WHY WOMEN SHOULD BE INTERESTED IN FORESTRY. 3883 
come to see that the cleanliness and beauty of the village and town are 
matters which concern them, and to which they should give attention and 
care, and already many of our towns have put on an entirely different as- 
pect under their renovating hand. 
Why should not this good work go on? Why should not women in 
city and country study the art of forestry and make themselves master 
of those wonderful*resources which such knowledge puts at their command? 
Nature is bountiful to those who understand her secrets. Who can ima- 
gine the glory and beauty which would be added to our commonwealth of 
Minnesota if the women, everywhere, would set themselves to the task of 
making our land rich with the beauty of the forest. Long lines of shade 
trees would stretch out from every village; every schoolyard would be made 
inviting by sweet and restful shade; beside the streams would be found cool 
walks under the drooping branches of elm and willow; the poorest dwell- 
ing would have its sheltering tree to break the glare of the sun and teach 
courage and hgpe to the weary toiler; and in every town, the taste of the 
people would show itself in the skillful management of form and color—as 
sturdy oaks are set off by birch and ash, and pine and hemlock by clumps 
of maple. Parks would not be the possession of large cities alone; they 
would greet us everywhere. 
Do you say this picture is utopian? An account of the comforts and 
luxuries of our homes of today would have been thought a fairy tale a cen- 
tury ago. A new era is dawning. Women are beginning to work together 
and for the public good. Why should they not, working together and rival- 
ling each other, bring to their homes all the riches of this wonderful gift of 
nature—the forest? How the heart would be enlarged by such mutual 
service! How much greater the pleasure that would come from time and 
money spent in this way for the delight and benefit of all, than from twenty 
times the amount spent in selfish personal luxury and narrow, jealous 
rivalry! 
What women will take the lead and set themselves heroically to this 
task? It will call for sacrifice; there will be discouragement and disap- 
pointment; but, “there is no dust-brush for the heart and brain like the 
boughs of trees.’”’ Even the mistakes and losses will be valuable lessons, 
and whoever engages in such noble work will find no room in her heart 
for petty jealousies, no time for corroding sorrow. 
We need not wait until we can plan large enterprises. We can, at least, 
each one of us, set out this spring one tree in some forlorn spot, not too 
far from home, and keep it watered through the dry time. That is a good 
beginning. Then at our club or sewing circle, we can talk over some plan 
for next year, see what natural facilities our town affords, who is willing 
to help toward shade trees for the schoolyard or a park, or to make a beauti- 
ful avenue, reaching out from the town. 
When women have become interested in trees, have learned their habits 
and studied their value and felt their beauty, they will naturally seek a wise 
preservation of our native forests. There is probably no natural gift, not 
even fresh air, which is so systematically undervalued and neglected as 
the forests. The only thought seems to be to cut them down. With any 
sound sense of their value, merely as timber and fuel, it would seem that 
we should take a little pains to restock the woodland. “Selling our farms 
by the half bushel’? is economy and thrift as compared with the methods 
