312 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ranges and will force her legislators into timely action. May I be per- 

 mitted to remind the people of our State of the old adage "an ounce 

 of prevention is better than a pound of cure." 



Our State, world renowned for the fertility of its soil and the gran- 

 deur of its forest wealth, is deeply interested in the issue. I trust that 

 this society, the intelligent exponent of the horticultural intelligence 

 of this State, will lend a sympathetic ear to the pleading of a cause 

 powerful in importance for weal or woe, but cried down as a visionary, 

 expensive and not yielding quick and tangible results. This plea is 

 surely not a hysterical wail against the clearing of forests for agricul- 

 tural purposes, but a warning against the senseless system of destruc- 

 tion, of which the people of the older States are so very sick and 

 tired. 



Our forest trees, considered as the components of the Sylva of 

 North America, surpass by far the trees of other continents both in 

 value and variety. They have been transplanted into every country 

 inhabited by civilized nations. What would the forests, the parks and 

 shaded avenues of European cities do for a substitute of trees of North 

 American origin ? But do we prize them as highly as Europeans do, 

 and in planting, do we select the best, the finest or most lasting ? The 

 mention of a few samples of our preferences will answer the above 

 queries. As a rule the great desideratum with most planters is quick 

 growth and ease of procuring something that will represent a shade 

 tree in a few years. The elm and soft maple are in consequence planted 

 anywhere and everywhere, and the finest kinds, as sugar maple, tulip 

 tree, the linden and others are ignored in the same ratio. This may be 

 excusable for street planting, but to fill up the yards and home grounds 

 chock full of the commonest stock denotes a lack of judgment as well 

 as refined taste. In the evergreen line three European importations, 

 the Norway spruce with Scoth and Austrian pine, have the greatest 

 run both in the nursery and with the planter, while three American 

 kinds, the white red pine and American white spruce are comparatively 

 scarce in the trade, and consequently but sparingly planted. The Eu- 

 ropean kinds are highly ornamental for a certain number of years, but 

 lose their vigor gradually when developed into beautiful specimens, 

 while the American kinds when once fairly started assume more beau- 

 tiful proportions from year to year, showing that they feel at home in 

 their native soil and atmosphere. 



Space forbids the mention of many kinds deserving better recogni- 

 tion in forest as well as in ornamental planting, than generally accorded 

 to them. Much useful information is yet to be disseminated amongst 

 the people, which can best he done by the local nursery trade, but the 



