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THE MUSEUM. 



A Study of Knolls. 



BY C. O. ORMSBEE, MONTPELIER, VT. 



A peculiar feature in the surface of 

 the greater part of New England con- 

 sists of the numerous little hills or hum- 

 mocks, popularly called "knolls," 

 which everywhere abound. With the 

 exception of some of the marshes and 

 allunial meadows, they literally cover 

 every portion of the country that the 

 plow has not yet touched. They are 

 seldom more than four feet high, or 

 more than ten feet in width, or more 

 than twenty-five feet long. In fact a 

 knoll of these dimensions would be un- 

 usually large, although larger ones are 

 sometimes seen. 



As geolological monuments they 

 have little or no value; but they are 

 interesting as they illustrate, to a re- 

 markable degree, one of the many 

 methods which Nature employs, and 

 has employed, to thoroughly mix the 

 different elements which compose the 

 soil, and to more perfectly adapt the 

 soil to the use of man. Besides, it is 

 important to understand their origin, 

 lest, by a misinterpretation, serious 

 geological errors may result. 



In a word, then, these knolls are 

 caused by the wind uprooting huge 

 trees in the forest. As is well-known, 

 the roots of all trees extend approxi- 

 mately at right angles to the trunk of 

 the tree which they support, so that 

 when the tree is thrown tlat upon the 

 ground the roots are placed in a per- 

 pendicular position. Naturally a large 

 amount of earth clings tc the roots 

 and is uplifted with them. Dead 

 leaves are blown into the hollow which 

 is left, and, decaying, soon fill it to the 

 level of the surrounding country. Af- 

 ter the lapse of a few years the roots 

 of the tree, and the tree itself, decays 

 and the earth which had been unlifted 

 falls to the ground and forms a little 

 hillock. Thus the tree, in perishing, 

 erects a monument to tell of its life, 

 its size, and the manner of its death, 

 and, I might also add that the knoll 

 gives some clue to the species of the 



tree which formed it. To be sure this 

 clue is rather faint, and not to be ab- 

 solutely relied upon, yet, in my ram- 

 bles about the country, I have noticed 

 a regularity which seems to divide the 

 knolls into several classes; and by 

 watching other knolls now in the pro- 

 cess of formation I have been able, to 

 a certain extent, to systematize their 

 classes. 



I have noticed that a knoll is invar- 

 iably steepest on the side towards the 

 wind and this gives a clue to the direc- 

 tion from whence the storm came 

 which uprooted the tree. Again, when 

 a tree is uprooted during the summer 

 months, when the ground is baked 

 hard and dry, the sides of the knoll 

 are more abrupt and percipitious than 

 when the tree is uprooted either in the 

 spring or fall; from this I can reach 

 some conclusion as to the reason of 

 the storm. Also when I see a knoll 

 which has been broken, or torn apart, 

 by the uprooting of a second tree, I 

 am able to form some idea as to the 

 comparative age of the knoll. And 

 when I see one whole and entire, I 

 know that it is of recent formation; or, 

 rather that it was formed not long be- 

 fore the forest was cut off. 



Pursuing my investigations in anoth- 

 er direction, I find that the roots of 

 the rock maple are long, and that they 

 penetrate the ground to a greater depth 

 than any other tree of this locality, 

 for it must be remembered that the 

 oak is not found in this county. As a 

 natural consequence, when a maple 

 tree is uprooted, the knoll which re- 

 sults is long and wide and high. The 

 long deep roots have taken up a large 

 amount of earth, and the result could 

 not be otherwise. The roots of the 

 elm are longer, even, than those of the 

 maple, but do not penetrate deeply; 

 consequently the knoll formed by the 

 uprooting of an elm tree is longer than 

 that produced by the maple, but not 

 so high or so wide, fjeech and birch 

 roots are similar, — short and penetrat- 

 ing deeper than those of the elm, but 

 not as deep as maple roots; and, ac- 



