Did you know that:

• IN THE LIBRARY of the United States Department of Agriculture are 11,350-odd publications about trees and forests.
• One of the oldest volumes about trees is the 120-page Sylva, or a discourse of forest-trees, and the propagation of timber in His Majesties dominions. . . .
  • The English patriot and philosopher John Evelyn published it in 1664. It is full of warnings and advice: "Men seldom plant trees till they begin to be wise, that is, till they grow old, and find, by experience, the prudence and necessity of it."
  • One of the latest books in the library is Breaking New Ground, by the late American patriot and philosopher Gifford Pinchot. It is an autobiographical account of a pioneer forester's work for conservation of forests, soil, and water supplies.
  • An average of 406 books, pamphlets, and articles about timber and its products are added each month to the USDA library.