STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 227 



pies to the livmg God in groves of majestic trees, or whose prophetic vision pene- 

 trated far enough to enable him to perceive the wants of generations to come, had 

 suggested preserving a park or grove, as a place of popular resort for all time to 

 come, he would only have drawn upon himself the ridicule of his fellow citizens, 

 and no doubt been so jeered and mocked at as to render his life thereafter in that 

 neighborhood decidedly unpleasant. With abundant Corests surrounding them on 

 every side, it was impossible for the people of that period to imagine the sentiment 

 that our experiences have made common with us. 



Looked back upon superficially from the present, that unreasoning devotion to a 

 narrow utilitarianism, seems only less excusable than the irrational enthusiasm 

 that condemned to death those accused of witch-craft. In both cases the results 

 of their misguided zeal must occasion emotions of regret; but we ought not to for- 

 get that the conduct itself grew out of honest motives for the welfare of society 

 so far, at least, as the great mass of actors in both instances were concerned. That 

 mistakes were committed in both cases is not very strange. Mankind has been fat- 

 ed to the commission of errors since Eve accepted the forbidden fruit in paradise; 

 and we with all our enlightment have not escaped errors or freed ourselves from 

 liability to err. 



There were two reasons why our forefathers could not realize the value of the 

 forests. The first, the almost universal prevalence of heavily timbered country, 

 has already been mentioned; but the second, the demand for timber for building 

 and fencing on the prairies, for tlie construction of farm machinery and for railway 

 ties and telegraph poles they could have had no conception of whatever. They 

 were ignorant of the existence of these vast, unwooded plains, and of farming ma- 

 chinery, telegraphs and railways they did not even dream. Had any one predicted 

 ■even fifty years ago, the extent of the demand for timber that now prevails, and the 

 variety of uses to which it is applied, his sayings would scarcely have commanded 

 more attention than the ravings of a lunatic. It was the mission of our ancestors 

 to clear the land for cultivation. Trees were their enemies, just as much as the 

 Oananites were enemies of the ancie^it Hebrews, and for the same reason, that both 

 ■occupied the promised land. The first business of the latter, after they crossed the 

 Jordan, was the wiping out of the idolatrous nations ; and the first duty our ances- 

 tors were called upon to perform on this side of the Atlantic, was the denudation 

 of the land of its excessive growth of timber. Both it seems left a Gibeonitish rem- 

 nant for future usefulness; in the case of the Hebrews, this was unfortunately tos 

 numerous for the happiness of their posterity, while our fathers cut somewhat too 

 closely for our good. We may regret the consequences of their zeal but should not 

 reflect unkindly upon their memories for that reason. 



Through their toil and privations we have come into goodly possessions ; aad 

 their devotion to what was useful, affords us time and opportunity to study and en- 

 joy the beautiful. But are we doing this as diligently as we should? Do we not 

 inherit too great a proportion of their devotion to utility ? Have we really learned 

 that there is usefulness in beauty ? That it is this which refines our manners, puri- 

 fies our desires, elevates our thoughts and makes our lives more enjoyable ? Have 

 we learned to serve God more acceptaljly amid agreeable surroundings, than under 

 circumstances ungrateful to the physical senses ? If we have not, we are still un- 

 able to appreciate the beautiful, and sliould strive to educate ourselves up to a 



