FOREST PLANTING. 147 



is undertaken carelessly, without the preparation of a 

 general system and organization, it may accomplish 

 nothing beyond the expenditure of a large amount of 

 money with no satisfactory results. If, on the contrary, 

 it is begun and prosecuted in a wise and liberal spirit 

 proceeding cautiously in cases of doubt, and with all the 

 energy of abundant force when doubt is removed there 

 need be no apprehension that the result will not be com- 

 mensurate with the magnitude and grandeur of the work, 

 whether considered merely as a pecuniary investment for 

 the benefit of the stockholders, or as a national benefit 

 by the conversion of an uninhabitable desert into a 

 region of agricultural wealth capable of supporting a 

 dense population. Whether as a means of attracting 

 settlers and adding to the value of their lands, or of 

 providing timber for their own future wants, and the 

 demands of roads which in time will certainly intersect 

 the country in every direction, it is obvious that to forego 

 the advantages which may thus be secured, is indicative 

 of a " penny wise and pound foolish " policy which is 

 inconsistent with the energy and enterprise which resulted 

 in the construction of the trans-continental railroads. 



