PREFACE 
of our country. The principles of European 
forestry will naturally undergo many modifi- 
cations in their new environment, and the 
vastness of our forest areas, as well as the 
long life that naturally belongs to trees, will 
impose a very gradual progress. Neverthe- 
less, the movement for a rational use of our 
forests is rapidly advancing and is certain 
in time to find a very wide application. 
Although the aims of forestry are utili- 
tarian and not artistic, the technical char- 
acter of the operations which it involves im- 
presses upon natural forest scenery a changed 
aspect. Eventually the work performed upon 
our forests will be manifested in a new outward 
appearance, a change that cannot but be pref- 
erable to the scenes ordinarily presented by 
our cut-over and abandoned timberlands, and 
one that will be appreciated not only by forest 
lovers in general, but also by those who are en- 
gaged in the lumber industry itself, who are 
often forced through competition and prevail- 
ing methods to leave a desolate picture behind. 
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