134 



THE CANADIAN HOETICULTURIST. 



walk at Concord, and learn the height 

 which man's contemplation may reach 

 amidst the whispering gilence of the 

 groves ; join Thoreau in his forest 

 seclusion, and know the inspiration 

 which belongs to those solemn arches 

 and to the leafy chapels which Nature 

 prepares for her worshippers. 



TREES FOR PROFIT. 



And now, to him who, in a spirit of 

 thrift and economy worthy of that peo- 

 ple to whom as an American he be- 

 longs, would ask what is all this worth ? 

 let me say that the judicious selection 

 and planting of trees may be made one 

 of the most protitable branches of agri- 

 culture. Not for the beauty of the 

 town alone, but for a thrifty use of 

 remote and deserted acres also may the 

 culture of trees be made a part of the 

 business of life. A venerable clergy- 

 man in Massachusetts, the father of 

 one of the most distinguished bankers 

 in Boston, left at his death a large ter- 

 ritory of woodland in the town which 

 was blessed with his ministry for more 

 than fifty years, and the profits on this 

 land, which he had purchased at a very 

 low rate at the beginning of his profes- 

 sional service, and which had been de- 

 voted to the growth of wood, prin- 

 cipally pine, were greater than those 

 realized on lands purchased and sold at 

 the same periods in the most prosper- 

 ous parts of Boston. " We have heard 

 of a gentleman," says the author of 

 Practical Economy, " wliose lands were 

 more extensive than fertile, whose prac- 

 tice was to plant fifteen hundred trees, 

 on the birth of every daughter, upon 

 his waste grounds, which were on an 

 average worth one pound each on her 

 becoming of age, thus enabling him to 

 give her a fortune of £1,500 without 

 any extraordinary economy on his 

 part, the regular thinning of the trees 

 at proper seasons, with barking, &c., 

 paying off all the current expenses, be- 



sides yielding him a small rent for the 

 land." The profits derived from the 

 growing of the pine, the locust, and 

 the birch, all capable of flourishing 

 greatly in light and somewhat worth- 

 less lands, have been in many instances 

 very remarkable. Perhaps I would 

 not recommend the cultivation of wood 

 and timber as a universal branch of 

 agriculture in these days when the 

 secret of the business lies in quick re- 

 turns and devotion to local markets ; 

 but I can find in the experience of 

 those who have tried it an encourage- 

 ment to those who, by the possession 

 of large tracts of waste lands, may be 

 compelled to follow their example in 

 the business of tree-planting; and I 

 read with profound interest the state- 

 ment addressed to Governor Foster by 

 an enterprising citizen of this State, 

 with regard to his success in tree 

 planting, and the groves of walnuts, 

 maples and chesnuts which he is cul- 

 tivating with pleasure and profit. 



But more than all this, to the poetic 

 and practical alike I would present the 

 advantage of 



ORNAMENTAL GARDENING, 



both in our towns and around our 

 rural homes, and its kindly effect uj^on 

 the character of those who are subject 

 to its influences. It is an old story, I 

 know — this of the refinement and in- 

 vigoration which attend pursuits iipon 

 the soil — but it is so true and so charm- 

 ing and, I am sorry to say, so little 

 heeded, that it may, if properly told, 

 be repeated a thousand times, and heard 

 with pleasure and profit. The devotion 

 of mankind in all ages to the land is a 

 feature of social and civil history which 

 can not be lost sight of by him who 

 would trace the steps which man has 

 taken in his progress and development. 

 " To dress the garden and to keep it," 

 was the first duty imposed on man 

 when he entered upon his career on 



