little or no value except for the timber that 

 may grow upon them. As a general rule it 

 ! may be taken for granted, that where the 

 owners allow wild lands to be sold, and do 

 J not redeem them, such lands are worth noth- 

 ing for cultivation. They may have been 

 , already stripped of their timber, which was 

 all the worth they had, and will not be again 

 desirable until a new growth of trees springs 

 up. Would it not be best to reserve these 

 lands, and hold them as the property of the : 

 State, instead of selling for the paltry prices | 

 they would bring at a tax sale? Their imme- ! 

 diate care, and protection against trespasses ; 

 might be entrusted to the town authorities 

 where located, and their condition reported ' 

 annually at town meetings, and to some | 

 central State office. The sale of timber and j 

 other details might be so arranged as to se- 

 I cure the benefits at a reasonable expense, and 

 doubtless with as much profit as is now deriv- 

 ed from time to time by their sale. 



The State may exercise its power in other 

 ' ways, as has been done to some extent in 

 ; other States, by exempting, for a limited 

 1 time, from taxation lands planted and en- 

 closed for timber growth. This feature ap- 

 1 pears in the law passed in Maine in 1873, 

 j which provides that owners planting any 

 amount of land from which the forest has 

 been entirely cut away, and cultivating for 

 three years, the trees being not less than 3,000 

 to the acre and well distributed, may, upon 

 application to the Assessors, and upon filing 

 a map and description of the location, and all 

 the facts in relation to the growth and culti- 

 vation of his grove, or incipient forest, be 

 exempted from taxes on such land for twenty 

 years, if kept alive and in thriving condition 

 during that time. 



In Nebraska, the 10th of April is set apart 

 by law as "Arbor Day" an agricultural festi- 

 val devoted to the planting of trees. Its State 

 Agricultural Society has oflFered a premium 

 of |100 to the Parmer's Society of the country, 

 and $35 to the individual planting the greatest 

 number of trees on that day. 



A State owes it as a duty to its citizens that 

 the public interest shall be protected at the j 

 public cost, and on this principle it causes 

 roads and bridges to be made and maintained 

 by assessments often paj able in labor, and 

 ' always chargeable upon those supposed to 

 : derive the greatest benefit from their use. 

 I In like manner might it justly charge a tree- 

 } tax, payable in the planting of trees by the 



owners of farming lands, or the commutation ' 

 of this tax if paid in money, to be applied to 

 this object, along the public highways. 



Necessity will, within a few years, teach our 

 farmers the important fact, that a large part- 

 of our fencing, might be saved, if they would 

 confine their stock within the range allowed 

 for pasturage, instead of keeping them out of 

 the places where they are not wanted, much 

 that is essential may bo made of stone walls 

 and live hedges instead of wood. 



With the introduction of other materials for 

 building in many cases, and the increased use 

 of coal and peat as fuel, it may be within our 

 means to produce within the State, a sufficient 

 growth of wood to supply our wants til! the ' , 

 latest period of time. But to secure this pro- 

 vision public sentiment among our farming 

 population must be strongly aroused and the 

 sooner the necessities of the case are under- 

 stood and acted upon, the easier will be the 

 remedy and the greater the benefit. It will 

 be easier to meet the difficulty half way, by 

 anticipating tlie necessity, than to be driven 

 to find a remedy when the want becomes an 

 imperative demand. It is doubtless known 

 to most present, that more than thirty years 

 since, the subject of tree-culture was embraced 

 in a survey of the zoological and botanical 

 resources of the State of Massachusetts, and 

 that in 1816, an able and careful report upon 

 the native trees and shrubs of that State was 

 made by Mr. George B. Emerson. An 

 arboratumfor the naturalization of foreign 

 trees, in that State is now being formed, and 

 not only there, but in other States, especially 

 in the west, attention has been prominently 

 directed to this subject. In Europe, field and 

 forest culture divides the attention of societies 

 formed for the advancement of agriculture in 

 its broadest sense, and as an example I may \ 

 notice that in 1873, the Highland and Agri- | 

 cultural society of Scotland oflFered not less j 

 than fifteen premiums for essays and success- ! 

 ful results upon special subjects of foresting. 

 Permit me in conclusion to express the 

 hope that this socity will take early and 

 effectual measures to promote this object, by 

 disseminating correct information, promoting 

 discussion, and rewarding successful culture, ' 

 and that ere long we may see local societies , 

 emulating each other in the extent and value | 

 of timber planted in the districts embraced j 

 within their borders, until there .shall be no 

 waste spot without its trees, and no farm | 

 without sufficient shelter of woodland shade, j 



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