26o AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



for existence in the forest is directed and guided to useful and 

 productive ends. 



I trust I am not a fanatic on the subject of Forest Aboreta. 

 Perhaps I realize no less clearly than you do, that forest conserva- 

 tion in America depends chiefly upon reproduction from self- 

 sown seed, following careful and conservative cuttings. But I 

 also realize that before our National Forest problem is adequately 

 solved, before we have put to use, and to the best use, every acre 

 of land in America — -and we shall not stop our efforts until then — 

 that we must undertake and carry out a national task in forest 

 planting, which is vaster than the same task which any other 

 nation has ever faced. 



In regard to tree planting, the United States naturally falls 

 into three regions — the Eastern, the Central and the Western. 

 The Eastern region is that one which lies east of the great prairie 

 states. In it is a vast aggregate of denuded lands suitable only 

 for forest growth on which as the result of repeated fires following 

 logging, natural reproduction has not and probably will not take 

 place. Cut-over and burned-over lands in urgent need of forest 

 planting in the Atlantic region, and in the northern portion of 

 the northern states, alone aggregate over three and one-half 

 million acres. 



Then there is the great area of abandoned farm lands, mainly 

 in New England and in the southern mountains; and then there 

 are the wood lots rendered unproductive by missue. on which 

 planting is essential to bring back the forest crop. 



The Central region comprises the prairie country. Tree 

 planting is urgently needed there to protect crops from wind, 

 to grow timber for ordinary farm purposes in a mainly treeles? 

 country. In the far west the planting problem is mainly federal 

 and on it a good beginning has been made. 



To sum up, without going too deeply into the dry realms of 

 figures and statistics, we have planted in the United States just 

 about one acre in every ten thousand acres thus neglecting our 

 duty to ourselves and those who follow us, to plant forest trees. 



There is the task. Now what is needed for its accomplishment? 

 As I see it, these are the main things: A much more wide and more 

 definite knowledge on the part of the landholding citizens of the 

 returns and profits which follows tothose who plant forest trees. 

 Mention tree planting to the average man, and what is his response? 



