Trees 
What we most need is a thorough stirring up ot a 
wholesome sentiment tor the trees; it would go a 
long way toward strengthening their usefulness to us, 
hut the great difficulty lies in getting people properly 
interested. 
It is said that the elder Jackson, that ardent lover 
of nature, loved the trees so much that for the pro¬ 
tection of one favorite, he set aside a certain amount 
of land for its perpetuity. He had settled in the 
vicinity when the whole region was a vast woodland 
that reverberated with the songs of wild birds, and 
he had seen the forest gradually fade away until the 
big tree stood quite alone. To-day immediate gain 
is considered far beyond future losses so that eco¬ 
nomics or sentiment scarcely enter into the question 
at all. It seems to me at times that it was not 
altogether such a bad thing in the days of King 
George when we had to ask him if we might cut a 
tree, and it is quite plain to me that some such 
arrangement at the present time would be a very 
good plan. Moreover, we ought to be ashamed of 
the fact that foreign countries are away ahead of 
us in understanding the conservation of natural 
resources. One of the most interesting conversations 
I have had recently was with a gentleman who 
stopped at my door -a connoisseur of rags and old 
rubber—and talked to me on forestry; to say he was 
better informed on the subject than most city mayors 
is not over-complimentary to him- but he was a 
German. But with all the difficulties besetting the 
subject a few are at last beginning to point their ears 
in the direction of protest and appeal so that perhaps 
the near future will see some beneficial action; if no 
move is made now to relieve the situation and provide 
for future contingencies, one thing surely will happen; 
We will one day wake up to the realization of the fact 
that we have sold our own hides and have done the 
skinning ourselves. 
AN EROSION IN NEW YORK STATE, 5OO FEET DEEP, DUE TO LOSS OF THE TREES 
203 
