70 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



They gather the sunshine year by year and store it away 

 for future use. They fertilize the soil ; they beautify it. 



In a few old churchyards on the eastern shore of Mary- 

 land may be seen the remains of the splendid forest that 

 once covered that region. The sight of these specimens 

 makes us regret that larger areas of the ancient forest 

 had not remained untouched. It was necessary to cut 

 down a part of the forests, but man has swept them from 

 the earth with the besom of destruction. 



We are beginning to realize the wastefulness with 

 which we have treated the gifts of nature. We found 

 this continent a storehouse of energy and wealth. The 

 climate was salubrious. The soil was fertile. The for- 

 ests spread on every hand. The rivers teemed with fish. 

 The earth and air alike furnished supplies of game. 

 Great coal deposits were found in almost every state. 

 Coal oil and natural gas arose to the explorer from the 

 bowels of the earth. 



The prodigality of the sun is something amazing. 

 When we think how few of its rays strike the earth or any 

 of the planets in proportion to those that are constantly 

 shed from its surface, we are led to wonder if they ever 

 can be exhausted. Man is as prodigal of his natural 

 possessions as the sun of its heat, light, and energy. We 

 have not been content with improving upon nature, but 

 have acted the spendthrift part in wasting her stores. 

 The coal has been preserved in spite of man by vast 

 strata of earth and stone, and there has been less waste- 

 ful extravagance in the use of this valuable mineral than, 

 perhaps, any other of nature's gifts, and yet we are be- 

 ginning to compute the time when the anthracite will only 

 be found in the collections of museums. The coal oil has 

 been wasted and wells have been opened and fields de- 

 stroyed as though the supply was inexhaustible. Natural 

 gas deposits have been tapped, and the wasting gas set 



