ANNUAL MEETING AT NEVADA. 345 



THE NEED OF FOREST CULTURE. 



Another topic well worthy the serious consideration of horticultural 

 societies and the country at large, is the imperative necessity in our day 

 of preparing the way for a rational system of forest culture by which a 

 portion, at least, of the forests of valuable timber can be preserved from 

 the ruthless ways of former years, and new plantations of the most val- 

 uable economic timbers started. It would be useless on my part to at- 

 tempt to present any argument in favor of a subject on which all intelli- 

 gent, but unprejudiced, Americans agree, but I will say, in this connec- 

 tion, that whatever practical results have thus far been obtained, are 

 principally due to the leadership of the horticultural men and nursery 

 men of the country. Let me allude to the efforts of the later years of 

 the late Dr. John Warder, and to those of the indefatigable pioneer, 

 Rob't Douglas. Some of you have seen a wagon at the late Kansas City 

 Exposition, made of timber grown from his own planting, by Mr. Whit- 

 ney, one of the earliest nurserymen of Illinois. Like causes producing 

 like results, we may be sure that whatever is to be done in this direction 

 in our state must be started by the horticultural workers ; professors or 

 politicians will never produce practical results, however much their work 

 may help to encourage indirectly practical workers. 



WHAT MIGHT BE DONE ON THE NEVADA ASYLUM GROUNDS. 



Some of us have cast for some time a wishful eye on the beautiful 

 section of land on which the new Nevada asylum is erected. We have 

 thought of a fair division in the interest of the crazy people and the 

 other portion of the population and are of the opinion that a portion of 

 this section might be set aside for the present needs of the institution, 

 for whose benefit it was acquired and that the other part might be de- 

 voted with a view to future benefits, not only of this institution, but of 

 the whole state to the purpose of forest culture, as an initial station on 

 which representative plantations of the timbers in which our state is 

 most principally interested might be made, and from which multitudes of 

 seedling trees might be distributed over the state to encourage the cul- 

 ture of future forests, both on the prairie and in districts from which the 

 valuable woods are being rapidly sold off. Let us imagine for a moment 

 the results of such an arrangement. 



