428 FOREST CONSERVATORIES. 



disturbed for other purposes, to be set apart for the pres- 

 ervation of our indigenous plants, and the fauna of the 

 region in which it may be located. 



The ground selected for this purpose I would name a 

 Forest Conservatory. It should consist of every variety 

 of surface, upland and meadow, hill and dale, level and 

 declivity, adapted to all kinds of native productions, and 

 at the same time too barren and uneven to be easily 

 reclaimable and reduced to tillage. A moderately bar- 

 'ren tract should be preferred, if it be capable of sus- 

 taining a healthy growth of wood, because, on account 

 of its inferior value, it could be more easily purchased. 

 There are many diversified tracts of land in every region 

 having a thin layer of soil, upon a rocky and uneven 

 foundation, entirely useless for tillage, which would nev- 

 ertheless sustain a heavy forest. By keeping any such 

 place covered with wood we use it in the only way in 

 which it could yield any particular advantage to the 

 country. It should embrace within its limits either a 

 pond or a part of a small river, for the benefit of water- 

 birds; and a certain proportion of the soil should be 

 tilled, for the purpose of sustaining the birds, which 

 would otherwise be obliged to seek their living outside, 

 and be exposed to the gunner. 



The advantages afforded by these conservatories would 

 rest upon the whole community, though only one person 

 in a thousand should habitually frequent them. They 

 would be seen in their effects on the local climate ; in the 

 growth of a magnificent wood in every section of country ; 

 in the preservation of interesting animals, that would 

 otherwise be lost to that region, and in the multiplication 

 of game, which would constantly overflow from this nur- 

 sery into the surrounding country. These grounds would 

 be mostly frequented by those who are addicted to the 

 pursuits of natural history and the general study of 



