Page:A primer of forestry, with illustrations of the principal forest trees of Western Australia.djvu/12



Forestry is the science which deals with trees in masses or "forests." It takes cognizance of trees from the seed stage to maturity—a period which may cover any time from 10 to 100 years or more, according to the class of tree under notice. It has to do with trees during every period of their life, and explains and illustrates the conditions that are necessary for healthy tree-life, and also the circumstances which tend to retard normal growth. It examines and weighs the different factors that make up what is called "the life history of trees," and determines the place of each in the general scheme. So far as all these matters are concerned forestry is a science, and the successful carrying out of its work necessitates the calling in of some other sciences—such as botany, entomology, geology, etc. But forestry implies a good deal more than has already been indicated. There is a point at which forestry as a science and forestry as a policy meet, and at that point the forester's occupation merges into that of the merchant and the economist. The forester all throughout the time he is carefully tending the growing trees has one prime object in front of him, and that is the production of as great an amount as possible of good saleable timber from any given area, and the removal of it in such a way that the productive power of the area shall not be lessened. The whole science of forestry has for its objective the translation into actual facts of a forest policy that has been mapped out by the forester as the best for the community—not only for the community of to-day, but for the community of the future. A forest is a source of wealth to the country possessing it. If it be cut down recklessly and without thought of the morrow, the country must suffer, but if it be administered under scientifically ordered methods, and in accordance with a scientifically conceived policy, a forest may remain a source of wealth to a country for all time.

Old English writers refer to the forester's calling as an "art and mystery," which is just a quaint way of saying that its practice calls for skill and an intimate knowledge of the habits of trees and of the conditions which are favourable or unfavourable to their propagation and growth. To-day forestry ranks as a science, a term which in fact means very much the same as the "art and mystery" of Norman and Tudor times. When England was dependent wholly upon her own forests for the timbers with which to build her ships, and, in great part, her houses, her forests were under the care of men carefully' trained for the work. The protection of the forests against spoliation and destruction, the regulation of cutting, and the replanting to make good wastage from all sources were among the duties of those who practised the art of forestry. In modern times the forester has to possess the same skill as did his predecessor of centuries ago, but new conditions have arisen unknown to and undreamed of by the forester of the past. The demand for timber is very much greater now than it has ever been in the history of civilisation, and the forests of the world are daily growing less in volume. The problems which the modern forester has to solve are how to produce a greater quantity of timber than was ever produced before, and how to produce it from a smaller area of forests than existed in the past. His science tells him how to do this, as will be explained later when we come to speak of "cultivated" and "uncultivated" forest.

The value of forests to a country should be realised clearly, for with such realisation also will come the conviction that their protection is the duty of every citizen. Of all the forms of natural wealth there is none so important, none so