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In the Fells there are no woodlands more dear to me than the 

 Pine Hill woodlands, none more lovely or fuller of those attrac- 

 tions which lend a charm to the seclusion of Nature's byways, 

 and fill the soul with restful satisfaction and enjoyment. 



For more than 20 years the)' have been to me an unfailing 

 source of delight, and many are the floral treasures that I have 

 gathered in their wild swamps and ravines, where grew the pur- 

 ple orchids and glowing cardinals, splendid in their regal magni- 

 ficence of scarlet glory. 



Never have 1 visited these incomparable woodlands, without 

 finding some new and unexpected phase of loveliness to repay 

 me and I view with indescribable feelings of pain the great scars 

 made by the excavations in their hillsides. 



How often 1 have wished that I was wealthy enough to pur- 

 chase the whole territory between Pine and Bear Hill, and dedi- 

 cate it forever to the lovers of Nature. 



But 1 rejoice to know that all the territory immediately sur- 

 rounding the great Turkey Swamp Reservoir, has been secured 

 for preservation by Winchester, and that nearly 50 acres of the 

 best of Pine Hill woodlands and ledges are held in reserve by 

 Walter and Ellen Wright, who, with the noble spirit of generos- 

 ity inherited from their father, propose donating this reservation 

 free whenever the Fells are converted into one great natural park, 

 as there are many reasons now to hope will soon be the case. 



Diverging from Quarry path, near the old Quarry, we make 

 our way upward along the ferny cliffs until we reach the top of 

 Pine Hill, where we overlook the entire region, through which 

 we have made our afternoon's ramble. 



Southward lies Medford, with Chelsea beyond, and in the dis- 

 tance the "wrinkled sea," while in the fore-ground is Bellevue 

 and the fine estate of Elizur Wright. 



There is a lesson to be learned from the history of this noble 

 elevation, (Pine Hill) that it will be well to heed. In early times 

 it was covered with a dense forest growth. In 1775-76 the wood 

 was cut off to supply the army. Twenty years later it was 

 again covered with a thick wood, but in 1855 the whole hill was 

 again stripped, and, said the historian Brooks, "much of its poet- 

 ry lost," adding the quaint remark that "the earth looks best 

 with its beard." At the present time it is again well covered 

 with a fair growth. 



