as fost as circumstances may require or justify. So it is with the man who has valu- 

 able farming land covered with wood that commands a high price for fuel ; with fann 

 crops at the present high prices, he regards it true economy to clear his land as (piickly 

 as possible, — and so it may be, looking only at the present. AVe are not finding fault 

 with this; we should probably do the same thing, if wc were placed in similar circum- 

 stances ; but what are to be the results ? This is the point to which we desire to call 

 attention. In this fast age of ours, we are all too apt to become so absorbed with pres- 

 ent engagements as to forget the future, and changes are eftucted with such rapidity 

 that the most thrifty and sagacious are behind in their calculations. Our progress 

 outruns the most sanguine expectations ; and so every day, unexpected results overtake 

 us. Beside, we are all for money-making ; we value everything by the dollar. So 

 many acres of woodland will make so many cords of wood, and by deducting the cost 

 of chopping and carrying to market, we have its exact value. So many acres of Oak^ 

 or Pine, or Hemlock forest, will make so many thousand feet of timber that will yield 

 so much per thousand ; and there's the value of that, and the onbj value. This is the 

 way in which the importance of our woods and forests is estimated. Few they are, 

 indeed, who stop to inquire, or to reflect for a moment, how the next or succeeding 

 generations will procure a supply of timber, — how the face of the country will be 

 shorn of its beauty, or the climate aftected by clearing oft" the forests. The new States 

 offer such inducements to emigrants, that very few persons calculate upon their child- 

 ren or children's children succeeding them in the occupation of their premises ; the 

 population — a great portion of it, at least — is always on the move; and so there is 

 no stron'T inducement to look far ahead, in the way of improvements. Then, among 

 the larger portion of the agricultural population, there has not yet grown up much 

 sensibility to the beauties of nature — the poetic element has scarcely taken root at all. 

 The circumstances of new countries — stern necessities and arduous labors — subdue the 

 more delicate attributes of the mind ; hence we seldom hear a regret uttered at the 

 wreck of our beautiful rural landscapes. The noblest Oaks, that the contemplative 

 mind would associate with majesty and strength, and with a long chain of events that 

 have transpired during the period of their existence, are worth just so much per foot 

 for ship-timber, and are remorselessly cut down ; and so our finely-wooded hills and 

 groups of forest trees, that now mingle with cultivated fields and green meadows, 

 formino- a charming landscape, \vill soon disappear, and the face of the country will 

 become as bare and bald as an Illinois prairie. Would this not be a sad thing ? 



We have no doubt there are men who will call us foolish for offering such an argu- 

 ment against the clearing process, but we trust there are not many such. Few men 

 can be so destitute of feeling and of common patriotism, as not to prefer that his coun- 

 try should be beautiful as well as prosperous. Men who reside in cities, take a pride 

 in beautifying them, and vie with each other in erecting tasteful buildings, and making 

 other improvements calculated to excite atttention and admiration. Their interest, as 

 well as patriotism, dictates such a course ; and why not so in the countiy ? Why can 

 not neighborhoods of farmers cooperate in plans of improvement, — in preserving por- 

 tions of their woodlands, — in making good roads, — in planting avenues of trees, — 

 and in such other works as are calculated to augment their own comforts, and beautify 

 neighborhood. Men engaged in such works as these, would experience a 

 satisfaction that the most successful money-seekers never know. Beside 



