epiphites (which might be denominated inani- 

 mate tramps), insects and animals, but chiefly 

 man himself. 



It is a pitiful story, that of the destruction 

 of the forests of Spain. Madrid, its capital, 

 was located on a beautiful plateau in the midst 

 of a magnificent forest, well watered by large 

 and numerous fresh-water lakes. The Span- 

 iard, however, does not love trees, in fact, 

 seems to hate them, seizing every opportunity 

 to destroy them. The consequence is that 

 the Madrid of to-day is a magnificent city, 

 to be sure, but situated on a hot, parched, and 

 barren waste, almost a desert, its lakes long 

 since dried up, the springs, once in adjoining 

 hills, exhausted, the water supply obtained at 

 great cost from their distant Sierras. Other 

 cities of southern Europe, through thought- 

 less deforestation, are nearly as badly off, ow- 

 ing to lack of shade and water. 



The Spanish explorers of the western con- 

 tinent brought with them the bad custom of 

 tree-destruction. The original city of the 

 Montezumas was situated like Madrid in a 

 lovely, picturesque, well-watered forest on the 

 plateau of Anahuac. The Spaniards located 

 their capital, Mexico, on the same site, and 

 began at once the destruction of its surround- 

 ing forests, and a second Madrid is the result. 

 (The writer has seen in Arizona the Mexican 

 turn off the trail and ride out several yards 

 to strike his hatchet into' a tree or cut down 

 a young- sapling wantonly. .A Mexican sel- 

 dom plants a forest tree.) 



California is quite like Italy as regards 

 latitude, and is sometimes called New Italy, 

 with its sunny, blue skies and equable climate. 

 The effect from the destruction of Italy's for- 

 ests should sound the note of alarm. Ignore 

 the subject as we may, the loss of the forests 

 has a retroactive effect upon the people, and 



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