FORESTRY FROM A COMMERCIAL STANDPOINT. 93 



therefrom. A birthright for them as small as this is a pittance 

 compared with the vast and almost endless expanse of virgin forest 

 areas that was ours. 



Viewing the subject as a whole, therefore, we must recognize 

 that the time is ripe for action and public concern. To accomplish 

 results much thoughtful study and definite systematic planning 

 must be done in order that there will be no obstructions in the 

 way. Education and example are our tools to work with. 



"Forestry is the science and art of forming and cultivating forests; 

 the management of growing timber." Forestry, therefore, as the 

 title of my address indicates, is concerned with the economic pro- 

 duction of merchantable wood and timber. Forestry should right- 

 fully be thought of as a commercial industry. The forest products 

 of a country should be one of her greatest assets, just as much as 

 that of any other crop, agriculturally speaking, and even more to be 

 relied upon than our income from mining, for with proper manage- 

 ment the investment will be permanent, inexliaustible, and hence 

 fundamental to the nation's life and prosperity. 



Lumbering is as important to successful forestry as is the digging 

 of potatoes or the harvesting of any crop when it is ripe. The same 

 essentials of culture also must be understood in getting maximum 

 returns in the one case as in the other. 



Forestry and commercial forestry are synonymous terms. Fores- 

 try in its true sense when managed properly will utilize our 3,000,000 

 acres of land in Massachusetts, at present seen scattered in every 

 section, known as waste land, abandoned pastures, sprout lands, 

 barrens, plains, etc., returning them to forest culture. The same 

 culture that will return saw logs to our mills, make work for our 

 country folks in winter, replenish our town treasuries, repaint the 

 old red schoolhouse, pay the sexton to again ring the church bell, 

 make better roads, and in short return the former substantial 

 livelihood of country life, will also conserve moisture, protect and 

 enrich the soil, give an equitable climate, and return to ^Nlassachu- 

 setts and New England the natural beauty we all so much would 

 love to see. 



If commercial forestry will do this, the aesthetic man, who now 

 and then sets out a shade tree and spends more time criticising the 

 practical lumberman, can employ his time to better advantage. 



