoods of 

 California were growing before the Christian Era. Dur- 

 ing their lifetime nations have risen to power and then 

 have disappeared and our great modern civilization has 

 developed. Even shade trees about our homes may have 

 lived through the whole development of transportation 

 from the saddle horse and stage coach to automobile and 

 airplane. 



Trees are among our most valued helpers. They give 

 us fruit and nuts and sugar for food. They supply paper 

 for our books and for our newspapers. They furnish lum- 

 ber and furniture for our homes and fuel to warm us. They 

 shade our streets, and purify the air. They protect our soil 

 and add to its fertility. In forests, the rich spongy soil 

 made by the trees holds back flood waters, and releases 

 them gradually to our streams and springs. Our health 

 and prosperity depend in part on the proper care of our 

 tree growth. 



A forest is a large tract of woodland, an extensive community 

 of trees. The farm wood lot, "the woods" as it is commonly 

 called, is really a small forest. The ground covered by a forest 

 is called the forest floor. 



Importance of Forests. Forests are important because they 

 prevent floods, help to maintain a uniform flow of streams, retard 

 erosion, or the wearing away of soil, and provide homes and 

 shelter for numerous kinds of wild birds and animals, as well as 

 many products useful to man. 



Prevention of Floods. Beneath the trees in the forest is the 

 forest floor, a spongy layer of rich soil composed mainly of humus. 

 The roots of the trees form a network binding the soil together, the 

 shade of their branches keeps the soil from drying up, and their 

 constant shedding of twigs, branches, and leaves keeps it rich in 



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