In America the most widespread type of forest is the evergreen coniferous woodland of the north.

In fact, the history of North America has been perhaps more profoundly influenced by man's inheritance from his past homes than by the physical features of his present home.

Nevertheless most of the evergreen forests of the north must always remain the home of wild animals and trappers, a backward region in which it is easy for a great fur company to maintain a practical monopoly.

For the source of any characteristic so widespread and uniform as this adaptation to environment we must go back to the very beginning of the human race.

Again and again, to be sure, on the way to America, and under many other circumstances, man has passed through the most adverse climates and has survived, but he has flourished and waxed strong only in certain zones.

As a matter of fact, an ordinary desert supports a much greater variety of plants than does either a forest or a prairie.