FROM A NEW ENGLAND HILLSIDE. 21 



forest in this region is a thing of the past. 

 Once in a while we see a fine old tree, 

 usually in the village streets; an elm or a 

 plane tree, a pine, a maple or an oak. But 

 most of the wood is &quot; second growth,&quot; or 

 more frequently a third or fourth growth, 

 and yet much cutting is going on, and some 

 of it is very, very evil. These steep, rocky 

 hillsides can never be made productive, 

 and the removal of the forest covering will 

 merely destroy their beauty and lead to the 

 washing away of the slowly accumulated 

 soil, and the consequent demoralization of 

 the springs. In some places there are indi 

 cations that former clearings are again grow 

 ing up into wood but more frequently the 

 young timber is being removed while of 

 little value in itself. Occasionally the soil 

 uncovered in the swales may be readily 

 worked and made productive, but usually it 

 is closely strewn with big and little masses 

 of trap-rock which will forever render 

 profitable cultivation practically impossible. 

 And all the time you are conscious that the 

 ground already cleared is inadequately tilled, 

 and that a wise economy would turn all this 

 labour into another channel. 



As I walked through aisle after aisle of 

 the Agricultural Building in Jackson Park, 



