82 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



bones of the mastodon and the eggs of the great auk and 

 dodo. 



Coal oil and gas fields have been tapped with innumer- 

 able wells and given over to destruction, as though the 

 supply were inexhaustible. The flame from the burning 

 gas well lights up the country and signalizes the waste 

 and recklessness of the owner. We may still read the 

 obsolete law of Maryland which benignly forbids the 

 monotony of a continued bill of fare of terrapin to the 

 negro slaves. The Connecticut apprentices were in like 

 manner protected by statute from eating salmon more 

 than twice a week. Now the salmon and the terrapin 

 find places only on the bill of fare of the rich. 



It is difficult to speak of the recent almost complete ex- 

 termination of the buffalo with sufficient indignation. 

 The few that remain are being domesticated, and I hope 

 will ultimately be seen in numerous herds on the plains 

 where they were once seen by millions. It is not yet too 

 late. 



Those few prophetic men who have saved a few hun- 

 dred of these splendid animals for the future are en- 

 titled to the thanks of all our people, and they are al- 

 ready rewarded by the high commercial value that these 

 animals now bear, for each buffalo is worth several hun- 

 dred dollars. 



But it is to the forests that we are to direct our atten- 

 tion at this time. The subjects to which I have adverted, 

 however, well illustrate the question of forest preserva- 

 tion and restoration. 



The creatures of the water and the air have both suf- 

 fered from the devastating hand of man. In the pres- 

 ervation of our birds the women of America were slow 

 to act but they are now doing a great part. We have a 

 wireless telegraph, a crownless queen, a thornless cactus, 



