WHAT THE TREES ARE 9 



safe to say that if the forests should be de- 

 stroyed the world would be sadly crippled in 

 its supply of life-giving oxygen, nay more, the 

 ■atanosphere would be without a source for re- 

 generation. Men and animals, every form of 

 life, would perish from the face of the earth. 



Trees are also of immense importance in af- 

 fording shelter to birds and beasts of the forest, 

 and in the many productions which they furnish, 

 to mankind. These productions or "Gifts" are 

 too numerous to be mentioned here. Suppose 

 you pause a moment and see how many of them 

 you can name off-hand. It is possible to write 

 a list as long as your arm, and then the half 

 will not have been recorded! But at any rate 

 you will have additional proof of the inestim- 

 able value of the trees. 



The industry of forestry is second to agri- 

 culture in the number of people and amount of 

 capital employed and in value of product. 



