218 PRINCIPLES OF AMERICAN FORESTRY. 



stronger and more durable. These facts, coupled with 

 its abundance and ready adaptability, have brought it 

 into such extensive use that the future depletion of the 

 supply has become a matter of some concern to thoughtful 

 people. Even now^ in many parts, the local supply has 

 already been exhausted (due much to extravagance and 

 carelessness), and the inhabitants are dependent upon 

 other regions to furnish their wood material, at an increased 

 cost. Treeless regions formerly uninhabited are now teem- 

 ing with thriving, industrious populations, whose standard 

 of living demands the consumption of large quantities of 

 wood, drawn from limited forest areas. The present sup- 

 ply is rapidly disappearing. 



To give the reader a comprehensive view of the manifold 

 utility of wood, and to impress upon him the importance of 

 maintaining a permanent source of supply of this essential 

 material^ we may group its uses into general classes, as an 

 enumeration in detail would be too bulky for this volume, 

 and, by sheer weight, fail of its purpose. In a general 

 way, wood is thought of as useful for lumber and fuel. As 

 firewood it heats our houses, cooks our meals, makes steam 

 for driving the engines which run our flour mills, factories, 

 light and power plants, street cars, laundries, etc. Dif- 

 ferent woods have their own fuel value, as indicated in 

 another chapter; the supply of different kinds varies in 

 localities; the price varies; so that we cannot say that 

 one kind should be used more than another. Poor ma- 

 terial must often be taken where no other is available. 

 In Minnesota there is in the wooded regions a considerable 

 variety of fuel woods. The most common are, for the 

 hard woods (or, more properly speaking, broad-leaved 

 trees), Maple, Oak, Elm, Ash, Aspen, Birch, Cottonw^ood, 

 and Bassw^ood; and of the conifers (or narrow- leaved 

 trees). Pine, Tamarack, Spruce, and Balsam Fir. 



As lumber, we may convert wood into a yet more exten- 



