l8 BOTANY OF MADISON, LINCOLN, GARRARD, 



man, send rain to arrest the desolation. It has sometimes 

 occurred that the leaves have been set on lire that a few 

 chestnuts might be gathered, and, in consequence, man)- acres 

 of land have been burned over, entailing utter extermination 

 of the young growth. 



POLITICAL INJURY. 



Over part of this region there have been injuries of a differ- 

 ent character, and which have extended over whole counties 

 in the State, outside of this district. They have grown out of 

 the extension of railroads through or near some of the wooded 

 regions, where farms and pastures had been opened, but still 

 surrounded by an almost untouched forest. The farms, with 

 all farming and stock- raising interests, have been neglected, 

 and every man almost has gone into some kind of timber 

 destruction — tan-bark, hoop-poles, cross-ties, lumber, etc. 

 Young men are led from home and its quiet agricultural 

 pursuits, and few ever return. The introduction of vicious 

 elements bring ruin in morals and manners ; and the a<>ed 

 are dependent on their own exertions. What were once 

 smiling farms and happy homes too often are now but neg- 

 lected fields and saddened firesides. 



The lands ruined of their timbers have; become almost 

 worthless; farms overgrown with weeds, and pastures dis- 

 regarded, have decreased in value. All these arc- direct and 

 baneful losses to the State. The money received for those 

 timbers has rarely been retained. It has gone into the pock- 

 ets of speculators from a distance, or been spent in supplying 

 the losses from the destruction of farming interests. The 

 lands are poorer, the citizens are more needy, and the State is 

 a loser. I lad intelligence ruled, those lands would have been 

 a continuous source of wealth to the people ; the farms would 

 have been improved with some of the proceeds of the forests 

 cut at the proper time, and a part would have been invested 

 in good teachers, books, and other means of improvement, 

 which make homes brighter and people more intellectual and 

 happier. 



