^^t ConBtty>Cition of ^untx^ 



A park requires eternal vigilance. The better 

 half of our scenic attractions are the perishable 

 ones. The forests and the flowers, the birds and 

 the animals, the luxuriant growths in the pri- 

 meval wild gardens, are the poetry, the inspi- 

 ration, of outdoors. Without these, how dead 

 and desolate the mountain, the meadow, and 

 the lake! If a park is to be kept permanently 

 productive, its alluring features must be main- 

 tained. If the beaver ceases to build his pictur- 

 esque home, if the deer vanishes, if the moun- 

 tain sheep no longer poses on the crags, if the 

 columbine no longer opens its "bannered" 

 bosom to the sun, if the solitaire no longer sings, 

 — without these poetic and primeval charms, 

 marred nature will not attract nor refresh. 

 People often feel the call of the wild, and they 

 want the wild world beautiful. They need the 

 temples of the gods, the forest primeval, and 

 the pure and flower-fringed brooks. 



It would be well to save at once in parks 

 and reservations the better of all remaining 

 unspoiled scenic sections of the country, — the 

 lake-shores and the seashore, the stream-side, 



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