An Ecologist Lives In A World Of

Then Came The Gadgeteer, Otherwise Known As The Sporting-goods Dealer. He Has Draped The American Outdoorsman With An Infinity Of Contraptions, All Offered As Aids To Self-reliance, Hardihood, Woodcraft, Or Marksmanship, But Too Often Functioning As Substitutes For Them. Gadgets Fill The Pockets, They Dangle From Neck And Belt. The Overflow Fills The Auto-trunk And Also The Trailer. Each Item Of Outdoor Equipment Grows Lighter And Often Better, But The Aggregate Poundage Becomes Tonnage.

Like All Real Treasures Of The Mind, Perception Can Be Split Into Infinitely Small Fractions Without Losing Its Quality. The Weeds In A City Lot Convey The Same Lesson As The Redwoods; The Farmer May See In His Cow-pasture What May Not Be Vouchsafed To The Scientist Adventuring In The South Seas.

This Whole Effort To Rebuild And Stabilize A Countryside Is Not Without Its Disappointments And Mistakes... What Matter Though These Temporary Growing Pains When One Can Cast His Eye Upon The Hills And See Hard-boiled Farmers Who Have Spent Their Lives Destroying Land Now Carrying Water By Hand To Their New Plantations

Conservation Is A Positive Exercise Of Skill And Insight, Not Merely A Negative Exercise Of Abstinence And Caution.

Wilderness, Then, Assumes Unexpected Importance As A Laboratory For The Study Of Land - Health.