July 9, 1900] 



SCIENCE 



51 



THE PROTECTION OF NATURAL 

 MONUMENTS 



About a year ago I caused to be distributed 

 broadcast in this state a circular inviting 

 local public attention to the importance and 

 desirability of protecting our natural memor- 

 ials. Though behind this call there has been 

 neither organized efFort nor public funds, 

 there is good evidence that in some instances 

 the suggestions embodied in the circular have 

 been seriously entertained and perhaps may 

 have had some practical result. Such efforts, 

 it •would seem, must be essentially localized 

 at the start and perhaps, to effect the best 

 results, should remain so. 



The conservation of especially interesting 

 natural monuments comes somewhat late in 

 the development of the sentiment of a com- 

 munity, with the increase in the appreciation 

 of nature's works. There are lovers of birds 

 who see with profound regret the disappear- 

 ance of certain of their friends once common 

 in the region, but gradually driven away by 

 the encroachments of commerce upon their 

 nesting places. There are lovers of plants 

 who know the few remaining spots where rare 

 flowers bloom or rare ferns may be found. 

 What comparison does a loyal citizen make 

 between a noble tree which has seen the cen- 

 turies roll by, which has stood sentinel over 

 the community since the cradle days of the 

 settlement, and the light or telephone com- 

 pany which lops off one of its branches to let 

 a wire go through or thrusts an ugly pole into 

 its boughs ? A wooden telephone pole with its 

 cross-trees is to-day in our cities and villages 

 the cross on which every sentiment of good 

 and decent taste is crucified. There are per- 

 sons in almost every community who can be 

 better spared than some of its venerable trees. 

 It is not only the age of a tree that entitles 

 it to guardianship; there are some which have 

 especial associations with distinguished per- 

 sonages of the past, others may be the last 

 survivors of a race which once abounded but 

 whose companions have disappeared under the 

 woodsman's axe. A great glacial rock boulder 

 projecting alone from some meadow or hill- 

 side, tells a romantic age-long story which 



should not be menaced by the workman's 

 sledge. There are bits of swamp still profuse 

 in rare orchids, and clumps of woodland where 

 rare birds still nest but which will soon be 

 robbed of their possessions if measures are 

 not taken for their protection. 



No part of any of our states is without such 

 objects which appeal to the thoughtful citizen 

 for protection — the lesser objects which could 

 not be well brought within the supervision of 

 societies of national scope, like our American 

 Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, or 

 even of recognized state organizations. In 

 my circular I undertook to indicate some of 

 these minor objects which had come to my 

 notice within this state as entitled to protec- 

 tion either for their intrinsic character or 

 their historic associations, such as the rock 

 bridge over the Perch Eiver; a burless chest- 

 nut near the village of Freehold, unique in the 

 state; an arbor vitas of enormous size on Lake 

 Golden; the extinct volcano near Schuyler- 

 ville, which served as " Stark's redoubt " in 

 the campaign of 17Y7, and so on. It would be 

 no difficult matter to complete a census of 

 such objects which might serve as a guide to 

 local interest and contribute much to the gen- 

 eral attractiveness of any community. Our 

 American culture does not run easily to senti- 

 ment and opportunities for conserving such 

 natural memorials lightly pass, only to be fol- 

 lowed by regret for their loss; for the oppor- 

 tunity once gone, it is forever too late; the 

 damage once done can never be repaired. And 

 it is worth while saving these things, for lov- 

 ers of nature and the out-of-doors, students of 

 science and of history, intelligent members of 

 every community in this and in the genera- 

 tions after us, will approve the doing. 



In such a movement we have to take our 

 lesson and inspiration from the older and 

 higher culture of Germany, where substantial 

 progress has been made in protecting such 

 objects of natural interest. There the meth- 

 ods employed and the results achieved are in- 

 teresting. An old fir tree gnarled with years 

 in the forests of Lueneburg is set apart and 

 protected for its very age and, fascinating 

 ugliness. A little patch of dwarf birch, a 



