" THE LEAVES OF THE TREE Were FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS." 51 



walked, and what trees are referred to in Ezekiel, where it is said that no tree in 

 the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty, so that all the trees of Eden 

 that were in the garden of God envied him? And how is it possible to imagine 

 that the tree of evil fruit, which Christ said must be cut down, and the sycamine 

 tree, which was to be planted in the sea, and the fig tree, which withered away 

 were other than human beings? 



" Trees feed upon the crude earth through their buried roots, and mankind from 

 refined earth in various forms suitably prepared through nature's wonderful labora- 

 tory, and hence their equal liability to disease and death from certain impoverish- 

 ing causes, atmospherically and otherwise; for, as nature abhors a vacuum, she 

 also detests corruption, and in order to hasten the transformation of decaying mat- 

 ter into living tissue, we carry myriads of dormant microbes within us, patiently 

 waiting the necessary conditions to commence their scavenging operations. In 

 like manner are all our fruit plants infested with affi nitized insect germs, and were 

 we not stone blind we would long ago have realized the fact also that our suicidal 

 greed for personal gain has brought about the existing terrible results from which 

 vignerons, fruit growers and agriculturalists generally suffer. Impoverished soil 

 and atmosphere all over the earth have furnished the necessary animating con- 

 ditions for the parasitical hosts who are now in numerous forms busily at work in 

 orchard, vineyard, vegetable, grain, and grazing plots, as well as within very large 

 numbers of human plants, and which can only be successfully combated through 

 the agency of an effective disease-germ-destroying specific and improved environ- 

 ments." 



FROM THE HON. J. STERLING MORTON, U. S. MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE 



Department of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. f April 25th, 1893. 

 JAMES MCLEAN, M. D., 



Dear Sir Your letter of the 15th instant, with accompanying inclosures, 

 is received and I have given to them such consideration as the pressure of admin- 

 istrative duties would allow. 



The importance of the subject matter of your letter the relation of forests 

 to health, to metereological conditions, and to the industrial interests of the world, 

 cannot be over-estimated. We are but beginning to understand and appreciate 

 the influence of the forests not only upon physical conditions, but upon the whole 

 round of human life, including its esthetic and moral aspects. Therefore I hail 

 with hearty welcome every one who has any understanding of the subject and is 

 moved to use his knowledge for the public good. If your proposed remedy for 

 the ravages of noxious insects shall prove practically effective you will have your 

 reward in the grateful thanks of multitudes. 



Respectfully yours, 



J. STERLING MORTON, 



Secretary. 



Justification for an appeal to every nation on the momentous question 

 of Forestry : 



" Civilization has progressed to the point that makes the great nations of the 

 world amenable to reason." SENATOR STANFORD. (S. F. Examiner, May 3, '93). 



