140 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



abundantly prove. It is impossible to over-estimate the impor- 

 tance of right action, and prompt action, in this matter, and that 

 the Congress of the United States will permanently close its ears 

 to the ever louder and louder cry of the people for forest preser- 

 vation, this Association refuses to believe. With all hope, as well 

 as earnestness, it prays your honorable body to enact such laws 

 as the practical needs of the hour and a wise foresight of the 

 future may dictate. 



All of which is respectfully submitted. 



James A. Beaver, President oj the Association. 



William Alford, of California, 



Abbot Kinney, of California, 



Edgar T. Ensign, of Colorado, 



James 15. Hobbs, of Maine, 



J. Sterling Morton, of Nebraska, 



Warren Higlet, of New York, 



Charles C. Binney, of Pennsylvania, 



Herbert Welsh, of Pennsylvania, 



Committee. 

 Philadelphia, January, 1890. 



Will you pardon me if I merely outline what we are trying to 

 do in Pennsylvania, and indicate our methods, and state what our 

 success has been? Four years ago some energetic, public-spirited 

 ladies in Philadelphia undertook the organization of a State 

 Forestry Association. There was almost no enthusiasm where 

 they hoped to find it. In most places the project was met with 

 coolness, if not with hostility, and even with sneers. But they 

 persevered. A very modest little journal was started and freely 

 distributed. The adjacent counties took up the work, and organ- 

 ized societies (which contributed toward the support of the 

 journal), held meetings, and brought the subject before the people. 

 Today we have an active membership of about one thousand. 

 Other counties are organizing and the chances are that in a short 

 time we shall be able to reach the active, broad-minded men and 

 women in each county of the State. Thus, too, we are gaining a 

 foothold in the public schools. Arbor Day ceremonies, even if 

 they lead to the planting of but few trees, at least serve to enlist 

 the teachers in our cause, and to impress the children with the 

 idea that it is better to plant and care for a tree, than to destroy 



