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 ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 WAYM COUNTY 
 
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 OCTOBER 2, 1874, 
 
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 By W. L. HEADLEY, 
 
 OF NEW YORK CITY. 
 
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 NEW YORK : 
 Edgar Hoyt, Law Printer, 58 John Street. 
 
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 ADDRESS 
 
 Mr. President and Citizens of Wayne County : 
 
 I come before you to-day at this your annual meeting, 
 by your kind invitation, to address you upon subjects not 
 only pertaining to your business as farmers, but on such, 
 if possible, as may be interesting to you as citizens and 
 as men : and in the multitude of subjects crowding on my 
 mind, I have endeavored to select such as are not worn 
 and hackneyed by constant use; such as have not been 
 dwelt upon so much and so often ; such as have not been 
 the theme of the orator so many times that they have be- 
 come tiresome and distasteful to you. Were I to talk 
 to you of the details of practical farming, of the manage- 
 ment or conduct of a dairy, of the rearing of animals, or 
 of anything else which you are every day engaged in do- 
 ing, your politeness would induce you to listen to me, but 
 you would know nevertheless that you were listening to 
 one who knew less of the subjects he was talking about 
 than you know yourselves. 
 
 Yet in a general way these are material matters to con- 
 sider at such a time as this ; but only in a general way. 
 For, to explain these matters in detail, would require 
 much more than the brief space of time to which I can 
 claim your attention, and would subject me to the charge 
 of encroaching upon the peculiar province of the essay- 
 ist and the bookmaker. 
 
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There are things outside of your every-day duties, 
 things important to you as citizens and particularly im- 
 portant to you as fathers of the coming generation for 
 whom you hold this broad country in trust, and with 
 whom you are to leave it when you pass into the world 
 of spirits. 
 
 You owe duties not only to yourselves, but to those 
 who are to follow you, and among those duties is that of 
 preserving the purity and productiveness of the land it- 
 self, that on which the life of all mankind depends. And 
 the means of doing that, demands, and should command 
 the attention of men everywhere, and at all times. 
 
 I need not tell you how much you, more than people of 
 any other trade, profession or occupation, have this 
 great matter in charge. 
 
 The surface of the earth is in your keeping, and upon 
 your actions and your treatment of the land you occupy, 
 depends the question whether this country shall increase 
 in productiveness or become a barren desert. 
 
 In looking back to times the most remote, and tracing 
 the history of man, and the changes in the soil and cli- 
 mate of the globe through successive generations until 
 now, we learn that in all those parts of the earth where 
 the land is now sterile and unproductive, where cities 
 are in ruins, and the inhabitants ignorant, feeble and im- 
 poverished, or lapsing into barbarism; the soil was once 
 fertile and productive, the inhabitants were vigorous and 
 prosperous, and their future looked bright and fair like 
 ours. 
 
 For these great changes — these alterations of the 
 earth's surface, and the consequent decay or destruction of 
 the inhabitants themselves, there is a cause about which 
 it is not unprofitable for us to inquire. For it may be, and 
 and in my opinion it is a fact; that the seeds of that same 
 disease are planted here; that in this our favored land, the 
 
same causes which operated to destroy the favored nations 
 of the Old World, that laid the foundations for the ruins 
 of Tyre and Sidon, that dwarfed the cedars of Lebanon, 
 and changed even the surface of the earth itself, are here 
 gradually working the same disastrous results. 
 
 What then are those causes, and what more profitable 
 and interesting question can we consider than the things, 
 the habits, and the practices which are productive of 
 such results 1 
 
 Although there may be, and doubtless are, many causes 
 which have actually contributed to the decay of nations 
 to the impoverishment of the soil and the people, yet among 
 those causes I know of no one so certain in its effects, so 
 fatal in its consequences, as the destruction of forest trees: 
 and because this is so clear to my own mind, I particu- 
 larly desire to impress my views upon you who listen to 
 me to-day. 
 
 While discharging the every day duties of life, and ab- 
 sorbed in the cares, trials and perplexities thereof, we 
 are all too apt to lose sight of the great, broad questions 
 of national interest, political economy, and the public 
 good ; or if we make efforts to be public benefactors, we 
 are too apt to gauge our acts by the rule that would make 
 those acts certain to result in the most immediate pecuni- 
 ary profit. We can easily understand how that man is a 
 public benefactor who makes two blades of grass grow 
 where but one grew before, but we also understand how 
 in that case the most ungenerous man can afford to be a 
 public benefactor, and how actuated by the certainty of 
 immediate profits he may become such benefactor with- 
 out a thought of the public good. But he who, although 
 one among millions, faithfully does his duty in the pres- 
 ervation, or cultivation if necessary, of a due proportion 
 of forest trees, is doing in that respect, his part in laying 
 the foundation of national greatness, and rendering ser- 
 
vice to coining generations. To the selfish man it may 
 seem to be labor without reward. But the real philan- 
 thropist — the man whose feelings of humanity make him 
 more, even than a patriot, the consciousness of having 
 rendered mankind a service is an ample and ever continu- 
 ing reward. 
 
 It may be said by some who have never seriously con- 
 sidered this question, that in this country, which is com- 
 paratively new, we have forest trees in abundance, and 
 even in excess of our wants ; and such persons may sup- 
 pose that trees are useful only for timber and for fuel, 
 and that when they cannot be profitably raised for that 
 purpose they should not be allowed to cumber the 
 ground. 
 
 It is this error which I fear too extensively prevails 
 that I wish to combat, and which, if possible, I would 
 gladly remove. 
 
 Although forest trees are useful for timber and for fuel, 
 yet it is not for those purposes that they are most useful : 
 but as they affect the climate and the land from which 
 the trees have been removed as they affect the vapors in 
 the air, the rainfalls, the fertility of the soil, and the 
 health and mental vigor of the people are they most use- 
 ful. 
 
 When fresh from the hands of God the world was given 
 to man, it was clothed with a forest growth, and so long- 
 as a due proportion of forest trees was left, the land was 
 fertile and productive everywhere. But the avarice and 
 ignorance of man caused him to remove the trees as fast 
 as he could make the cultivated fields more immediately 
 profitable in a pecuniary point of view, and in that way, 
 each man feeling that he could do what he pleased with 
 his own, hills, plains, townships, principalities, and even 
 whole kingdoms were cleared of their forests, or nearly 
 so, and their decay and ruin followed. 
 
Think not that I attach too much importance to this 
 matter. If such disastrous results have followed the de- 
 struction of forests, no subject can be more important, or 
 at least more profitable to consider at a time like this. 
 
 Do not understand me as expressing the opinion that 
 land should not be cleared of trees or timber, or that for- 
 ests should remain in their primitive condition every- 
 where, or that very serious evil has yet been done in this 
 country by the destruction of forests. To leave the land 
 an unbroken wilderness would be to leave it unfit for the 
 habitation of civilized men, and to reduce mankind to a 
 state of barbarism. I believe in the cultivation of as 
 much of the earth's surface as possible, and would pre- 
 serve a due proportion of forests for the use, preservation 
 and productiveness of the cultivated parts ; and to show 
 that it is necessary for that purpose, and for the health 
 and happiness of mankind, will be the burden of my dis- 
 course to-day. 
 
 Without designating any in particular, I have already 
 alluded to the growth, prosperity and decay of nations in 
 the old world ; nor need I name any in particular ; for 
 merely speaking of them in general terms will instantly 
 recall to the mind of every one of you the name, history, 
 and geographical location of many such. 
 
 In the Sacred Scriptures we have all read of the extra- 
 ordinary productions of those Eastern lands. We have 
 had described to us a land flowing with milk and honey. 
 We are told of the immense population those lands sup- 
 ported, of the armies that could be raised there, of the vil- 
 lages and cities that were built up and supported from 
 their productiveness, of the prosperity of the inhabitants, 
 of their trade and traffic, and of the commerce on their 
 inland seas. 
 
 Now all is changed. The traveler, fresh from the 
 perusal of the glowing descriptions of those nations, 
 
as contained in the ancient records, is so invaria- 
 bly disappointed when he sees them, that all rever- 
 ence even for their ^sacred associations is apt to be 
 destroyed. Those hills that were once covered with 
 verdure, and on which the cedar and the palm tree grew, 
 are now mere naked prominences on the earth's sur- 
 face, or at the most, showing here and there a scraggy 
 bush or shrub. Those plains which in those early days 
 were rich with vegetation, where the vine and the fig 
 tree yielded their fruit, and the soil of which gave back an 
 hundred fold as the reward of cultivation, are now mere 
 arid deserts, dried and parched to sterility by the almost 
 continuous drouths and the heated rays of the sun. The 
 rivers or streams of which mention is made so often in 
 sacred history, have disappeared, or dwindled into streams 
 so small that they cannot now be recognized from any 
 descriptions in the sacred records, and even the famous 
 sea of Gallilee, on which our Saviour sailed in ships, has 
 shrunk into a lake so small and shallow that a ship could 
 not now be used upon its waters. 
 
 These being facts, they are the result of a cause. In my 
 opinion the cause, that is, the principal cause, is the de- 
 struction of the trees. That the trees were destroyed, 
 that they are gone is certain ; and it is equally certain 
 that after their destruction the rain falls ceased to a great 
 extent, the inhabitants were compelled to resort to arti- 
 ficial irrigation to raise or preserve their crops, and finally 
 became unable from the soil to raise sufficient for the sup- 
 port of the inhabitants ; and the downfall and decay of the 
 nations followed. Moving westward, nation after nation 
 was destroyed by the same means. For evidence of which 
 we need only look to Western Asia and Northern Africa. 
 In other and more intelligent parts of Europe the inhabi- 
 tants are awakening to the terrible reality, and in some 
 countries, in France in particular, the preservation of 
 trees has become a subject of governmental legislation, 
 
But it may be asked how is it possible for trees to af- 
 fect the vapors in the air, the formation of clouds, or the 
 fall of rain. Let me say to such, that observation, careful 
 examination, and scientific experiments have shown and 
 established the fact that trees not only do have lhat ef- 
 fect, but that they have it to an astonishing extent. The 
 quantity of moisture preserved and disaharged daily by 
 invisible evaporation by a single tree, is almost marvel- 
 ""fous. Scientists and students of nature have made this a 
 subject of careful study and investigation. They have 
 proved that a branch of a tree on which leaves are grow- 
 ing, discharges in twenty-four hours by invisible evapor- 
 ation, water double its own weight. That has been test- 
 ed by enclosing the limb in a glass case and hermeti- 
 cally sealing it around the limb, thus gathering and pre- 
 serving in the vessel the moisture or vapor which would 
 otherwise have escaped into the air. This vapor gather- 
 ing into little drops and trickling down in the vessel, in 
 the short space of twenty-four hours has been found to be so 
 great in quantity,that as before stated it is double the weight 
 of the limb itself. The same fact has been proved by other 
 experiments. How great then must be the quantity of 
 vapor sent out into the atmosphere every day by a single 
 tree. And if so much is given out by a single tree, what im- 
 mense -quantities are given out by whole forests, and if the 
 destruction of forests stops or prevents the diffusion or 
 discharge of so much moisture into the atmosphere, is it to 
 be wondered at that their destruction should produce 
 drouths or diminish the quantity of rain, or sensibly af- 
 fect the climate and health of the people i That trees have 
 power to discharge such immense quantities of water we 
 all have other means of knowing. A maple tree will dis- 
 charge from eight to thirty-two gallons of sap in twenty- 
 four hours, as has been proved by actual experiment; and 
 birch and some other trees will discharge still more. All 
 
8 
 
 this, were the trees untouched by man, would pass out 
 into the open air by invisible evaporation from the leaves ; 
 and not only this, but more. Indeed the quantity of 
 moisture drawn by incisions from a tree, would not pre- 
 vent, or even lessen the breathing action of the leaves, or 
 the discharge of vapor from them. 
 
 It may seem to a casual observer that great as the quan- 
 tity of moisture distributed by the life and action of the 
 trees may be, it cannot be necessary for the formation of 
 clouds, or the production of moisture in the vicinity of 
 large bodies of water, from which vapors arise and clouds 
 are formed. But such is not the fact. On the Islands of 
 Trinidad, Martinique, San Domingo, and most of the 
 West India group, the trees have in late years been cut off 
 to a great extent, and just in the proportion that they 
 have been denuded of trees, have the rain falls ceased, and 
 the deplorable consequences are now being felt in the loss 
 of crops and the increasing unproductiveness of the soil. 
 There is something peculiar — something almost 
 mysterious in the action of forest trees in the 
 production of clouds, and in causing the fall 
 of rains. It is not alone the quantity of vapors distri- 
 buted by them, but it seems to be the quality or kind of 
 vapor, and it may have a sort of chemical action, of which 
 results only can be known. This we do know, thai? in the 
 vicinity of lakes, on the shores and islands of the sea, the 
 removal of the forests will make the land a desert; and 
 that in that respect there is no perceptible difference be- 
 tween lands surrounded by water, and lands in the inte- 
 rior of a continent. 
 
 I would gladly, if time permitted, direct your attention 
 to the different nations of the world where the disastrous 
 effects of the destruction of forests have most been felt, and 
 so, more clearly prove to you that it would have been for 
 them, and would be now for us, a wise economy to pre- 
 
serve beyond the possibility of loss, a due proportion of 
 all our lands as an unbroken forest — at least one-fifth, if 
 not one-quarter. 
 
 For if it is a fact, that in all those parts of the world 
 where the land has been cleared of its trees, the whole of 
 the land has become sterile and unproductive, the inhabi- 
 tants have become impoverished, and the nations have 
 been destroyed or ruined, there can be no subject more 
 important to you ; and that such is the case, is conceded 
 by all persons who have given the subject their atten- 
 tion, and who have examined or inquired into the facts. 
 
 Indeed so important do I consider it, that I would, were 
 it in my power, so preserve the forests by legislation or by 
 constitutional provision if necessary. 
 
 In ancient times Palestine and other parts Asia and 
 Northern Africa were the granaries of Europe. The 
 land was so fertile and productive that the inhabitants 
 could not afford to leave it, or any considerable part of it, 
 unused merely to allow trees to grow, from which they 
 received no annual profit, and ignorant perhaps of the 
 effect that the destruction of the trees would have on the 
 tillable land, they gradually encroached upon the forests, 
 until in time they were all removed; and alas ! the land 
 became desolate. The traveler now passing over these 
 arid plains can hardly realize that they were once covered 
 with farm houses, and orchards, and vineyards, and fields 
 of waving grain; that a happy, prosperous people dwelt 
 there, that the hill sides were clothed with verdure and 
 that streams of water once flowed through the valleys. 
 Now all is desolation. The farm houses and the vine- 
 yards are gone, the cities are in ruins, and all material ev- 
 idences of trade, business and prosperity have disap- 
 peared. 
 
 The few human beings who wander over the plains are 
 found by the traveler to be but one remove from 
 
10 
 
 savages, and act no useful part in life. The streams are 
 dried, and the hills are naked in the sun. 
 
 These are wonderful changes, and when we reflect that 
 they have all been caused by the destruction of the trees, 
 how serious does the consideration of that one question 
 become. How suggestive it is to us. But it may be said that 
 lam assuming too much, in assuming that all this change, 
 this ruin, and this destruction, has been caused by the 
 mere destruction of the trees. Allow me to say that in 
 entertaining this view I do not stand alone. 
 
 It is assumed and asserted, and as I think logically 
 proved by writers who have given the subject their most 
 careful attention. Without wearying you with referen- 
 ces, allow me to cite the words of one of our most learned 
 writers upon the subject. George P. Marsh in his valu- 
 able work entitled " Man and Nature" at page 189, in 
 speaking ol Palestine and other parts of Asia and North- 
 ern Africa, and of their fertility and prosperity in ancient 
 times, says : "These lands are now deserts, and it is the 
 " destruction of the forests alone which has produced this 
 " desolation." 
 
 I might multiply authorities upon that question, but 
 they are not needed. Whoever will examine the question 
 will be convinced without the aid of the opinions of 
 others. 
 
 In France the population has long been dense and no- 
 thing but governmental restraint has prevented the short- 
 sighted inhabitants from destroying the productiveness of 
 the soil by destroying the trees. As it is, in many parts 
 the damage has been terrible. In the department of 
 Ardeche nearly all the woodland was cut off about thirty 
 years ago ; and which was followed by great changes in 
 the climate. The rain falls have diminished, and the late 
 Vrosts in the spying, which were before unknown, have in- 
 jured and destroyed the vegetation to an alarming extent. 
 
11 
 
 It is known there now that nothing but a restoration of 
 the trees can restore the former state of things. Similar 
 evil results have followed the destruction of trees on the 
 plains of Alsace. 
 
 Since the cutting off of the woods of the Appenines the 
 cold winds shrink and destroy vegetation, spring is much 
 later than formerly, and the Mulberry trees on which the 
 prosperity of the people depended, are destroyed, except 
 in those parts where the woodland is left. 
 
 There are additional evils which result from the des- 
 truction of the woodland. It is not alone to save the land 
 from drouths or want of moisture that the trees are use- 
 ful or absolutely necessary ; but to save the land from 
 frosts in spring, and from the devasting force of winds 
 they are also useful agents. And when I say that to save 
 the land from the devasting force of winds they are use- 
 ful, I do not wish to be understood as meaning that they 
 save the land by merely breaking the force of the winds. 
 I go farther than that, and say that they not only break 
 the force of the storms but they prevent severe winds and 
 tornadoes ; or in other words the destruction of forests is 
 followed invariably by severe aerial disturbances and 
 the denuded district is then visited by violent winds such 
 as were never known before. Innumerable proofs of this 
 fact might be cited. 
 
 Allow me to refer you to one case which is a matter of 
 history. The terrible North- West wind called a mistral, 
 which rendered Cervennes in France almost unfit for hab- 
 itation, was entirely unknown before the destruction of 
 the woodland which was all destroyed at one time in a mass 
 by order of the Emperoi Augustus. That destruction 
 was immediately followed by the Mistral, which swept 
 the land and kept it stripped and bare thereafter. The 
 superstitious inhabitants regarded it as a curse sent from 
 God, and raised altars and offered sacrifices to appease its 
 
12 
 
 rage. Their plan however was a failure. Nothing but a 
 restoration of the woodland could cure the evil. 
 
 I have given you so far at least two reasons why the 
 forests should be preserved, and why upon that subject 
 we should be careful to make no mistake. But those are 
 not all. The forest trees act other important parts in 
 the economy of nature. Useful, indeed necessary, as they 
 are for the purposes named, useful as they are for lumber 
 and fuel, in many, many other quiet ways they are daily 
 serving man. The chemical effect of the trees on the at- 
 mosphere, by absorbing the carbon exhaled by animals, 
 and developed by animal and vegetable decomposition, 
 and by exhaling oxygen in return is not only wonderful, 
 but to it we owe our health and even life itself. Within 
 the tree is a labratory, the secrets of which no man can 
 ever learn, where silently and noiselessly a work is being 
 constantly done, the benefits of which mankind enjoy 
 without money and without price. Do we sufficiently ap- 
 preciate it? Do we reflect that without this chemical ac- 
 tion — that but for the preservation of the purity of the at- 
 mosphere by the working of this silent machinery, opera- 
 ted by forces mysterious and powerful beyond the com- 
 prehension of man, all mankind would die 1 all animal 
 life would cease upon the earth 1 Yet such is the case. 
 But as it is furnished to us free by the giver of all good, 
 and operated without our labor or our care, we fail to 
 concern ourselves about its uses or its benefits, and enjoy 
 it without thanks, as we do the many other bounties of 
 nature- 
 
 I have talked to you already of the terrible penalty 
 that the inhabitants of other nations have paid for their 
 disregard of the great blessings shown them, and their 
 rejection of such priceless gifts. Let us have a care that 
 we do not follow in their footsteps, that we do not imitate 
 their folly. 
 
13 
 
 While considering this question of the beneficial effect 
 of trees in preserving the humidity of the atmosphere, and 
 in promoting rainfalls, I have spoken more particularly 
 of results, the want of time rendering it impossible for me 
 to trace back those causes to their effects. But there is 
 one fact before stated, sufficiently important to warrant a 
 further explanation. I have stated to you that lands 
 bordering on the sea, or other great bodies of water, even 
 islands, become subject to drouths, and become sterile 
 and desolate for that reason, if the trees are removed, not- 
 withstanding there is water without limit near them, and 
 fogs and vapors arise all around them. And to prove that 
 fact I referred to islands in the West India group where 
 such results have followed the destruction of the trees. 
 One explanation not before given is that trees are con- 
 ductors of electricity, and seize upon and conduct to the 
 earth electricity, and also the vapors passing along. In 
 this way the moisture in fogs and clouds, whether arising 
 from the sea or the land, is not only seized and detained, 
 but this electrical action of the trees has in some mysteri- 
 ous way, which science has never been able to explain, 
 an effect upon the clouds in condensing the vapors and 
 conducting them to the earth in the form of rain. 
 
 Another effect which woodland has, is to prevent hail 
 storms, water spouts, and other atmospherical disturban- 
 ces; or more properly speaking, the destruction of the 
 woodland causes, or is followed by such storms and com- 
 motions. 
 
 These are ascertained to be electrical disturbances; and 
 when we know how important a part the trees perform 
 in equalizing the electricity of the earth and the air, we 
 can easily understand how certain and natural it is, that 
 these commotions in the atmosphere should follow their 
 removal or destruction. 
 
 Trees, too, as we all know, ^ire conductors of heat, con- 
 
14 
 
 ducting heat to the earth when the earth is coldest, and 
 to the air when the air is coldest, thus equalizing the tem- 
 perature of the earth and air, and partially explaining 
 why it is that the removal of the trees is followed by the 
 extension of winter into spring, and spring into summer, 
 making those seasons late, and causing the late frosts 
 so injurious to grain and fruit. 
 
 By way of illustration, I have referred more particular- 
 ly to the effect of the destruction of forests in other coun- 
 tries. But because I have spoken only of such lands by 
 name, I would not have you infer that I think no mischief 
 has been done in this country. As I have stated be- 
 fore, I think no very serious evil has yet been done in this 
 country by the destruction of forests, that is; as compared 
 with the evil done in other lands. But great damage has 
 already been done, and greater still will follow, unless the 
 people or the government shall act promptly in checking 
 the havoc that is fast being made. 
 
 Indeed the danger is now greater here than it ever ap- 
 peared to be at any one time in any other nation upon the 
 earth. We, Americans, are a progressive people, and 
 in making the progress which we are making, and of 
 which we boast, we are a destructive people. As the hun- 
 ter on the prairie will destroy hundreds of buffalo in mere 
 wantonness, so will the pioneer or the lumberman sweep 
 away acre after acre of woodland, with no concern for the 
 future, or thought upon the snbject, except as to how far 
 it will promote his convenience, or result in his immedi- 
 ate profit, however small. And farmers, finding tillable 
 land more profitable than woodland, hesitate not to de- 
 stroy the woodland by burning or otherwise, thinking no- 
 thing of the future, or caring less; and thus our country is 
 fast becoming denuded of its forests, and in a fair way 
 to become like the ruined kingdoms of the old world, a 
 land of naked hills and barren plains. 
 
15 
 
 Already the effects of such short-sightedness and folly 
 are manifest in many parts, in the disturbances in the at- 
 mosphere, in the long continued drouths, in the impov- 
 erishment of the soil, and in the shrinking of the streams. 
 And good men, lovers of their country, laboring with lit- 
 tle effect to prevent the ruin that they see so strong a 
 prospect of in the future, look sadly on, hoping still that the 
 evil may yet be seen and understood, and checked be- 
 fore it is too late. 
 
 The recognition of this tact, and this feeling of sorrow 
 and regret, is beautifully expressed by one of our mod- 
 ern poets in language like this : 
 
 ''Before these fields were shorn and tilled, 
 Full to the brim our rivers flowed, 
 
 The melody of waters filled 
 The free and 4 boundless wood. 
 
 And torrents dashed, and rivulets played, 
 
 And fountains spouted in the shade. 
 
 These grateful sounds are heard no more, 
 
 The streams are silent in the sun, 
 The rivers by the blackening shore 
 
 With lessening current run. 
 The realms our tribes were crushed to get. 
 May be a barren desert yet." 
 
 Inasmuch as with our progressive spirit we are moving 
 on with greater rapidity than did ever nations in the old- 
 en time, and as here, with us, change follows change in 
 such rapid succession, ages will not be required, nor will 
 many generations, to bring about these changes so much 
 to be feared and deplored, unless a remedy is applied, and 
 applied early. And it is for this reason that I felt when I 
 received your kind invitation to come here to this coun- 
 ty of my nativity, this home of my childhood, to address 
 those whom I am anxious to call my friends, that I could 
 
16 
 
 do no better service than to talk to you mainly upon 
 this subject; one that is really more important to you, and 
 to the country at large, than any other matter or thing 
 that I could make the subject of my discourse. And feeling 
 intensely upon the subject myself, I shall be content if 
 I can make impression enough upon my hearers to in- 
 duce any of them to make this matter a subject of reflec- 
 tion and inquiry. And now before leaving it I wish further 
 to add, that in those parts of the world where the inhab- 
 itants for the purpose of repairing the damage caused by 
 the destruction of the woodland, or for other reasons, have 
 replanted or cultivated trees, and so restored the forests; 
 the long continued drouths have ceased, rain storms have 
 followed, and the water has commenced and continued to 
 flow over the beds of streams that have long been 
 dry, the surrounding lands have again become fertile, 
 the atmosphere pure, and the inhabitants healthful. 
 
 For proof of this I might refer you to parts of Belguim, 
 to the vicinity of Antwerp, and to the Plateau of La 
 Hague, where merely planting and cultivating rows of 
 trees have changed the climate, tempered the winds, and 
 made fertile the land. 
 
 Also to the Island of St. Helena where the extension 
 of the wooded surface within a few years has increased 
 the rain fall to such an extent, that the average fall of 
 water is twice that of former 3'ears. 
 
 Also to Egypt, where through the enterprising spirit 
 of a modern ruler, plantations have been started and cul- 
 tivated by artificial irrigation, so that now full-grown 
 trees cover the once barren wastes, and the rains have be- 
 come frequent where they were scarcely ever known be- 
 fore. 
 
 I might also refer you to the results of such experi- 
 ments in Scotland, and in parts of Northern France, and 
 to. the. vicinity of Salt Lake in this country. But on this 
 
IT 
 
 subject I have said enough, what I wish more particular- 
 ly than all else, is to interest you in the subject of the 
 preservation of the trees. Once destroyed, no argument is 
 necessary to show the irreparable injury caused by their 
 destruction. The trouble is that man's life is short, and 
 we appreciate that fact too much, as it seems to me. Man 
 is too apt to live only for the present, on the principle of 
 "after me the deluge" — and the world and its condition 
 alter he shall have passed away, does not sufficiently con- 
 cern him. Yet here in this country as great sacrifices have 
 been voluntarily made by our forefathers for us, as were 
 ever voluntarily made by any people; and so, we owe a 
 corresponding debt and duty to the generations that are 
 to follow us, Ungrateful should we be — unworthy should 
 we be, of the blessings of freedom and prosperity which 
 we now enjoy, should we fail to preserve and hand down 
 to the coming generations this fair heritage of ours unin- 
 jured, and unimpaired. 
 
 And now my friends I must leave this subject of forest 
 trees; but I leave it with regret, indulging in the hope, 
 however, that what I have said may be productive of 
 some good. We know how great results will flow some- 
 times from trifling causes, and we all know that now in 
 these modern days, farmers in their thoughts, studies, and 
 acts, are not so confined and contracted as were the tillers 
 of the soil in ancient times. We have evidence of this in 
 the vast improvements which we see everwhere around 
 us. 
 
 Fifty years ago, deep buried in the bosom of the wil- 
 derness, the lonely pioneers of this county beat back, with 
 axe and fire, the "empire of shade and savageism" from 
 their log-cabins, and now where their solitary habitations 
 once stood, we behold the farmhouse, the factory and the 
 stately mansion. 
 
 Where the tall forest trees through this valley lifted 
 
18 
 
 their awful forms in countless numbers far and near 
 in the grandeur of their solitude, to-day the church 
 spires of Honesdale reflect the autumnal sun beams, 
 and cast their shadows over a growing and prosperous city. 
 All these give evidences of the glorious changes that man's 
 industry hath wrought for our good; and should be to you 
 and me an example which it should be our love and duty 
 to emulate. May we be half as deserving of the admira- 
 tion of those who may occupy the earth after us, as 
 they who made this land what it is; some of whom rest 
 from their labors in the bosom of the soil that they 
 cultivated, and some of whom are with us to-day, 
 whose silver locks, like Cicero's, have deservedly 
 'purchased them mens' good opinions." God bless the 
 evening of their days. 
 
 Many of you who hear me now can doubtless remem- 
 ber the time when these hills and valleys were an almost 
 unbroken wilderness — when the wolf's long howl woke the 
 forest echoes, and the wild deer and the bear yet disputed 
 man's possessions. It is within the lifetime of many 
 now living, when farming was carried on in the 
 territory now comprising this county, without the aid 
 of any of the inventions or improvements which 
 we now see all around us; when without roads or 
 bridges the inhabitants were comparatively secluded 
 from the rest of the world; and when without any but 
 the rudest agricultural implements, the cultivation of the 
 land was carried on. 
 
 A few years have passed away, and behold the change! 
 Language is inadequate to express it. A few hours ago 
 and I, who now address you was hundreds of 
 miles away. With a rapidity which in those early days 
 was never even prophesied, we are whirled past cities and 
 villages, over rivers, and through fields and groves, cross- 
 ing townships and counties, and even states in a single 
 
10 
 
 day; and everywhere we see as I see around me here, evi- 
 dences' of wealth and refinement, of progress andimprove- 
 ment. The land which was formerly of little worth is 
 now of great value — lands once sold at fifty cents an acre, 
 are now worth as many dollars. Your fields are in a high 
 state of cultivation. Beautiful farm houses and orchards 
 dot your plains, and the streams that flow through your 
 vallejs are not allowed to run un wasted to the sea. These 
 changes have all been wrought in these few years, and all 
 by the intelligence, the industry, and the liberality of 
 the farmers. Of this there is no better evidence than the 
 organization and existence of this association, this county 
 society. By thus organizing yourselves into an associa- 
 tion you contribute to each other your thoughts, ideas, 
 and inventions. You give the results of experiments, and 
 you properly act on the principle that your " light is 
 none the less for lighting }^our neighbors." This is the 
 kind of liberality by which both the giver and the receiver 
 are benefitted, and this it is, that has caused, the careful 
 study, the experiments, and friendly rivalry which is 
 productive of so much good. 
 
 We see this in the improved condition of the horses/the 
 cattle and other animals which have been brought to this 
 your annual gathering. We see it in the fruits and veg- 
 etables brought here for exhibition. 
 
 The producer of these, shows what he has done, and he 
 tells how it is done, and he says to his neighbor u go thou 
 and do likewise." With this state of feeling existing 
 among farmers, followed as it is by a willingness of in- 
 dividuals to act as occasion may require, for the general 
 good, knowledge and prosperity are inevitable. And 
 I am not surprised at the evidences of the prosperity and 
 success of the farmers of this section of the state. 
 
 Another beneficial effect of your enterprising spirit and 
 of the formation of associations like this, is the stimulation of 
 
the inventive spirit and genius of the country. The re- 
 sult of which we see in the multitude of labor saving in- 
 struments and implements gathered here upon these 
 grounds; for it is to you quite as much as the inventors 
 to whom we are indebted for the inventions made. The 
 sub-soil plow, the threshing machine, the mowing ma- 
 chine and reaper, and the many other inventions and 
 improvements are invented and produced only in obedi- 
 ence to your call, or I should say your demand. 
 
 The inventive genius which produces and provides 
 these things, would slumber on forever were the farmers too 
 indolent to use them, or too ignorant to appreciate their 
 worth. I state to you nothing new when I say, that the 
 records of the patent office at Washington will show, that 
 in those parts of the country where agriculture is in its 
 rudest state, and where the land is poorly tilled, there 
 are no inventors, or scarcely any. The reason is that 
 there is nothing there to stimulate or call out the inventive 
 genius of the people. It is to you and farmers of other sec- 
 tions, who are willing and desirous to adopt and profit by 
 any real improvements made, and who are capable of judg- 
 ing of the merits of the inventions, that we are indebted 
 for all such progress. 
 
 Looking back through the last century, we find man 
 has been elevated from the slave of Nature's elements to 
 the position of their master. Instead of living in con- 
 stant dread of them, he renders them, even in their wild- 
 est eccentricities, subservient to his use and profit. Science 
 has taught him that while he uses the flowings of her wa- 
 ters at home for productive purposes, their transforma- 
 tion into steam, has become the power by which he is pro- 
 pelled, as with the speed of wind, over land and sea. 
 
 Man, with the lasso of science has caught the vivid 
 lightning from the surcharged atmosphere, and tamed it 
 down to become the swift post-horse of his words, and the 
 
trumpet through which nation speaks to nation upon 
 themes of commerce and fraternal affection, as rapidly as 
 thought follows thought. 
 
 If I mistake not, man is o^ly in the early dawn of his 
 intellectual greatness. That immortal command must yet 
 be obeyed, "First know thyself, enough for man to know." 
 His inquisitiveness and ambition impel him onward and 
 upward, while science unveils to him at every step, some 
 hidden mystery; some new developement of creative pow- 
 er. Who shall say, that within the next half century 
 some Newton, some Franklin, or some Field, shall not pin 
 his name to the escutcheon of his century, by yoking the 
 electric fluid to the aerial car, to be at man's command 
 and use, like the sea-vessel of to-day, in the hands of the 
 trusty mariner. 
 
 Man's progressive nature is evinced and measured by 
 the growth of agriculture. But time admonishes me that 
 I must leave this subject also. 
 
 Gladly would I extend my remarks, by imparting to 
 you my views in regard to the composition, exhaustion, 
 and improvement of soils, the rotation of crops, the culti- 
 vation of fruit, and such other agricultural subjects as I have 
 acquired a knowledge of, and as to which I have well de- 
 fined convictions. But with all your study and experience 
 on those subjects, I will not flatter myself that I could in- 
 crease your knowledge or change your convictions should I 
 differ with you. 
 
 More pleasing to you now, more eloquent than any words 
 of mine, are the sights and sounds of nature all around us. 
 I feel that influence myself, and I yield to it with 
 pleasure. 
 
 In closing, I will say to the farmers of Wayne County, 
 that agriculture should not be made a repulsive pursuit to 
 your children; — when I say this, I include your daughters 
 
also, for I think they should be admitted to equal rights 
 in this country. 
 
 Grudge not your sons, that which will make them truly 
 wise. 
 
 Educate your children as highly as you can afford ; — a 
 good education is far better for them than untold wealth 
 with an empty brain. 
 
 Give them their legacies while you live, by enriching 
 their minds, and you endow them with that, which can- 
 not be taken from them after your death. 
 
 Irradiate the homestead with volumes of living, prac- 
 tical thoughts, and noble sentiments ; and it will become 
 endeared to your children. 
 
 Adorn the farmhouse with grand instructors of every 
 character, . and your children will become readers and 
 thinkers. 
 
 When investing your earnings, remember the claims of 
 art and literature. 
 
 The ordinary farmer of to-day, can have a better libra- 
 ry than William the Conqueror could have acquired in 
 his time. 
 
 Make home pleasant to the hearts and understandings 
 of your sons, and instead of leaving the plow for more 
 exciting, — though less noble — pursuits, they will rise to 
 an intelligent appreciation of their calling. 
 
 With these opportunities, the minds of your children 
 will evolve original thoughts and noble ideas ; and they 
 will learn the appropriate language of expression. 
 
 As the plow often reveals the hidden treasures of 
 buried nations, so may the plowman discover new and 
 important facts, that will aid the progress of science. 
 
 The farmer's life is a noble one: — more men have been 
 
23 
 
 taken from the field to become rulers of people than from 
 any other vocation. 
 
 The plow is the true emblem of industry : — of it 
 
 * * * " the rural Maro sung. 
 
 To wide imperial Rome, in the full height 
 
 Of elegance and taste, by Greece refined. 
 
 In ancient times, the sacred plow employ'd 
 
 The kings and awful fathers of mankind; 
 
 And some, with whom compared your insect tribes 
 
 Are but the beings of a summer's day, 
 
 Have held the scale of empire, ruled the storm 
 
 Of mighty war ; then, with victorious hand, 
 
 Disdaining glories of the crown, seized 
 
 The plow, and, greatly independent, scorn'd 
 
 All the vile stores corruption can bestow. 
 
 Ye generous Yeomen, venerate the plow; 
 For o'er your hills and long-withdrawing vales 
 Autumix has spread her treasures to the sun, 
 Luxuriant and unbounded ! As the sea, 
 Far through his azure turbulent domain, 
 Your empire owns, and, trom a thousand shores, 
 Wafts all the pomp of life into your ports; 
 So with superior boon may your rich soil, 
 Exuberant, Nature's better blessings pour 
 O'er evpry land, the naked nations clothe, 
 And be the exhaustless granary of the world ! " 
 
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