DAIRY, SEED IMPROVEMENT, STOCK BREEDERS MEETINGS. 3O9 



After the ferns have developed soils ridh enough for another 

 plant to live, that other plant comes along. It is the fire cherry. 

 It is God Almighty's means to prevent careless people from 

 causing fire to destroy forest growth. I always say that who- 

 ever sets the woods afire ought to have his taste of purgatory 

 right there, because that is where 'he is going, anyway. This is 

 rather plain talk. This is His agency to prevent the absolute 

 destruction oi the soils on the hills and mountains of the State 

 of Pennsylvania. We know how roots and seeds are destroyed 

 by fire, and when every little seed has been killed, by some 

 means, I do not know how, that little cherry gets there and 

 prevents the soil from feeing destroyed by man, the very agency 

 on which he depends to get his living. After the fire cherry, 

 with us (I have been in every county and town in the state), 

 comes the huckleberry, and after the huckleberry comes the 

 little cedar, and after the cedar comes the hemlock, and after 

 the hemlock the pine. The State of Maine is noted for its 

 pine. The northern part of Pennsylvania has large areas of 

 pine. We are too far south for the white pine you have. In 

 the southern part, we get into the southern pine district. 

 After the pine comes the birCh, after the birch the beech, after 

 the beech the maple, after the maple comes basswood; then pin 

 oak, rock oak, black oak, swamp oak and white oak. Where 

 do we find the white oak? We find it in the richest soil in the 

 state. We find it in Pennsylvania, in the limestone valleys of 

 that state. Pennsylvania Dutch settled in the limestone valleys 

 and are there today. They knew a good thing when they saw 

 it. Here is a process of development. The longer the Al- 

 mighty farmed that land the better it became and the longer 

 some fellows I kno^v farm, it, the poorer it becomes. 



Now, notice that I said here is a process of development. 

 Our soils are made up of two substances, disintegrated rocK 

 and organic matter; rock out of the earth, and organic matter 

 out of the atmosphere, and the two are brought together 

 through the agencies of the leaves of our plants. How does 

 the organic matter get into the atmosphere? You and I are 

 factories which make some of this organic matter; we inliale 

 air composed largely of oxygen and nitrogen and when we 

 breathe out the air it is made of carbonic acid gas, which the 

 plants breathe. If I should seal this room up and lock you in 



