10 



from the bog ; and then to apply all to the lands with the great- 

 est judgment and care. 



O, when shall we learn the value of fertilizers, to the farm and 

 to the nation ! There is no waste on the farm nor in the country, 

 to-day, greater than that of fertilizing materials — the very gold of 

 the nation. These materials for which our lands suffer, and for 

 the want of which may at length wear out, are allowed to pass 

 away in the winds, to flow off in the drains and in the sewers, and 

 to be washed away by the streams. And thus there are lost in 

 our country tens, nay hundreds, of millions of dollars every year ! 

 And on many a farm where farming does not seem to pay, the 

 fertilizers which are wasted, would, if saved, more than pay for 

 the clothing of the entire household. When we know and fully 

 appreciate these facts, we shall realize how much there is for 

 the farmer yet to do for the advancement of his own interests 

 and those of the State. 



Farmers can greatly benefit themselves and confer lasting ben- 

 efits upon the State, by preserving and increasing the forests. 

 This is a subject in which every person in our country should 

 have the deepest interest. Farmers, mechanics, manufacturers, 

 merchants, builders of railroads and ware-houses, capitalists and 

 statesmen — all classes and all communities in the State and in the 

 nation, have their welfare linked with the forests ; and as the for- 

 ests are preserved or destroyed, so their dearest worldly interests 

 will nourish or decay. What havoc has been made among the 

 forests of this country. What useless havoc ! And still the work 

 of destruction goes on. Whole forests are felled ; hills and moun- 

 tain sides are laid bare — and all apparently without one thought 

 of the ruin that is sure to follow. 



We are cutting our forests to-day faster than they grow ; and 

 if this process continue, not only will the fire on the hearth be 

 a luxury which few or none can enjoy, and lumber and timber 

 difficult to obtain ; but the streams from the mountain sides will 

 disappear, barrenness will take the place of fertility on our moun- 

 tains and on our slopes, and the wheels along our streams will 

 cease to turn, and the spindles and the shuttles will cease their 

 motion — unless driven by some other power than water. 



