18 PRACTICAL FORESTRY. 



and to wish that his house and outbuildings were located 

 by the side of some friendly forest or grove. 



But if the inhabitants of once thickly wooded regions 

 feel the need of shelter, how much more must those who 

 settle in the prairie regions, where there are tens and even 

 hundreds of miles, over which the wind sweeps at all 

 seasons, without so much as a shrub to interfere or check 

 it in its movements. It is in these treeless regions that 

 forests are needed for giving shelter to man and beast, 

 and also to protect the fields and orchards of the hus- 

 bandman. Forests are the natural remedy for the im- 

 perfections of the climate of the prairie region, and 

 while they may not do away with all the objections that 

 might be urged against such regions, they certainly go 

 far towards ameliorating present conditions. The 

 remedy is a simple one, and not beyond the means of the 

 poorest. Trees are cheap, and can be as re|dily grown 

 as the most common vegetable of the garden, when one 

 has learned how do it. 



FORESTS AND INSECTS. 



Forests were, without doubt, the original home of 

 some of our noxious insects, but they were also the home 

 of their natural enemies, among which we may safely 

 place in the front rank the insectivorous birds. But 

 when the forests are destroyed, the birds seek a home 

 elsewhere, or are destroyed or frightened away by hunt- 

 ers, and while the insects may in a measure be disturbed, 

 they still find food in our orchards, gardens, and among 

 ornamental trees of various kinds. Give the birds 

 shelter and treat them kindly, and they would in many 

 instances aid us in keeping down our insect pests. It is 

 true there is a difficulty in distinguishing friends from 

 foes among the birds, and even when we are able to do 

 this, it is scarcely possible to drive away our enemies with- 

 out at the same time frightening our friends. 



