WHY TO PLANT. 13 



in our esteem somewhat the position of im- 

 portance which belongs to them, and we are 

 beginning to ask, when almost too late, How 

 can we save them, or how can we replace them 

 where they have been destroyed ? 



A new word, forestry, formerly a mere dic- 

 tionary word, and hardly that even, has come 

 into our common daily speech. An association 

 of those who have been most thoughtful in 

 regard to the office and value of the trees has 

 been formed under the name of a " Forestry 

 Congress," and " Schools of Forestry" and " For- 

 estal Experiment Stations " are under considera- 

 tion. 



These things indicate a change of sentiment 

 in respect to trees, a revulsion of feeling in re- 

 gard to them and our treatment of them. It 

 has come none too soon. We were on the way 

 to meet great loss and suffering in consequence 

 of the manner in which we have treated our 

 forests. We were on the way to meet the evils 

 which have befallen many of the European na- 

 tions as the result of the destruction of their 

 forests. Happy shall we be if, through our 

 greater activity and readiness to apply appro- 



2 



