VIU 



FOREWORD 



tip-top leaf laboratory, taking in all the wonders 

 along the way, and it is a marvelous journey! 

 He can but feel at its close how truly wonderful 

 are the trees, and how little most people appre- 

 ciate their real worth and beauty. Why trees 

 die, and what we may do to help protect and 

 save them, is explained in the section, "Some 

 Enemies of the Trees." The student is led to 

 see that trees are like men. They have their 

 prime and their decadence. They are subject 

 to a host of natural enemies and to diseases and 

 infirmities which gradually bring about their 

 downfall, in spite of the fact that each year their 

 working forces are made new, and that they 

 have within themselves the symbol of immor- 

 tality. 



In the second part of the work, "The Kinds of 

 Trees, ' ' all the important tree families are con- 

 sidered. The principal individuals are intro- 

 duced in such a way as to make them lasting 

 friends, and there is a fund of legend and folk- 

 lore which is most interesting. 



The third and last part, "The Forester and 

 His Work," differs slightly in treatment from 

 what has gone before. It is hoped that the inti- 

 mate study of the trees will lead young readers 

 to entertain a personal feeling for them. Per- 

 chance there may be some who will wish to be- 



