DISTRIBUTIOlSr OF AMEEICAN FORESTS 



only : for if we look closely we shall also 

 recognize the old character and expres- 

 sion in the harvested forests that have 

 long since been deserted and forgotten 

 and at last returned, like lost children, 

 to the fostering care of their mother. 



The forests of the West may be fitly 

 separated into two parts. The greater 

 part embraces the Rocky Mountain 

 ranges, while the other extends from 

 the crests of the Sierra IS^evada to the 

 sea. In the former the forests are 

 sometimes open in character and sepa- 

 rated by parks or grassy plains, or they 

 constitute a scattered tree growth on 

 the high altitudes of the rougher ridges. 

 This open character is sometimes due 

 to devastation by fires, but generally it 

 is the result of climatic conditions. 

 And yet there are wide tracts and 

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