106 THE CANADIAN FORESTERS 



rapid, that we should be inclined to call it spontaneous, 

 did we not know how long seeds would lie dormant in 

 the ground, until all things necessary for their growth 

 were present. The same thing occurs on certain hill- 

 sides, where, protection being afforded against the teeth 

 and hoofs of cattle, their hoary heads soon become 

 crowned with a wreath of luxuriant verdure. 



In the parish where I was born, I know of a wood of 

 larch growing in a marshy spot which, twenty-eight 



-HemIo;k leaves and cone 



years ago, was perfectly naked. Now, song-birds oi 

 every kind meet there, sixty feet between heaven and 

 earth — the proprietor being M. Rossignol (nightingale). 

 So much for the natural re- wooding of marshes. 



As for the hill-sides, I can bring forward, in support 

 of my statement, the glorious greenery under which the 

 students, who have succeeded our generation in the cool 

 shades which surround the College of St Anne Lapoca- 

 tiere in the Province of Quebec, amuse themselves. This 

 hill, fifty years ago, was covered with a growth of little 

 spruces, which, thanks to th i care they have received, 

 have now developed into lofty trees. 



