88 NATURE STUDY MADE EASY 



LESSON XXX 



FORESTS AND HOW TO PRESERVE THEM 



When we study our beautiful native trees, how we learn to love 

 them, and how we wish to preserve and protect them ! 



America once was famous for her great forests. They were 

 thought to be inexhaustible. But this is a mistake ; young 

 timber cannot grow as rapidly as old timber can be cut down. 



We depend on our trees for many things. You know timber 



is required for building, for fencing, for manufacturing. Timber 



is used for railroad ties and for fuel. The bark of trees is used in 



tanning leather. Trees are tapped and often carelessly tapped 



- for turpentine, pitch, and sugar. 



So you see there are many reasons why we should preserve our 

 trees. 



Trees not only give us many useful things, but they are helpful 

 to the country at large. They keep off cold winds, and so help to 

 keep the ground warm. In northern Illinois, the climate was so 

 altered by the removal of the forest trees, that the peach crops 

 almost failed. Winter wheat, which failed in open fields, was suc- 

 cessful when protected by woods. 



In winter, trees keep off the cold winds, and in summer they 

 reduce the heat and lessen the effect of violent storms. 



Forests help to attract moisture, and the rain sinks into the 

 ground, and makes springs and streams. These moisten the 



