ILLUSTRATED GUIDE. ?3 



siderably in numbers and influence, an influence which 

 would manifest itself in the course of a few years by 

 magnificent results. But before we get so far, it is neces- 

 sary that the active assistance of the farmer be secured, 

 and how to win this shall be the subject of uiy next 

 chapter. 



CHAPTER IV. 



DUTIES OP FARMERS AS REGARDS THE RESTORATION 

 OF THE FORESTS. 



The traveller, in passing through the longer-settled 

 parishes of our province, sees, scattered here and there, 

 on the hill-tops, on the slopes of the mountains, in the 

 valleys, and in the low-lying marshes, clumps of trees 

 varying in species with the quality of the soil. Here, are 

 found sugar maples, there, poplars ; soft maples, larch, 

 fir, tamarack, cedars ; all, more or less, useful woods. 

 Observing all these thickets, which add amazingly to 

 the beauty of the country, the traveller conceives that 

 the inhabitants of the district possess all the timber 

 necessary lor their wants. A false conclusion ! let him 

 wait awhile, and examine these patches of woodland at- 

 tentively. What does he find ? cattle gnawing the 

 branches, and stamping the roots to death. The trees, 

 flourishing enough to a carele^ eye, are drooping, 

 weakly, half-dead for want of moisture, and on the point 

 of perishing for lack of nourishment. In a few years, 

 they will have entirely disappeared, and the site which 

 they now occupy will be naked and barren. 



How many of these lovely groves have I seen, young 

 as I still am, where, when children, I and my play- 

 fellows used to wander, listening to the music of the 

 birds, and watching the sportive habits of the nimble 



