EUCALYPTUS TREES. 11 



servative measures have, in many instances, been 

 successfully applied, so that a supply of timber has 

 been obtained, by cultivation, and other benefits re- 

 sulting from this measure have been realized." 



In these countries there are over two dozen schools 

 of forestry, where special instruction is imparted to 

 the youth who are to take the future care of the pub- 

 lic forests and private plantations. 



The attention of our Government was called to the 

 importance of reserving timber for our navy, and an 

 Act was passed March 1, 1817, making reservations 

 of public lands for this purpose. This Act, however, 

 proved ineffectual, and has a long time since been dis- 

 regarded, and there is nothing at the present time to 

 prevent the complete destruction of every wooded 

 spot in the country. 



" The preservation of forests is one of the first inter- 

 ests of society, and consequently one of the first du- 

 ties of government. All the wants of life are closely 

 related to their preservation ; agriculture, architect- 

 ure, and almost all the industries seek therein their 

 aliment and resources, which nothing could replace. 



" Necessary as are the forests to the individual, they 

 are not less so to the state. It is from thence that 

 commerce finds the means of transportation and ex- 

 change, and that governments claim the elements of 

 their protection, their safety, and even their glory. 



<< It is not alone from the wealth which they offer by 

 their working, under wise regulation, that we may 

 judge of their utility. Their existence is of itself of 

 incalculable benefit to the countries that possess them, 

 as well in the protection and feeding of the springs 

 and rivers as in their prevention againgt tbe washing 



