FOREST CONDITIONS. 347 



forest areas from the supply point of view, we 

 keep in mind that not only the old crop, the virgin 

 timber ready for the axe, but also the young crop, 

 the aftergrowth of valuable kinds, should be consid- 

 ered as timber-producing area, and even the bare 

 soil itself, if it is only left in condition to recuper- 

 ate, and to reproduce naturally valuable species in 

 a reasonable time. 



As far as mere soil cover is concerned, the value- 

 less species and even the brush lands . may suffice 

 to furnish protection and perform the functions, at 

 least in part, of the timber forest ; yet even here, 

 in order to make the best use of the soil in the 

 household of a nation, it becomes necessary to 

 eradicate the weeds and favor the useful species. 



As we have intimated before, there are weeds 

 among trees as well as among the lower vegetation. 

 Indeed, of the 500 species of arborescent growth 

 of which we can boast in our woods, there are 

 hardly more than 70 which deserve the forester's 

 attention, although we may expand the number of 

 useful ones to 100 or more, since in the absence of 

 some better material, even the poor Lodge-pole 

 Pine of the West, covering thousands of square 

 miles, the Black Jack of the barrens, and the Scrub 

 Pines of the sandy coast become valuable, at least 

 for firewood. 



In the markets, where the finer botanical distinc- 

 tions into species are neglected, it would be diffi- 

 cult to find as many as fifty native woods quoted. 



