PRESERVING BEAUTY 233 



get away from their ordinary duties the tendency of 

 men — and a tendency increasing in strength — is to 

 fly away to the moors and sea-coast and river-sides 

 and wherever else they can see the beauties of the 

 Earth. 



Then, again, men are increasingly sensitive 

 about preserving Natural Beauty wherever it is 

 best. It is quite true that men by the building of 

 industrial towns and the erection of hideous fac- 

 tories, mining plant, gasometers, and so on terribly 

 destroy Natural Beauty. But they are at least 

 becoming conscious of their sins in this respect and 

 of what they have lost thereby. They are therefore 

 the more anxious to preserve what remains. And 

 whenever there is an attempt to build on Box Hill, 

 or erect an electric power-station on Dartmoor, a 

 howl of execration is raised. And this howl means 

 that men do value Natural Beauty and mean to 

 preserve it. 



Young countries also realise its value. In Cali- 

 fornia the Yosemite Valley is preserved for ever for 

 human enjoyment. And in Canada, Australia, 

 and South Africa national parks are protected 

 against the encroachments of industrial enterprises. 



Men not only preserve spots of Natural Beauty ; 

 they also seek to improve them. The nobleman of 

 ancient lineage and the new millionaire alike strive 

 to add to the beauty of their estates. The hours 

 they love best are the hours they can devote to open- 

 ing up vistas, planting beautiful trees or flowering 

 shrubs from distant lands, building up rockeries, 

 forming artificial lakes, laying out lawns, and stock- 

 ing their gardens with the choicest flowers. 



