[V] 



added that it was everywhere the beauty of the wild wood, which 

 never bore any evidence of culture or effort to increase its value by 

 artificial development. 



" I saw nothiag (he says) that could be called fine timber, and no 

 woods which showed any care in thinning, with a view to the pro- 

 duction of such timber in the future." 



Such a criticism is not surprising from one who, like most coun- 

 try gentlemen of England, is familiar with the process of forest 

 culture, but it certainly is surprising that, with all our boasted in- 

 telligence, we still remain practically insensible to the fact that, 

 while almost every tract of woodland contains a large percentage of 

 such trees as are most valuable for timber, already well advancejd in 

 growth, an,d susceptible, by judicious management, of being devel- 

 oped into proper form and size for use in far less time and at far 

 less cost than would be required for the planting and growth of new 

 forest; yet, if left to themselves, not one tree in a thousand will 

 ever be fit for anything better than fencing stuff or fuel. Vast re- 

 sources of wealth are lying latent and running to waste in our 

 woodlands, and we stand stupidly unconscious of the fact that its 

 development requires simply the application of the intelligent cul- 

 ture we bestow on aU other crops. In many instances, it is true, 

 the native woods have been so long neglected, that they are past 

 redemption, but there are, nevertheless, large areas of continuous for- 

 est, and smaller groves and woodlots in every section of the coun- 

 try, now yielding no revenue, which might, by proper annual thin- 

 ning, pruning and culture, be developed into timber forests of very 

 great value, while yielding an annual crop of firewood in the pro- 

 cess. 



Where shall we find, or how shall we create, the men who are 

 competent to the work? To judge from invariable practice, our 

 people seem not only to be ignorant of the first principles of forest 

 culture, but unconscious even of the possibility of its application to 

 the development of our native woods. The fact of such prevailing 

 ignorance rests not alone upon negative evidence. We have posi- 

 tive proof in abundance in the attempts which we often see at the 

 "improvement" of a piece of woodland when it is appropriated as 

 the site of a residence. It is hard to conceive of anything more 

 dismal and forlorn than the average result of the effort to impart a 

 homelike aspect to such a place ; the dwelling, with its "span new" 

 expression, standing in the midst of a multitude of tall poles, with 

 tufts of leaves upon their tops, looking like fowls stripped of their 

 feathers, and the bare ground fretted everywhere with freshly up- 

 turned roots, the sole remnants of the wild , shrubbery which has 

 been ruthlessly exterminated. 



In order to a comprehension of the principles of healthy forest 

 growth, let us consider some of the processes of nature, and learn 

 from them her requirements. 



If we plant the seed of a maple, chestnut, linden, oak or ash tree 

 by itself in the open ground in suitable soil, and suffer it to grow 

 without molestation, simply guarding it from injury, we shall find 

 that the first act of the young plant is to send out broad leaves, 

 which serve among other purposes to shade completely the stem, 



