430 FOREST CONSERVATORIES. 



formerly covered with a beautiful growth of timber. It 

 would be less difficult now to cover them with soil by 

 transporting it from the Mississippi Valley, than to restore 

 their wood. The most barren hills may be kept in wood, 

 after Nature has once planted them; but after their surface 

 has been entirely cleared, their wood cannot be restored 

 without the use of means which would be impracticable. 

 The hilly and barren tract, still partially covered with 

 forest, lying in Stoneham and Medford, called the " Five- 

 Mile Wood," is well known to the inhabitants of Boston 

 and its vicinity. A similar region I would select for a for- 

 est conservatory. Every State iri the Union contains 

 half-wooded barrens of a similar diversified surface, which 

 might be dedicated to nature without diminishing in any 

 degree the agricultural resources of the country. 



But my present object is not to propose measures for 

 the sole purpose of preserving our forests, but chiefly to 

 afford asylums for the harmless creatures that originally 

 inhabited them. This, if no other object were considered, 

 has become a necessity, not only in the old States, but in 

 every part of the country, to prevent that complete devas- 

 tation which, in less than half a century, is sure to follow 

 our rapidly increasing population, its love of field sports, 

 and its material demands. Our defenceless animals must 

 find a sanctuary in every region, or many species will be 

 entirely extirpated from the States. I do not doubt that 

 sufficient fragments of forest to harbor and sustain them 

 would be left in all parts of the country ; but what is to 

 save them from the guns of sportsmen and of millions of 

 boys who at all seasons of the year amuse themselves by 

 shooting everything that has life ? Some persons may 

 not see the importance of preserving the lives of these 

 creatures. It would be idle to reason with any one who 

 should confess so much stupidity. Yet there is many an 

 intelligent person whose attention needs to be called to 



