to the vast, town-dwelling populations of the future; in 

 preserving the features of scientific interest or land- 

 scape beauty that widen men's horizon or quicken their 

 imagination. City parks and playgrounds, valuable and 

 necessary as they are, cannot do this, nor can cultivated 

 fields and motor-traversed roads. The bold hilltops and 

 mountain-heights which the ancient Hebrews felt were 

 God-inhabited ; the clear springs in Syria over which the 

 Greeks built temples through whose ruined stones the 

 crystal water still comes gushing; the sacred groves of 

 Italy and Druid oaks of Northern Europe, tell a story 

 of the deep influence of such things upon the hearts and 

 lives of men, an influence we cannot afford to lose today 

 in our mechanism-shrunken modern world of immeas- 

 urably growing population. 



By taking thought in season, little need be sacrificed 

 to secure incalculable benefits in Nature's wilder near-by 

 regions, in her grander landscapes that lie within the 

 reach of busy men; in refreshing forests, not too lim- 

 ited; in picturesque and open downs beside the sea; or 

 along the pleasant, wooded side of streams with unpol- 

 luted water. When coal becomes exhausted, water-power 

 or other form of energy will take its place, but nothing 

 will ever compensate for natural beauty permanently 

 ruined within the narrowing bounds of modern life. 



Life will always be a compromise between conflicting 

 needs, but its needs are not material only. Man's future 

 is deeply concerned with recognition of its spiritual side, 

 and if there be anything in the world, next to the oppor- 

 tunity to gain the necessities of life, to meet disease or 

 find the means of education, that should be kept open to 

 right use by all, it is the wholesome freedom of Nature 

 and opportunity for contact with her beauty and many- 

 sided interest in appropriate tracts. The day will ulti- 

 mately come when to provide such will be felt to be one of 

 the most essential duties of the state or greatest privileges 

 of wealthy citizens. For wiser and better gifts than 



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