100 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1895. 



mine ; I can occupy it exclusively while I live and dispose of it by 

 will when I am dead." But when he seeks to go still further and con- 

 tends that he has the right to use it in a way that is detrimental to the 

 public good, if he sees fit so to do, he is trenching unduly upon the 

 rights of society ; for surely the earth belongs to the race rather than to 

 individuals, and society has the right to regulate and prescribe the 

 terms and conditions upon which individuals shall occupy certain por- 

 tions of it. There is no more hai'dship in requiring the owners of 

 woodland to manage it in accordance with the principles of good for- 

 estry than there is in requiring tenants of agricultural land to carry it 

 on in accordance with the principles of good husbandry. In the long 

 run, it would be beneficial to the owners of woodland to be compelled 

 by law to observe rational forestry rules in its management. 



It is not likely, however, that we shall have immediately State for- 

 estry laws ; but it is the immediate duty of every patriotic and intelli- 

 gent citizen to inculcate right sentiments on the subject, and to 

 encourage the proper treatment of forest land. The wise treatment of 

 woodlands is already a practical and important question. Should the 

 cutting be clean or partial? When the trees are of a uniform size and 

 of a species that will sprout from the root, and of a kind chiefly valu- 

 able for fuel, there would seem to be no objection to clean work ; but 

 when the trees are valuable for timber and in various stages of growth, 

 it would seem to be better to cut out the ripe ones by degrees, in such a 

 way as not to injure those remaining, but rather to increase their growth 

 by giving them more room and light. If the trees are thicker than 

 they can grow to maturity, or to a size suitable for timber, then the 

 inferior ones should be removed, in order that the remainder may have 

 the entire nourishment of the soil and a monopoly of the sun and air. 



Forestry should be taught in colleges, and especially in the agricul- 

 tural schools ; and the love of trees should be instilled into every 

 human heart. Multitudes of modern people seem to find great satis- 

 faction in wild and grand scenes by the seashore and in the mountains, 

 who apparently find no delight in the scenic beauty of the woods and 

 the landscapes of their evei'y-day life. But the true lover of nature 

 sees beauty in the common things around him. He finds tongues in 

 trees, and is able to read a lesson in the lily of the field, the grass on 

 the greensward, and the leaf on the tree. 



In order that people may be educated to love trees and forests, let 

 village and rural improvement societies be nniltiplied ; let Arbor Days 

 be well observed and utilized ; let public parks be established where the 

 masses can find outing ground for pleasure and recreation ; and let 



