Chap. X.] TREES FOE CITIES. 151 



Northern France. The clouds of smoke make the difference. In 

 consequence of heing contented to liye in a sea of refuse of our 

 fires, we possess the privilege of having our fairest still, winter 

 days turned into foulest nights, in which one is stifled with 

 vapours that would add a new terror to the lower regions. If 

 anyhody doubts the true cause of the horrible " climate " of our 

 large cities, let him walk forth at three or four o'clock in the 

 morning into the heart of one of them, in November and 

 December, when the fogs are at their worst. If he has any 

 memories of the fog of the previous evening, he may be surprised 

 to see the street quite -free of fog, the buildings not only visible, 

 but perfectly clear in outline ; and the air pure ! Let him sally 

 forth again at from half-past seven to half-past eight, and he will 

 find a change ; the street is filling with a bluish foulness, the 

 buildings losing shape. An hour later, and the smoke, which we 

 fancy would vanish, after passing up the chimney, has fallen down 

 into the street, dimming the sight, and stinging us as we breathe 

 it. It is not the climate that we should blame, but our own 

 complacent stupidity in resting content under an evil which, as 

 half the population of these islands is now gathered in cities, has 

 a hurtful effect on the national health. 



It is a difficult problem to solve, but surely there are no pains 

 or expense to which we could be put in the defeat of this smoke- 

 monster, for which we should not be abundantly repaid by its 

 destruction. Lengthened days, or at least some of heaven's light 

 in those we have, and undefiled air, are surely blessings to secure 

 which we might well submit to some inconvenience. If questions 

 were brought forward in the degree of their importance, the 

 smoke-plague of our cities would be one of the first before 

 Parliament. 



Notwithstanding this foul state of the atmosphere, the slaughter 

 of the evergreens, through being planted in it, goes on without 

 ceasing. What a pity it is we do not contrive some less-expensive 

 and more-attractive way of destroying the thousands of evergreens 

 planted about London every year, than that of planting them and 

 allowing them to blacken and perish before our eyes from the 

 effects of our smoke-laden air ! There perish annually as many 

 beautiful young evergreen shrubs and trees in and near London 

 from smoke, as would suffice to plant a whole county. There are 



