532 BRISTOL SOCIETY. 



stript of nature's own protection ? Who would exchange the 

 tree-clad hills of Berkshire for the uninteresting wastes of Nan- 

 tucket ? The lover of nature, too, finds unwearied delight in 

 gazing upon our autumnal forests. Their exceeding variety 

 and brilliancy have been the subject of enthusiastic admiration 

 of every English traveller. The gold and green of the Ameri- 

 can elm, the high orange hues of the sugar maple, the gold 

 and scarlet of the swamp maple, the unassuming buffs and 

 yellows of the birches, the full bright yellows and scarlets of 

 the oaks, the rich browns of the bass-wood and hickories, the 

 soft olive tints of the ash, the ochry hues of the larch, the deep 

 black green of the firs and other evergreens ; all these inter- 

 mingled and combined with brilliant tints of crimson, purple, 

 and gold, in a thousand forms and shades, ever changing to the 

 eye of the traveller, like nature's great kaleidoscope, present a 

 sight which in gorgeous beauty outrivals the most brilliant 

 conceptions of imperial magnificence. 



Well, then, does the American forest deserve preservation 

 for its magnificent beauty alone. But we are a utilitarian 

 people, and require some more powerful stimulus to stay the 

 devastation of our forest trees, which our want of foresight is 

 so rapidly producing. The uses of the forest are so manifold 

 *^and multiform, that our economical interest requires us to 

 adopt some means for its preservation. 



We have time to enumerate only a few of the prominent 

 points of value and necessity. Forests enrich our soil by their 

 annual deposits of leaves and branches. Their roots and root- 

 lets permeate the ground, opening it to the genial influences of 

 the sun, rain and air, while on the hill-sides they bind it to the 

 earth, preserving it from wearing and washing away under 

 heavy rains and snows. They equalize the temperature of the 

 climate ; protecting us, our flocks and herds, from the violence 

 of the winds and the scorching rays of an American sun. 

 They furnish us with building material for our dwellings, our 

 shops and stores, our ships and steamers ; for our cabin'et ware, 

 carriages, wooden ware, fences, and agricultural implements. 

 To say nothing of the cultivation of certain varieties of trees 

 for the value of their barks and nuts, the sugar maple recom- 

 mends itself to us as a source of easy and enormous profit. It 

 has been stated, that a single town in our Commonwealth has 



