Groves, Forests, and Waters
The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.
1. YE shall not cut down the timber on the hills and mountains, lest your children suffer for want of wood and water. Ye shall not destroy the groves along the shores of the lakes and ponds, lest the winds and storms make your land desolate, and both heat and cold destroy you. Therefore shall ye cause them to grow continually, and they shall beautify your inheritance, and your children shall rise up and call you blessed.
76 words,
338 letters.
2. Every man who receiveth an inheritance shall preserve a forest thereon, that his children may walk in the shade thereof, and may build houses and prepare food; and that his cattle faint not with heat or drouth, nor perish in the blast; and the land yield her increase. If there be no forest, he shall plant one.
57 words,
247 letters.
3. Ye shall preserve the trees by the wayside. And if there be none, ye shall plant them. Whether it be in the cities, towns,
[Page 287]
and villages, or the fields and forests, ye shall do it.
35 words,
137 letters.
4. All these things shall ye do as your King shall appoint, and your Rulers determine, that the land be pleasant to your children.
23 words,
102 letters.
5. And in your cities, and towns, and villages, and by the side of great waters, and ponds, and running streams, and springs, shall groves be appointed to you, that the aged and the young may go there to rest and to play. There shall ye all make yourselves joyful.
49 words,
203 letters.
Total—5 sec., 240 words, 1,027 letters.
1. Greece has become a desolation, her fields a desert, and her rivers dried up, by the destruction of the forests. Much of Palestine has suffered in the same manner. The Lybian deserts are slowly but surely advancing on the fertile alluvion of the Nile, because there are no forests there.
2. In higher latitudes forests are equally necessary as a protection against cold, especially against winter storms. Prairie and timber regions afford a most striking contrast, in winter comforts, in favour of the latter.
3. But, aside from these advantages, there is a peculiar beneficence in providing abundant publick parks and watering places. They are the harbingers of health and happiness. And the common fisheries of the waters, and pasturage of publick groves, and unappropriated forests, will be a great relief to such poor people as are to be found at times in the best governed States. The poor you have always with you.
1. YE shall not cut down the timber on the hills and mountains, lest your children suffer for want of wood and water. Ye shall not destroy the groves along the shores of the lakes and ponds, lest the winds and storms make your land desolate, and both heat and cold destroy you. Therefore shall ye cause them to grow continually, and they shall beautify your inheritance, and your children shall rise up and call you blessed.
76 words,
338 letters.
2. Every man who receiveth an inheritance shall preserve a forest thereon, that his children may walk in the shade thereof, and may build houses and prepare food; and that his cattle faint not with heat or drouth, nor perish in the blast; and the land yield her increase. If there be no forest, he shall plant one.
57 words,
247 letters.
3. Ye shall preserve the trees by the wayside. And if there be none, ye shall plant them. Whether it be in the cities, towns,
[Page 287]
and villages, or the fields and forests, ye shall do it.
35 words,
137 letters.
4. All these things shall ye do as your King shall appoint, and your Rulers determine, that the land be pleasant to your children.
23 words,
102 letters.
5. And in your cities, and towns, and villages, and by the side of great waters, and ponds, and running streams, and springs, shall groves be appointed to you, that the aged and the young may go there to rest and to play. There shall ye all make yourselves joyful.
49 words,
203 letters.
Total—5 sec., 240 words, 1,027 letters.
1. Greece has become a desolation, her fields a desert, and her rivers dried up, by the destruction of the forests. Much of Palestine has suffered in the same manner. The Lybian deserts are slowly but surely advancing on the fertile alluvion of the Nile, because there are no forests there.
2. In higher latitudes forests are equally necessary as a protection against cold, especially against winter storms. Prairie and timber regions afford a most striking contrast, in winter comforts, in favour of the latter.
3. But, aside from these advantages, there is a peculiar beneficence in providing abundant publick parks and watering places. They are the harbingers of health and happiness. And the common fisheries of the waters, and pasturage of publick groves, and unappropriated forests, will be a great relief to such poor people as are to be found at times in the best governed States. The poor you have always with you.