98 " ' Conservation Reader 



After traveling for some days over rugged mountains, they 

 at last emerged from the forests upon the Great Valley of 

 California. 



Scattered over portions of the valley were oak trees, 

 giving it the appearance of a park. When the valley had 

 been passed the pioneers climbed the last mountain range, 

 and from this range looked down upon the waters of the 

 Pacific Ocean. Here they found forests again, some of 

 the trees being of enormous size. Thus we see that the 

 eastern part of the continent was nearly all forested, but 

 that in the West the forests grew chiefly on the mountains, 

 because there is not enough rainfall upon the plains and in 

 the valleys. 



The trees that make up most of the forests of our country 

 are of two very different kinds. There is one kind that has 

 narrow or needle-like leaves which they keep through the 

 winter. These we commonly call narrow-leaved trees or 

 conifers. The most important of the narrow-leaved trees 

 are the pines, firs, spruces, and hemlock. Such trees form 

 the forests of the greater part of the highlands of the north- 

 em and northeastern parts of our country. The pines also 

 find a congenial home upon the lowlands of the Southern 

 states. Trees of the second kind have broad leaves, and 

 usually their wood is rather hard. Hence we call them 

 broad-leaved or hardwood trees. Since most of these trees 

 drop their leaves in winter, we often speak of them as de- 

 ciduous trees. By far the larger part of the lands of the 

 Eastern states that are now cultivated were found by the 

 first settlers to be covered with hardwood trees. We are 

 familiar with many of the hardwoods through their use in 

 furniture and various household utensils and farm imple- 



