230 
VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
FORESTRY. 
A Leotiirp l^y Dr. Hiram A. Cutting. 
What a noble gift to man are the forests ! What a debt of grati- 
tude and admiration we owe for their utility and their beaut}' ! How 
pleasanth' the shadows of the wood fall upon our heads when we turn 
from the glitter and turmoil of the world of man ! The winds of 
heaven seem to linger amid their balm}' branches, and the sunshine 
falls like a blessing upon the green leaves ; the wild breath of the for- 
est, fragrant with its hundred perfumes, fans the brow with greatful 
freshness, and its beautiful mellow woodlight, full of calm and peace- 
ful influences, gives a repose to the spirit of man not found else- 
where. Let us cherish the forest ; first, because it is beautiful, and 
l)eautv everywhere gives happiness ; and, second, because it is of 
utility beyond even our conception or belief. 
Allow me, also, to appeal for aid to the cultivated and refined sen- 
sibilities of the ladies. In the forest's sheltering shade and the rich 
mold of their annually decaying leaves, the greater number of our 
loveliest plants are found ; and when the axe comes, that cruel weapon 
that wars upon nature's freshness, and the stately pine, the spruce, 
the noble oak, the elm, the beech and the maple fall with a loud crash 
in the peaceful solitude, even the very birds can understand that a 
floral death-knell sounds through the melodious wilderness. 
A number of our choicest plants are threatened with extinction ; for 
as the woods are cleared away, these tender offsprings, the pretty 
flowers, which we so dearly cherish, will perish utterly. It is, there- 
fore, well to prevent, as far as possible, the destruction of our native 
forests, as well as to plant forest trees, if for no other purpose than 
the preservation of the little helpless, blooming beauties that adorn 
our woodland shades. 
But this preservation means much more. Yes, even to Vermont, 
they are a necessity. Without our forests our land would be desolate. 
Our springs and wells would all fail in the summer, our mill streams 
would be nearly or quite dry, and our rivers changed to rivulets. The 
soil, being exposed, would sooner dry up after rain, and if it be clay, 
it would become hard so that when the rain came it would run. off at 
once, instead of sinking into the earth. The water, no longer ob- 
structed by roots and rub))ish, would not trickle slowly as now into 
the water courses, but upon steep mountain slopes and hillsides 
would bare the rocks of earth, which would come down the ravines 
with the water, making them immense chasms, and the rocks and 
rubbish carried down by those torrents would cover the fertile valleys 
below with stones and gravel, and spreading over the plains in de- 
structive inundations, would desolate the country far and wide. 
You may say this is an overdrawn picture, but the half is not yet 
told. A forest does cause rain to fall, or at least it does not, as does 
