Apparent Spontaneity of White Bij'ch. 103 



uous before the traveller, and if never so meagre an attempt 

 at something better and more primitive, was perceptible ! I 

 remember the pleasure that the occurrence of a large sweet- 

 briar rose, trained on the end of an old weather-stained dwell- 

 ing house, gave me, in such a village, as evidence that beauty 

 was not wholly sacrificed to utility ; and I have often regarded 

 with admiration, any successful project to introduce the 

 commonest kinds of trees, or the least valuable fruits, in spots 

 where a previous cultivation had injudiciously neglected the 

 capabilities of the soil. 



But, as " necessity is the mother of invention," perhaps 

 after all that can be said, we are anticipating in these projects 

 and details. It will doubtless be many years ere we shall 

 rectify the errors of our forefathers, and replace the beautiful 

 aspects which once were perceptible over the surface of the 

 sea-beaten shores, or over the inland fields and hills of our 

 native State. The cultivation of natural and of artistic 

 beauty comes after utilitarian schemes and projects have had 

 their day ; and as wealth accumulates and needs objects for 

 its outlay, so may our deserted areas and sterile soils begin to 

 blossom and to bud again, in wildernesses and forests. Ex- 

 periment, meantime, would not be wholly inutile or unavail- 

 ing, to ascertain whether even arboriculture might not be 

 pecuniarily profitable ; and herein, I think, that a wide field 

 of usefulness and of true taste opens for our enterprising and 

 Avealthy men to occupy ; the more especially as farming has 

 become a fancy employment, in which the income can be 

 no more speedy, and often less sure, than in the case proposed. 

 In lieu of this, it only remains, that future necessity prompt, 

 what foresight might have anticipated. 



From observations of long continuance, I feel persuaded 

 that there are no kinds of waste land, which might not be 

 rendered better than usual. Of what possible advantage can 

 it be, to deprive of its chance of renewal, the surface of whole 

 districts, where the ground seems to be paved with stones, so 

 abundant is the debris of some ancient cataclysm. Even this, 

 were the motive sufficient, could be restored, if previously 

 denuded. In some of our old farming towns in the interior, 



