i8o 



ARBORICULTURE 



the briars ami bushes grow up ininio- 

 lested in the timber, antl rotten logs and 

 broken limbs and fallen trees, when all 

 taken together, make a very unsightly 

 appearance. 



The decayed logs and limbs could be 

 burned, the imdergrowth and stunted 

 timber removed, and the lower and un- 

 derhanging limbs of the standing trees 

 cut off, and the sunlight be let in to re- 

 move the dampness and thus brighten 

 and make cheerful the gloom and dread 

 solitude of the forest. A green carpet 

 of blue grass could take the place of the 

 dead and decaving leaves. The cattle in 

 the shade could grow fat and flourish on 

 the rich grasses of the woods and the 

 farmer be doubly repaid for all the costs 

 of the improvement of the woodlands. 

 This unsightly and unwholesome part 

 of his possessions would become a beau- 

 tiful park, and impress the beholder that 

 the man who held the deed and was the 

 resident on the premises was not a lazy 

 sloven, but an enterprising and industri- 

 ous citizen with an eye to the beautiful 

 as well as the useful. 



And then, again, not only all this 

 would be accomplished but the labor- 

 ing man who had done the work in the 

 woods and beautified the same would 

 bless the owner who gave him a chance 

 to earn wages for the support of his wife 

 and children. It is but true charity to 

 give the laboring man work and good 

 wages rather than breaking down his 

 self-respect by giving him money he does 

 not earn. 



If all the timberlands of our state, 

 especially those on our public highways, 

 were thus made beautiful parks as they 

 easily could be, I know nothing that 

 would so convince the thousands and mil- 

 lions of people of other states passing 

 year after year through our state of the 

 good taste and thrift of our people. It 

 would be a standing and effective invita- 

 tion to the best people of other states to 

 come and make Indiana their home. It 

 would add greatly to the value as well as 

 to the beauty of our land. It is such an 

 easy and profitable thing to do. There 

 is a sanitary as well as an esthetic and 

 financial demand for this improvement. 

 It is in every sense practical farming. 

 Let the farmers institute and the press 



agitate the ([uestion. The movement 

 oiice started in real earnest would soon 

 go on to a finish. Those who refuse to 

 participate would be under the ban of his 

 neighbor and would sell out to some 

 who would. 



It required the strength and courage 

 of two generations to conquer the forests 

 and remove the stumps, and put in the 

 tile drains and erect all the buildings of 

 the farm and procure all the improved 

 machinery for successful farming. All 

 that has been accomplished. The rails 

 that with sturdy blows were made out 

 of the oaks and the poplars fifty years 

 ago, from which the old worm fence with 

 its ugliness enclosed the fields, arc pass- 

 ing out of sight. The beautiful green 

 hedge or the graceful wire enclosure 

 have taken the place and surround the 

 fields now free from stumps and bushes 

 and swamps. The generations before us 

 may not have had the time or the money 

 to clear out the woods. There is but lit- 

 tle excuse now. Indiana has been a 

 state for more than three quarters of a 

 century. The farms are generally paid 

 for and are otherwise well improvea. 

 It is better for a farmer, to improve to 

 the highest degree the land he has than 

 to be constanth' investinp" his surplus in 

 the land adjoining. The quality of what 

 he possesses will give a more desirable 

 reputation as a farmer than the quantity. 

 Then let the woods be beautified and 

 made useful, and our state will attract 

 the attention and the commendation of 

 all who have a just appreciation of what 

 is meant by ci\-ilizcd life. 



I am ver\- sinccrclv vours, 



WILL CUAIBACK. 



Greenburg, Ind. 



READER : 

 Have you an interest in trees? 

 Do you realize the necessity for having 

 forests ? 



Do you want information on the sub- 

 jects discussed in .ARisoRicrr/rrRr:? 



Have you a patriotic sympathy with 

 our work? 



Sul)srril)c for Arboricultl're, $i.oo a 

 year. 



Address all communications to 



John P. Brown, 

 Connersvillc, Tnd. 



