TIMBER!
The first European settlers discovered that northern New England’s soil was not good for farming. But there were trees—billions of trees. Oak, maple, beech, birch, hickory, ash, spruce, and pine. The forest was frightening at first, but colonists grew to value it as a plentiful source of raw materials. They picked up axes and cut down trees. Oxen hauled logs and uprooted stumps. Men cut into lumber to build homes and barns. Other professions made use of the billions of trees in New England. Men found woodworking jobs as choppers, sawyers, coopers, and carpenters. When the sailed from Massachusetts back to England in 1621, it took pine
