GROWING GOLD. 35 



carcerated — shut from the common air : the 

 breeze of health never reaches these poor 

 wanderers ; buried in the depth of boundless 

 forests, they are tall and pale like vegetables 

 that grow in a vault, pining for light." — Page 

 109. 



On these statements it is assumed that 

 trees naturally grow very closely together and 

 in large numbers ; therefore it is held that 

 the evidence is sufficiently strong to remove 

 all the objections upon which the advocates 

 of the system of thinning plantations ground 

 their arguments. Instead of admitting light 

 and air," as it is foolishly pretended, to benefit 

 the health of the crop of trees allowed to be 

 left on the land, we strongly suspect that the 

 ruling motive is the amount of present money 

 that may be gained by the ultimately destruc- 

 tive plan of periodical thinnings. In many 

 cases this practice has been pursued with 

 such ceaseless vigour, that all, or nearly all 

 the trees which remain on some extensive 

 estates, are stunted, decaying, and profitless ; 



