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artificial one. The building of towns tends to destroy vast areas 
of plant-life, and this seems legitimate and necessary, though a 
deplorable destruction. This is the cost of civilization and must 
be met by a more vigorous campaign for the prevention of un- 
necessary plant destruction. 
Thousands of trees are cut down annually to every one planted. 
are not taken to restrict certain acts detrimental to plant-life, an 
extinction of many kinds of plants is inevitable. A factor in any 
plant’s preservation is the maintenance of its natural environment. 
The connection between forest and wild flower is so close, that the 
safeguard of the former means a large measure of protection for 
the latter. Not only must trees be protected for their own valu- 
able service to man, but for the protection they afford to game, 
birds and plants, which seek the environment of forest homes. 
The loss of forests means an irreparable loss to the society of 
plants which have adapted themselves to their shady haunts. 
Trees have countless uses in their relation to commerce, manu- 
facturing, climate and man, but their most important value, 
outside of a financial consideration, is their value to nature. 
When forests are destroyed, what will take their place in their 
ountless uses? What will take their place in assuring rainfall 
a indirectly providing sources for rivers? What will shelter 
the plants which inhabit their fastnesses? If trees are destroyed, 
plants, both weak and strong, which are protected by them would 
soon die of drought. Moreover, the streams which provide water 
for pastures and low lands would dry up, harming directly the 
e 
forests themselves. Again, where the heat is continuous, and 
the sun shines intensely, plants which survive in a shady spot 
would be exterminated by the removal of the forests. Thus, 
forest preservation insures a continual existence of shade-loving 
plants. 
The annual destruction of trees is enormous. The various 
uses for timber are so numerous that only a few of the most im- 
