FORESTRY. 505 



looked upon as a necessity in this country, althouirli it has 

 long been of the utmost importance in Europe. The vast 

 demands upon our forests, and the ruthless waste of timl)cr- 

 producing trees, added to the fearful losses by forest fires, 

 and the premium offered for the destruction of the forests 

 of the United States by the tax imposed upon Canadian 

 lumber, at last has forced upon us the immediate consider- 

 ation of this subject. 



The greater question of national forests, however, is one 

 with which, as a local agricultural society, we are hardly 

 expected to deal, except so far as is our duty to educate 

 the public to be prepared for the enactment and enforce- 

 ment of laws for forest protection. In Massachusetts this 

 has already been begun, by the passage of the statute ex- 

 empting from taxation such lands as may be re-forested, 

 and another statute by which greater penalties are inflictexl 

 upon those who, through carelessness, neglect, or with in- 

 tent, set forest fires. This danger renders the risk of an 

 investment in forest lands, which cannot be insured, so 

 hazardous as to largely discourage what otherwise would l^e 

 an important and profitable industry in this State, which is 

 so well fitted for producing many species of valuable timber 

 trees. Other duties, however, are before us ; duties which 

 every lopal agricultural society has to perform, and which 

 this society has long ago recognized : the encouragement of 

 small economic and ornamental plantations. 



In making a proper choice of trees for this work, some- 

 thing more is required than a mere fancy for the varieties 

 selected. It is necessary that we should know which species 

 will endure the longest and be of the greatest benefit in 

 years to come. If we fail here, disappointment results to 

 ourselves and an injury is done to others who follow us ; 

 whereas, had our work been rightly performed at the outset, 

 lasting benefits would be reaped. The distribution of trees 

 on the surface of the earth is dependent upon the rainfall 

 and temperature, locally varied by the condition and compo- 

 sition of the soil. It should be remembered, too, that by a 

 long continued process of natural selection, nature has pro- 

 duced, for each and every region, the species and varieties of 

 trees which are there best adapted to flourish. This should 



