Preservation of Our Forests 41 



growth occur in one forest. It is the business and effort of the offi- 

 cials in charge to undertake and work out some plan by which the 

 treeless areas may once more become stocked with trees. This is 

 accomplished in some cases by planting tree seeds; in others it may 

 be necessary to plant seedlings raised in a nursery. The State of 

 Pennsylvania, for instance, is handling some of her State forest 

 land in this way, setting out thousands of seedlings every year. 



Now, what we want for Tennessee is a well organized system of 

 forest conservation. We are yet young in forestry. We have still 

 to learn many facts and conditions relative to the needs of the State 

 in order to work out a plan. It must be through a knowledge of the 

 principles of tree growths, their value and influence, that the forested 

 land and the land to be kept under forest cover shall be cared for 

 and managed. The State has no State forests yet. All the wooded 

 lands are under private ownership and their care is primarily in the 

 hands of the people. Every man, woman, and child in the State 

 should know something of the fundamental facts about trees, forests, 

 and their influence. The boys and girls of today are the men and 

 women of tomorrow. The lifetime of one generation is inconceiv- 

 ably short compared to the lifetime of a State. The people of today 

 are preparing conditions for the people of tomorrow, which they 

 must accept whether they will or not. The parent has no legal or 

 moral right to place a handicap upon his child; and, in a broader 

 sense, the generation of today must not handicap his child, the gen- 

 eration of tomorrow. I believe the education of our children to 

 appreciate the value of our natural resources should form as great 

 a part of their training as mathematics, history, art, philosophy, or 

 religion. I shall be glad when every individual in the State shall 

 have a working knowledge of the influence of trees and forests and 

 man's dependence upon them, and a will to conserve such a great 

 and beneficent resource. 



