96 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



f 

 others are about to do so ; but above all we must look to the 



general diffusion of knowledge among the people on this sub- 

 ject. The American is reluctant to invest in anything that 

 does not yield a quick return in dollars and cents. The 

 forces of nature act too slowly for him, and he hesitates to 

 plant trees because he may not himself receive the benefit of 

 them ; but he who plants a tree must be actuated by higher 

 motives than that of direct pecuniary gain. 



The preservation and planting of trees is a duty that we 

 owe to the memory of our ancestors who have left us the 

 waving elms and wide-spreading maples of our New England 

 homes. It is a duty that we owe to the posterit}^ that shall 

 come after us when we shall have passed from the stage of 

 life. May we so perform that duty that we can truly utter 

 that beautiful sentiment of the poet Whittier : 



" Give fools their gold, and knaves their power, 

 Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall ; 

 Who sows a field, or trains a flower, 

 Or plants a tree, is more than all. 



" For he who blesses most is blest ; 

 And God and man shall own his worth 

 Who toils to leave as his bequest, 

 An added beauty to the earth." 



