TREES AND WOODS 



order to provide themselves with timber and 

 fuel, and then to get open spaces on which to 

 grow their corn and feed their flocks. 



This clearing away of the trees, which seem 

 to have been the natural covering of the earth, 

 is a very unfortunate thing when it is carried to 

 a great extent, and though England has not 

 suffered so much in this way as some other 

 countries, we may yet fairly find reasons to 

 regret it. In certain lands the mischief thus 

 done has been so serious that the Governments 

 have had to consider the whole question of 

 woods and forests, and have re-planted trees 

 in large quantities. 



To understand this, let us begin, as we have 

 always found it wise to do, by asking ourselves 

 the uses of these trees, woods and forests. In 

 the first place, we shall probably think of the 

 endless ways in which we require wood in our 

 houses ; the floors, the stairs, the furniture are 

 all made of it. We also want firewood, and 

 other kinds of timber to build our carts and 

 carriages. Clearly we must have a greal deal 

 of many different sorts, and it is a pity to get 

 this from other countries if it is profitable and 

 pleasant in all ways to grow it ourselves. But 

 this is not all ; questions of profit and con- 

 venience need not be the first or the only reasons 

 to influence us. Let us consider the effect of 

 trees on the land, the water-supply, and the 

 climate. 



(in) 



