live in and not as a place to show to other horticulturists. Those 
who would be good gardeners should learn to enjoy their gardens 
and not merely other people's praise of them. 
Communal Forests 
Forest conservation, in its truest sense, is not the prevention of the 
cutting of wood but the effort to grow more wood. Such conserva- 
tion will never be attained in this country until we grow as much wood 
in a single year as we use in a single year. It has not been attained 
in any country and, I believe will not be in this, so long as the poten- 
tial forest lands are owned privately. 
Because of the long time required for forest crops to reach economic 
maturity, personal expenditure in protecting and improving young 
forests, cannot be balanced for many years. For this reason the 
application of modern forestry methods to our denuded and cut-over 
lands is uninviting to the private owner. The experience of the Old 
World, where forestry is on a safe and sure basis, ought to be carefully 
considered in shaping forestry in this country. 
Taking the experience of Europe as a guide, it is my firm belief 
that the measure of our advancement toward forest conservation 
centers in the creation of state and communal forests on an extensive 
scale. 
Twenty per cent of our forests are already publicly owned. Thirty 
states own forests which embrace an area of more that three and 
a half million acres. The idea of publicly owned forests and of con- 
fining such forests to non-arable lands is firmly established in this 
country, but we need to give impetus to the movement and to in- 
crease the present area from two to three times. This increase will 
be most useful if it is in the direction of communal forests, or those 
owned by towns and cities, where they can serve the double purpose 
of recreation and economic use. 
In this day clear vision is demanded for American citizenship — 
foresight that looks into the future and lays foundations that insure 
to posterity a better and more productive country. In looking to 
this better future we are in the truest sense helping ourselves. We 
are releasing our grip on human selfishness and emphasizing the idea 
of national welfare and unselfish patriotism, without which no nation 
can endure. This vision demands that we raise our voices in behalf 
of publicly owned forests. We must support our National Forest 
Service, an efficient sendee, absolutely non-political, which is doing 
great things for the future welfare of the nation. We must endorse 
