Ve MISC. PUBLICATION 162, U. 5. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
exploitation of our forests, however, probably reached its peak dur- 
ing the last 30 years of the nineteenth century, when the country’s 
greatest source of softwood timber was the extensive white pine 
forests of the Lake States. In fact, it has been said that the forests 
of the Lake States made possible the opening up and rapid develop- 
ment of the great West. 
Although the forests of the North have contributed largely to the 
rapid development of our Nation, it has been the great pineries of 
the Southern States.that have complemented the extraordinary in- 
dustrial expansion of the last 35 or 40 years. Considerable cutting 
was done in parts of this region during the early years of American 
history, and after the Civil War the lumber industry developed on 
a fairly large scale on the southeastern coast. The southern lumber- 
ing industry did not reach foremost importance, however, until the 
decline of the industry in the Lake States late in the nineteenth cen- 
tury. At that time southern pine became the leading lumber-pro- 
ducing species in the United States and has held this position ever 
since. Nevertheless, these magnificent forests have passed their peak 
of production. Much of the timber used today comes from the 
Pacific coast. The forests of this region, together with such new 
growth as will develop in the South and other parts of the country 
under forest protection, are those that will meet the timber needs 
of the next century. 
The forests of today are still one of the Nation’s most important 
natural resources. Not only do they play a leading part in the 
economic and industrial life of the Nation but they serve us in many 
other ways. By checking the rains and melting snows, they help 
to prevent erosion and floods and insure a steady flow of water for 
power and domestic use; they are the source of many products be- 
sides lumber; they are the home of much of our game and wild- 
life; they furnish innumerable opportunities for recreation; and 
last, but not least, they make this country a pleasanter and more 
beautiful place in which to live. If we were tw be totally deprived 
of forests, we would suffer economically, physically, and esthetically. 
It is therefore important that we know how to handle our forest 
wealth so that it may be used to fill our countless needs and at the 
same time continue a permanent natural resource. This can be done 
only by learning the ways of trees and forests, what forestry is, 
and what the practice of it means to the American people. 
WHAT THE FOREST IS 
THE ForEST COMMUNITY 
A forest is far more than a mere group of trees. It is a highly 
organized community of plants and animals living in close associa- 
tion and in varying degrees of interdependence. The law of lite 
in the forest is the survival of the fittest, and the competition for 
existence is keen. The forest itself is beautiful and useful, and has 
played a vital part in the development of the human race. 
How A TREE LIVES 
Trees are woody plants, growing from the ground usually with a 
single stem. They are the largest members of the plant world, rang- 
