12 FOBEST CULTUBE AND 



away of the soil upon mountains, and in tlie beneficial 

 and healthful influence which they exert upon the- 

 atmosphere. 



" Large forests deaden and break the force of heavy 

 winds that beat out the seeds and injure the growth 

 of plants ; they form reservoirs of moisture ; they 

 shelter the soil of the fields, and upon hill-sides, wh^e 

 the rain-waters, checked in their descent by the thous- 

 and obstacles they present by their roots and the trunks 

 of trees, have time to filter into the soil and only find 

 their way by slow degrees to the rivers. Theyregiu- 

 late, in a certain degree, the flow of the waters and 

 the hygrometrical condition of the atmosphere, and 

 their destruction accordingly increases the duration 

 of droughts and gives rise to the injuries of inunda- 

 tions, which denude the face of the mountains. 



' ' The destruction of forests has often become to 

 the country where this has happened a real calamity 

 and a speedy cause of approaching decline and ruin. 

 Their injury and reduction below the degree of pres- 

 ent or future wants is among the misfortunes which 

 we should provide against, and one of those errors 

 which nothing can excuse, and which nothing but 

 centuries of perseverance and privation can repair. 



" But there is another and more cheering era in this 

 history. This is when civilization has advanced, and 

 man, under the safeguard of laws, sets about restoring 

 the desolated forest. The cultivation of wood then 

 becomes an art founded upon principles, and pursued 

 for the gratification of taste, or for purposes of utility. 

 Like every one who labors from choice, the planter 

 experiences gratification in his pursuit. The little 

 tree which he places iq the ground quickly becomes 



