THE EARTH'S BOUNTY, 



posit of wood and bark from the cambium 

 heals the wound in the trunk, which increases 

 in unbroken circumference many feet above 

 the ground. It is this natural pruning of the 

 lower limbs which makes forest trees so much 

 more valuable for timber than segregated 

 specimens that retain all their branches, and 

 cause the annual deposit of wood to be 

 diverted to increase the limbs. 



Of course, volumes and volumes have been 

 written by scientific foresters on silvicultural 

 laws, and the foregoing is only a condensed 

 summary of what has been gleaned from 

 desultory reading; but if supplemented by 

 personal observation and gumption, it may 

 help you to reason out some of the whys and 

 wherefores of past deterioration and of the 

 work necessary to bring about improvement 

 in the future. Commercial lumbering has, 

 of course, depleted the large forests, 

 but the farm wood-lot has been and is 

 being ruined by the farmers themselves. 

 A mistaken idea of thrift permits them to 



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