ot be
allowed to waste them for private gain.

Although the need for more land has long passed, the habit of reckless
tree cutting still continues. There are now parts of the East where none
of the primeval forest remains and very little of the second growth.
Firewood is expensive and many a farmer has to buy coal, who, if he and
his ancestors had been careful, might have a woodlot to supply not only
fuel, but lumber for his buildings.

Many of the lands once cleared were found not suited to farming and have
been left to grow up to brush. If the farmer were wise he would replant
some of these lands with such trees as spruce, hickory, walnut, or
maple. Although his ancestors toiled early and late to get these trees
out of the way, a few acres of them now would be a fortune.

There are parts of our country, particularly in the South and West,
where the settlers are still cutting the trees to get them out of their
way. In distant mountain valleys where there is no market for lumber,
men are chopping down the great pines. They would make fine lumber, for
they are tall and straight, but instead of being put to some useful end
their fate is the bonfire. It makes no difference to these men that they
are wasting what it has taken Nature hundreds of years to produce nor
that in other parts of the country timber is scarce and expensive.

In Germany and Switzerland the forest resources are carefully looked
after. As fast as the grown trees are cut from a field, young trees are
planted in their places. The keeping of a certain part of the land in
forest is held to be of advantage to all the people. For this reason men
are not allowed to cut trees upon their own land without permission from
the forest officer.

Many years ago, when lumbering became an important industry and the
mills began to turn out immense quantities of boards and beams of every
sort needed by the growing population of our new country, it was
believed that the supply would never be used up. Only the best and
clearest logs were sawed into lumber, and a large part of each tree was
left on the ground to rot or to feed the first fire that occurred. Now
lumber is scarce and expensive; and the poorer grades also are in much
demand.

Have you ever seen the giant sugar pines on the slopes of the Western
mountains? Next to the sequoias they are the largest of our American
trees. A single tree has furnished lumber enough for a house. Sugar
pine has now become so val