2 THE PRINCII'LES OK HANDLING WOODLANDS 



large development of trees. The original forest con- 

 tained trees of great age and enormous size. Nature, 

 working through centuries, had provided a vast store- 

 house of timber, fully grown and ready for use when 

 required. It is on this supply that the American people 

 have been drawing for four centuries. It has constituted 

 a source of great wealth, and has been an important 

 element in the internal development of the country and 

 in the extension of its commerce. 



The March of Forest Destruction 



When the country was first settled, the effort was to 

 clear the land for agriculture. With the increase of pop- 

 ulation there naturally arose a demand for forest products, 

 and the timber was cut for use, and not merely destroyed. 

 The first lumbering for use took only the choicest trees 

 in the forest. Timber was so plentiful that the ordinary 

 grades had no value. The selection of a tree here and 

 there had little effect on the forest. In fact, the cutting 

 was beneficial, for it removed the mature trees, and the 

 openings which were made induced new growth, and 

 thereby increased the increment of the forest. As the 

 demand for timber increased for export and for local con- 

 sumption, and the supply of the best grades became more 

 remote, the forests near the settlements were cut over a 

 second time; and this process went on until the modern 

 systems of lumbering were introduced, which make very 

 heavy inroads into the forests, in some cases removing 

 practicalh' every tree. 



