FOREWORD 



By Col. JVilliam B. Greeley, 

 Chief Forester of the United States. 



The forest is the background of America. We 

 have built enormous industries upon its resources. 

 We lead the nations of the earth in using its prod- 

 ucts. We turn to the woods instinctively for recre- 

 ation. The forest is one of our great preservers. 

 It feeds our lakes and streams. It shelters and re- 

 news our wild life. It has given moral stamina, 

 self-taught resourcefulness, and bodily vigor to 

 every generation of Americans. 



It is time we balanced accounts with our forest. 

 It is time we became growers as well as users of 

 wood. It is time we acquired something of the 

 forestry sense of the provident folk of the old world 

 — the instinct to protect the woods, to plant a tree 

 where no more valuable plant will grow. It is time 

 we paid heed to our idle acres — that we restored 

 woods, industries, and people on the large part of 

 our soil which lacks them all. 



To reach this goal much must be done by way of 

 public effort. We need more public forests — na- 



