American Forestry 



VOL. XVII MARCH, 1911 No. 3 



THE PEOPLE'S POSSESSIONS IN THE APPALACHIAN 



FORESTS 



By THOMAS NELSON PAGE 



(Address before the American Forestry Association at the annual dinner, Washington, 



January 13, 1911.) 



^Y^HEN John Evelyn, in view of the impending disaster of the complete 

 ri 1 destruction of forests in England, was commissioned by the Royal So- 

 ^^ ciety of Great Britain to address them on the subject of forestry, he 

 delivered a book, and poss'^)ly, if one should measure up to the importance of 

 the subject of the preservation of the forests of this country, especially of this 

 older, eastern slope, he would endeavor to follow the example of that illus- 

 trious predecessor and undertake likewise to give a complete essay on the 

 subject. If he could prepare such a work as John Evelyn's "Silva," then, 

 indeed, it might be worth while to hazard even taxing the patience of the 

 public, for it is one of the quaintest works in the English language, and if 

 one but have the faculty of skipping with propriety, he will find it one of the 

 most thoughtful, charming and instructive works that the notable literature 

 of our fathers can boast of. 



In view of the fact that our new interest in the preservation of our forests 

 is due to the sudden forcing on our attention of the extraordinary disappear- 

 ance of our forests with the disastrous consequences that are following it, it 

 cannot but be interesting to reflect that this great contribution to our litera- 

 ture grew out of the sudden realization on the part of the leaders of the Eng- 

 lish people that their great forests, once the pride of their country, had been 

 depleted far beyond the danger point, and that the public mind needed 

 awakening to the peril that unless the waste were stopped England would 

 soon find herself without the timber requisite to maintain the wooden walls 

 on which her salvation depended. 



Here, after two centuries and a half, we find ourselves in this land which 

 was once wholly covered with forests confronted by the same impending dis- 

 aster, a disaster from which in turn the i)eoi)les of Asia and of Europe have 

 suffered injury beyond the power alike of calculation and of repair and, as in 

 John Evelyn's day, every far sighted man is called on to take service in the 

 cause of education in this vital matter. The most obvious argument which 

 one might urge is of course that of material return ; but there are other returns 

 not less important than the one which may be measured by the lumber stand- 

 ard. The influence of the forest and the grove on the human mind, and thus on 

 human progress, is one which may not be directly measured, for it is im- 

 measurable. 



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