  The purpose of this booklet is to make the reader’s life more enjoyable by being able to identify, through leaf, twig and bark characteristics, the important trees of Pennsylvania at various seasons of the year. Today, more than ever before, trees play an increasingly important part in our lives. Trees produce wood, one of the essentials of our everyday life. The uses for wood are rapidly increasing. Trees provide shade and solace for man; they help to beautify the places where we live; help purify the air we breathe and the water we drink; enrich the soil and retard the earth from sliding into our streams, and provide food and shelter for wildlife. In a few words: Trees live to give. We sincerely hope the brief study of tree features described in this publication will help you to develop a closer feeling for our mutual friends of the plant kingdom—the trees of our land. Many a tree is found in the wood, And every tree for its use is good; Some for the strength of the gnarled root, Some for the sweetness of flower or fruit; Some for shelter against the storm, And some to keep the hearthstone warm, Some for the roof and some for the beam, And some for a boat to breast the storm; In the wealth of the wood since the world began The trees have offered their gifts to man. —HENRY VAN DYKE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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