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26 



Now, if this one hill left only to the wonderful recuperative 

 powers of Nature, could undergo these changes within so short 

 a time, what may not the whole range of hills be made to yield 

 through the judicious management of a scientific forestry com- 

 mission? 



The question of forestry is becoming a serious one in all parts 

 of the country. The vandals are at work everywhere subjecting 

 our woodlands and forests to the most barbarous and atrocious 

 treatment, and their reckless and indiscriminate work of destruc- 

 tion cannot be checked any too soon. The preservation of the 

 Middlesex Fells therefore, may be made to serve not alone the 

 purposes of a great natural park, but as a school of instruction in 

 forest culture; while its reservation will guard and protect from 

 pollution the water supply of the surrounding communities. 



But there is still another, and a most weighty consideration 

 involved in this question of preserving the Fells, one that should 

 not be overlooked, and it is this: 



The Middlesex Hills are full of the purest springs of water, and 

 if they can be preserved and guarded in all of their integrity, it 

 it will then be possible to sink numerous artesian wells from 

 which the surrounding communities can be supplied in times of 

 need, and which can be made a source of revenue for maintain- 

 ing intact the whole reservation. Even those who are inclined 

 to consider such questions from a purely utilitarian point of view, 

 must acknowledge the force of this consideration, and a little 

 reflection will show to them the further value and benefit of such 

 a reservation to the surrounding communities, through the in- 

 creased valuation of the border lands and the greater facilities for 

 frequent and rapid transit necessary to accommodate the con- 

 stantly increasing amount of public travel. 



But the shadows deepen over the hills; a ruddy glow in the 

 western horizon, toward which the sun is rapidly hastening, ad- 

 monishes us that the day is drawing to a close, and that our 

 excursion must come to an end. 



Descending the hill by way of the footpath down its southern 

 slope, we are soon on our way out of the Fells, though not with- 

 out many lingering looks behind, and frequent loiterings by the 

 way. 



The skies soften, and grow more mellow with the approachi ng 



