FORESTS, RESERVOIRS, AND STREAM FLOW 283 
value in the long run that is not based upon truth, and the disap- 
pointment that is certain to result in the fulfillment of these hopes 
will do more harm than good. Forestry does not need any such 
support. It stands on a basis of its own, too broad and too sure to 
require any extraneous aid. What is this basis? The reply may be 
given in the beautifully appropriate phrase that occurs in the Act of 
Congress creating the first of our National Parks, “the benefit and 
enjoyment of the people.” In the matter of benefits, forests are neces- 
sary, because they produce the most important material of construction 
known to Man; even iron cannot be excepted. From the lead pencil 
to the mast of a ship, from the infant’s top to spacious temples and 
palaces, it enters into nearly every requirement of human existence. 
A large portion of the structures for human habitation are built of 
it.. The land transportation of the world is closely dependent upon it, 
for if it were not for the railroad tie scarcely a car could run. It is 
only when one stops to think a little upon the unlimited adaptability 
of wood to human needs that its transcendent importance is borne in 
upon him. 
In the matter of enjoyment, no other work of Nature has done 
more for the uplifting and ennobling of the mind than these “first 
temples” of God. It requires no argument to enforce this assertion, 
particularly with him who has been reared in close companionship 
with the woods. Sad indeed will be the day, if it ever comes, when 
the people are deprived of this source of healthful pleasure for which 
no adequate substitute can ever be found. 
And yet this supremely important resource in human happiness is 
strictly limited, and the visible supply is fast disappearing. Statistics 
fix the date, almost as confidently as an astronomer predicts an eclipse, 
when the doomsday of its final disappearance will come unless some- 
thing is done to prevent. Most fortunately, this material, unlike 
copper or iron or stone, is a vegetable product capable of self-renewal, 
and the supply can be kept up forever. This is what gives its immense 
importance to forestry. It requires no dubious support from any other 
source. It fully justifies the splendid work that the Forestry Service 
is doing, and demonstrates the wisdom of the far-sighted men who 
are laying the foundation of our future National forests. 
Let us now inquire if it will not be to the advantage of this 
-great work to be absolutely independent of any connection with water 
