ILLINOIS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 295 



The forests are the ornaments oi the earth, the embellishments of 

 the landscape. Whether we look at the sturdy strength of the Oak, the 

 gentle grace of that " maiden of the woods," the Birch, the majesty of 

 the Pine, the dome-like beauty of the Maple, the varying symmetry of 

 the Ash, the spire-like pinnacle of the Fir, or the green fountain of that 

 loveliest tree of all the temperate zone, the American Elm ; whether 

 we follow the delicate tracery of their outlines when destitute of leaves, 

 or look on their foliage, wearing the tender green of spring, the ripe 

 fullness of summer, or the gorgeous hues of autumn ; whether we meet 

 them singly, or in those groups that nature or imitative art composes, — 

 they are always grateful to the eye and cheering to the heart. 



Stripped of them, what would be the beauty of the earth.' Had 

 they no other use, they would hold an office of great utility, for what- 

 ever appeals to the human heart is in the highest degree useful. " A 

 thing of beauty is a joy forever," and as it acts on the soul its educa- 

 ting power enriches man beyond the reach of all that only serves his 

 economic uses. So that were this their only office they would have a 

 claim on all who would seek to refine and cultivate mankind through 

 those instrumentalities that God has made so available to man. And 

 it would, for this reason alone, be worth the while to clothe the hill-top 

 with the group on which the eye loves to rests, scatter along the val- 

 leys and water-courses those fringes that suggest peace and shelter ; 

 Erect the wall of evergreens between the isolated cottage and the 

 wintry blast, and lift high above its roof the shadow of the cloud of 

 green in summer; and brighten the streets of the city and village with 

 that foliage which transfers to the barren achievements of man some- 

 thing of the beauty of the works of God. 



Aside from covering the earth with beautiful garments, and pleasing 

 the eye and cheering the heart of man, their chief office is one of utility. 

 On this point there are several obvious considerations, either of which 

 would make an ample subject for an essay. The fuel they produce for 

 man's fires; the lumber they yield for the purposes of his civilization; the 

 barks for tanning and dying purposes ; the edible fruits and saps he obtains 

 from them ; (in eighteen hundred and si.xty, in the United States, 

 thirty-eight millions eight hundred and sixty-three thousand eight 

 hundred and eighty-four pounds of sugar, and one million nine hundred 

 and forty-four thousand five hundred and seventy-five gallons of molas- 

 ses, were manufactured); the pitch that makes the turjjentine and tar; — 

 these at once suggest themselves as of importance sufficient to demand 

 attention to forest-culture on the part of the political economist, and 

 urge him to see to it that law and public opinion protect the standing 

 forests from unwise destruction, and institute such means as shall clothe 

 the naked portions of the earth inhabited by man, as far as is consistent 

 with his agricultural enterprises. 



The essential wants of life are sufficient to direct attention to the 

 subject before us. Surely each community, each farmer, ought to have 

 within easy reach, if possible, all the fuel needed, all the lumber re- 



