John Laird Farrar(1913- 1996), Ph.D., M.F., B.S.F.,
devoted nearly 60 years of his life to the study and advancement of forest science. A graduate of the University of Toronto where he was the first Canadian winner of the Schlich Memorial Prize, Dr. Farrar worked in the forest industry and later with the Canadian Forest Service before serving as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. In 1955 he received his Ph.D. from Yale University.

His appointment in 1956 to the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, marked the beginning of a long career as an educator of forest science. One of his many accomplishments was the development of a comprehensive course on the morphology of trees.

A well-published author, John Farrar was also the first editor of the internationally prestigious Canadian Journal of Forest Research, a post he held from 1970to 1981. Trees In Canada was completed a year before he died. This comprehensive volume on Canada's trees reflects the spirit and intellect of a truly great scientist and teacher.