FROM PHILADELPHIA 131 



Orchards are a part of every farm ; when the trees 

 begin to show age, a new orchard is set on fresh land, 

 for it is not regarded as good practice to put young 

 trees where the old ones stood because commonly 

 there is plenty of land, and people prefer to avoid the 

 trouble of ploughing up the old land and improving it 

 by manure and stirring. Little care is taken in the 

 choice of good sorts of fruit ; apples and peaches are the 

 commonest, but they might be greatly improved, espe- 

 cially the peaches. 



From our host's mentioned above we came through 

 almost unbroken forest to Rocky-hill township, in 

 which we could find only a few scattered houses ; the 

 road deserved the name stony. A blue stone like trap, 

 and a laminated sort of rock resembling gneiss covered 

 the surface, and beneath there was often to be observed 

 something of the red Jersey soil. We went through a 

 devastated tract of woods, probably 2000 acres in ex- 

 tent ; the trees had all been destroyed by an iron- 

 foundry which fell to ruin when the owners had used 

 up all their wood. The forests are in great part oak, 

 with beech and birch. Beech-bark and birch-bark are 

 in this region especially liked for tanning. On this dry 

 barren soil the growth was nothing but small trees of 

 all kinds, apparently of no great age. However, most 

 of the forest-growth in the farther regions is likely 

 very young, the first settlers having made it their chief 

 business to burn off the wood from their lands the 

 fire generally spread, and the original growth was in 

 great part wiped out. 



Fences certainly are nowhere else to be found of so 

 many different varieties as in America, where at any 

 moment the traveller comes upon a new sort and can- 



