1895.] ESSAYS. 93 



stumps and" roots for firewood, and grazed the treeless land with sheep 

 and goats, until there was not a vestige of forest growth on the plains 

 and hillsides of a once beautiful country. The climate, which was 

 naturally mild and temperate, became changeable and unreliable, land- 

 slides and avalanches became common, the mountain brooks dried up, 

 and the rivers became shallow. The whole face of the country was 

 changed from its former rich and fruitful condition to sterile plains, 

 interspersed with stony and parched hillsides, populated with half- 

 starved sheep and goats, and poor farmers. 



Mauritius, in 1864 and before, was a mass of verdure, and was 

 called the "pearl" of the Indian Ocean. The forests were cut off to 

 gain space for sugar plantations, and then the rainfall diminished. 

 The rivers and brooks dwindled down to muddy streams or dried-up 

 basins ; the water became stagnant in cracks, crevices, and natural 

 hollows, while the equable temperature of the island entirely changed ; 

 drought was experienced in the midst of the ocean, and thunder- 

 showers were rarely any longer witnessed. The lagoons, marshes, and 

 swamps along the seaboard were no longer filled with water, but gave 

 off noxious gases ; while the river water became impure from various 

 refuse. 



To remedy this evil the Government caused the mountains and hills 

 to be again covered with planted trees, and the rivers and streams 

 resumed their former dimensions. 



I might go on and show how the destruction of forests has injured 

 the soil and climate of Spain, Southern France, India, and other 

 places ; but it is unnecessary to accumulate evidence on this point, for 

 it is doubtful whether the earth itself would be habitable for man were 

 it not for trees and forests. Unprotected by the shade of trees and 

 the humidity arising therefrom, the scorching rays of the sun would 

 be hard for him to bear. The air, unpurified by the process of tree 

 growth, would be poisonous to him. The cold blasts of winter, 

 unchecked by forest barriers, sweeping over the hills and through the 

 valleys as water pours over a dam or through a sluiceway, would chill 

 the life blood of the most vigorous, and sweep the entire race from 

 the planet. * 



The rulers of the most enlightened governments have long felt that 

 the preservation of a reasonable amount of forests is necessary for the 

 increase of national wealth, the maintenance of a water supply, the 

 equability of the climate, and the fertility of the soil. Nearly every 

 government in Europe is now making laudable efforts to reclaim all 

 unfruitful land by planting the rocky hillsides, the sandy dunes, and 



