F R K S T' T R F E S . 89 



plants, mark the track whicli man has proudly traversed through the earth. 

 Before him lay original nature in her wild, but sublime beauty. Behind him 

 he leaves the desert, a deformed and ruined land ; for a childish desire of de- 

 struction, or a thoughtless squandering of vegetable treasures, have destroy- 

 ed the character of nature, and man himself, terrified, flies from the arena 

 of his actions, leaving the impoverished earth to imrbarous races, or to ani- 

 mals, so long as yet another spot in virgin beauty smiles before him." 



It is well known that many countries, which were formerly well-watered 

 and populous, as portions of Egypt, Syria and Persia, have by the destruc- 

 tion of the forests been converted into treeless, arid, uninhabitable wastes. 

 The same change is rapidly coming over our own land, and unless arrested 

 soon, will produce equally disastrous effects. 



Forests are useful in many ways ; — they furnish fuel and timber ; they 

 absorb carbonic acid and purify the atmosphere by evolving in its place an 

 equal amount of oxygen ; they attract electricity and rain from the clouds, 

 and by their shade prevent the too rapid evaporation of water from the 

 earth ; and they exert a wonderful power ^ decomposing rock, loosening 

 and deepening the soil and supplying it with a vast amount of vegetable 

 matter. 



Did the space allotted to this report permit, it would be interesting to 

 consider at length the question, whether the members of the Society could 

 not profitably transform one-half or, at least, one-third of their over-large 

 farms into plantations of valuable trees 1 "Would it not pay better to have 

 a plantation of healthy pines growing rapidly every year, and at the same 

 time benefitting the soil, beautifying the landscape, and purifying the air, 

 rather than to own a barren, sun-burnt, old field, which will yield ten bushels 

 of rye per acre once in three years 1 Would it not be well to have fine for- 

 ests of European larch at work, decomposing the granite rocks of the hill 

 pastures, and at the same time, protecting the thin turf and cattle from the 

 scorching rays of the sun, and breaking the furious wintry blasts which are 

 ever stripping off the snowy covering, so kindly furnished to keep out the 

 cold ; and in addition to all this, attracting every neighboring thunder-cloud, 

 disarming it of its deadly power, and absorbing its life-giving electricity and 

 its refreshing waters, and receiving from every passing breeze its poisonous 

 carbonic acid to be converted into carbon for valuable timber and wood, and 

 oxygen for the support of man and the animal kingdom 1 Would it not be 

 well to inquire whether white oak, white ash, locust, black walnut or hick- 

 ory could not be advantageously planted on some of the better soils ? or 

 whether every man may not as well have an orchard of sugar maples, as one 

 of apple trees ? 



These suggestions are thrown out, in the hope that the members of the 

 Society may be persuaded at least to tliink of the subjects tlius briefly hint- 

 ed at, to be cautious in the use of the axe, and to entertain a suitable rev- 

 erence and affection for the noble old trees, which are ever toiling silently 

 but faithfully for their welfare. 



