232 AGRICULfUKAL ESSAYS. 



themselves appeared so vast in proportion to the probable de- 

 mand for fuel, ^nd wood for building, and other purposes, that 

 no man dreampt that the day would arrive when their descend- 

 ants might regret the improvidence of their ancestors. Hence 

 there seems to have been a sort of hatred, an indescribable pre- 

 jndice against trees, especially around their dwellings." 



The above causes, perhaps, can alone account for the fact, 

 Ihat in our climate, where the summer months are so hot, com- 

 l^ared with the climate of Europe, and where the clearness of 

 the sky seems to render shade so much more important, we 

 find such a general warfare waged upon trees, in the vicinity 

 of dwelling houses, and about fields, where they might havei 

 remained without any detriment to plants. 



