594 IOWA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



not been established on economic principles entirely. As there is little 

 waste land in Iowa we can never expect to see large forests established 

 on economic principles. The most of our planting must be confined to 

 the small wood lot where much attention will be paid to the ornamental 

 and protective value of "the trees. This kind of planting we can do. Let 

 us insist that more of it be done. We can add a great deal to the value 

 of our farms. We can make our homes more attractive by surrounding 

 them with trees. We can beautify our towns and villages by placing small 

 plantations of forest trees within them. May we become more enthusiastic 

 on these lines, but let us ever firmly adhere to our best knowledge of for- 

 estry principles when we attempt to grow trees. 



The next quarter century will call for greater progress in forestry than 

 we have made during the last quarter. There is little doubt but that our 

 most sanguine hopes for such progress will be reached or even surpassed. 

 We now have three well established schools of forestry, and a number of 

 institutions over the entire country are adding forestry work to their 

 curriculum. These will be largely attended and enthusiastic investigators 

 and workers sent from them. The public will give more thought to the 

 subject of forestry in the future than they have in the past and forward 

 movements will receive steady support. Our most earnest efforts must 

 go toward the diffusion of the best forestry principles, for mistakes in for- 

 estry are hard to rectify. 



CIVIC IMPROVEMENT FOR SMALL CITIES. 



De La Sheldon, Ames 



The question of civic improvement for large and small cities is one 

 with which the enlightened and progressive men and women of today are 

 concerning themselves. The idea of beauty is inherent in us all; the sav- 

 age of the jungle as well as the Indian of the plain have in their crude way 

 endeavored to surround themselves with the beautiful by bedecking their 

 person and steed with those trinkets and colors which appeal to their un- 

 educated sense of the beautiful. But primeval or barbaric man concerned 

 himself not with matters pertaining to public welfare; his spirit was one 

 of selfishness, not doing good to all. And, in fact, we fail to find an en- 

 lightened idea of beauty till we come in contact with enlightened man. 

 Here it exists in proportion to the educative influences that have enveloped 

 his life. It is sad to think that in this day and age we have not all received 

 alike and, as a consequence, are in universal possession of the same exalted 

 ideas which have for their foundation the conversion of neglected areas — 

 be it a city, town, or building lot — into a "Heaven here on earth." 



Many of our "get-rich-quick" men imagine that life is too short to 

 clean the back yard, the front yard, or improve the vacant building lot. 

 This they leave to their more asthetic inclined brothers and as a result 

 they are often caused to blush at things which are as they ought not to be. 

 If a stranger or a speculator visits our little city we take pride in showing 



