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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



soon spring into being over the face of 

 our beautiful Canadian landscape to 

 replace the sites of those old primeval 

 forests so rapidly disappearing from 

 the scene. The objections to this 

 kind of tree planting may be stated 

 in brief to be : 1st. Your teach- 

 ing would depreciate and ultimate- 

 ly destroy private enterprise. This 

 objection misinterprets the force of our 

 teaching altogether. We do not mean 

 to assert that the State should do all 

 the work and the citizens nothing. No, 

 no ! We rather mean simply that it 

 is the duty of the State to encourage 

 private enterprise, and in every possible 

 way to help the citizen. 2nd. Life is 

 too short for such extended operations, 

 and we should never see the results of 

 our labor and care. In part we 

 acknowledge the force of this objection, 

 and in a larger part we do not, for 

 though life is short, as we all sadly 

 feel, yet many fine results have been 

 seen by the operators in this direction. 

 Besides, the objection has much of its 

 point from a well known selfish prin- 

 ciple influencing very many to leave as 

 little as possible to those who shall 

 come after us for fear our children will 

 never thank us for it. 3rd. Our farm 

 is too small to spare land for tree plant- 

 ing, as we want all our soil for grain 

 raising and grazing. This objection is 

 positively absurd on the very face of 

 it, as any one traversing this country 

 over hill and dale will readily see. 

 How many thousands of such acres of 

 Canadian soil are now lying in a state 

 of comparative uselessness that might 

 advantageously be used for purposes of 

 tree growing li I stop not to answer ; 

 we all know they are immense. 4th. 

 Our nursery men have not turned their 

 attention to the matter of extensive 

 forest tree growing, and consequently 

 trees are difficult to obtain, and beyond 

 our limited means. The force and 



pungency of this objection can be 

 readily dispelled, like the morning 

 cloud that passeth away. Only let the 

 want be felt, or gently hint that the 

 demand is likely to occur, and the stock 

 can be supplied by the million, and on 

 the most liberal terms ; and we have 

 every confidence in the supply if there 

 is only likely to be a good demand. 

 5th. Trees planted by the roadside 

 have a tendency to impede ti-affic and 

 to harbor wet, fungus, &c. This objec- 

 tion, though pretty well rooted over 

 this entire country, is mainly resting 

 on misrepresention, and is contrary to 

 our experience. If proper kinds of 

 trees are properly planted by the road- 

 side, and moderately proper attention 

 can be given to them, they will grow 

 up to be the beauty and adornment of 

 our country, and a source of everlasting 

 blessing, and consequently cannot be 

 charged with the detriments objected 

 to. But 6th, and lastly. Trees in 

 blocks exhaust the soil, and by their 

 shade exhaust neighboring fields. In 

 answer we would ask, " Exhaust what 

 soiH" for they cannot exhaust the 

 neighboring fields to any perceptible 

 extent, and they positively enrich the 

 soil on which they are now standing 

 by their gaseous and vegetable deposits. 

 As for the shade complained of, this is 

 so meagre that it is scarcely worthy of 

 a passing consideration. With these 

 objections and their answers, we shall 

 now close our paper, and confidently 

 leave the resultant consequences to the 

 mature judgments of your mind. We 

 only regret that it was not in our 

 power to bring better and more 

 thorough ability to bear on a question 

 at once so interesting and so important. 

 We hope yet to see the day when the 

 measures here recommended shall be 

 recognized by the authorities of this 

 country. 



January 18th, 1882. 



