PART I 



FORESTS 



CHAPTER I 

 THE FOREST AND LIFE 



"The forests of America must have been a great delight to God; 

 for they were the best he ever planted." - JOHN MUIR. 



How bare and parched the world would be without the 

 forests ! Trees are the earth's natural clothing. They 

 protect it from the scorching sun and the withering blast, 

 keep the water in the streams and spread freshness and 

 greenness all around. Woods and water are always found 

 together ; the one helps the other ; and together they help 

 all other things. The great rivers of the world take their 

 rise in forests, and no great lake is found except where 

 trees are plentiful. Little lakes, too, in great numbers 

 nestle among the trees and one of the commonest wood- 

 land sounds is the voice of running water. Dryads and 

 nymphs, the goddesses of trees and streams, are always 

 thought of together. If, then, the waters are not to dry 

 up and leave the world parched and barren, we must see 

 that the forests which preserve them are not destroyed. 



A forest is not merely a collection of trees. It is a 

 community of living beings that struggle and live and die 

 as men do, each doing its share for the good of all, though 



