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whereyer a crevice is found in a rocky ledge, the root of a tree 

 will burrow and spread, taking a hold so firm as to defy the 

 storm, and acting mechanically to disintegrate the rock and 

 change its constituent elements into useful products. By the 

 road-side, the river-bank, along the brook, and on the over- 

 hanging cliff, a tree may be alwaji earning wealth for its 

 owners, both in our densest settlements and in the waste 

 places of our most valuable lands." In no way can we ulti- 

 mately enrich Connecticut more than by planting the choicest 

 trees on our exhausted and unproductive lands. In such situ- 

 ations forests will yield a large percentage of profit. This is 

 a duty we owe to ourselves and to our children. 



In many positions forests are of great service as wind-breaks ; 

 even narrow strips of trees afford a neeidful shelter to fruit trees 

 and to various crops, as well as a shield to cattle from piercing 

 winds. Evergreens serve best for screens, as deciduous trees 

 are leafless when their shelter is most needed, especially for 

 stock and around farm buildings. The evergreens most suit- 

 able for this purpose are the Norway spruce, white pine, Scotch 

 pine, and Austrian pine ; and next to these are the American 

 arbor vitse, hemlock, and spruce. Sheltered orchards are 

 most productive and less likely to lose their fruit prematurely 

 by violent winds, and the farmer with proper wind-screens 

 consumes less fuel in his house and less forage in his stables. 

 Stated in the order of their obvious advantage to individual 

 farmers, the benefits of tree-planting would be, first, direct 

 profit in timber and fuel ; second, the reclamation of waste 

 land ; third, shelter ; fourth, climatic gain and hygienic influ- 

 ence ; and fifth, ornamentation. 



The climatic influence of forests has been of late the subject 

 of extensive investigation in Europe, and much evidence gath- 

 ered showing that forest denudation may result in detriment 

 to the health and welfare of a community. Tlie influence of 

 forests on rainfall, climate, and water supply, has been freely 

 discussed in the schools of forestry and in scientific circles. 

 It is not proved that extensive denudation will cause a marked 

 decrease in the total rainfall of any large country. Wliile this 

 is still an unsettled question, recent observations in France, 



