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ward, and took hold in genial soils, excluding almost all other classes and weeds. My 

 father was a large land-holder, and rented out much of his land to be tilled by tenants 

 on the shares, raising corn and tobacco, but neither he nor his tenants cut down the out- 

 side forests, being confined to fallen trees and limbs for fire-wood. The result was that 

 only on abandoned farms or clearings did the grass take hold. I well remember how, 

 when a very small boy, I went with the slaves to bring home at night the milk cows from 

 a small grass field unfenced, a mile off perhaps, directed by the tinkling of the cow-bell. 

 Now, the I'eason of this, our honoured President will be shocked to hear, was not to 

 influence climate, or to revere nature by preserving these her greatest works of beauty ; 

 but to prevent trespass, and with the hope that in course of time the timber would bring 

 a fair price. 



Destruction op Forests. 



As soon as the blue-grass began to be appreciated, the forests began to fall under 

 the axe, and fences made of split rails. I give my own experience. I began by "belting" 

 all trees of early decaying wood — beech, buckeye, elms, dog-wood, hackberry, etc/ — leav- 

 ing the durable poplars, walnuts, hickories, oaks, coffee-beans, etc. These trees were 

 cleaned off as they decayed as the " clearing," and under those left were sowed blue-grass, 

 generally on the snow to suit the time and equal distribution of the seed. 



I went over twenty-two hundred and fifty acres, including the fields, in this style, 

 cutting briars, weeds, and bushes with scythes till the grass, fed upon by sheep and cattle, 

 formed a sod. These then were lovely parks not excelled in all the world. 



Decay of Forests. 



Unhappily these isolated trees began an early decay. The reasons are not far off. 

 The roots of trees naturally run near the surface of the soil, seeking air, light, and sun- 

 shine. The leaves fall, and, unblown by winds, remain winter and summer — mulch pro 

 tecting them against drouth and frost. After thinning, the leaves are insufficient or are 

 blown afar off. Then the stems or shafts once shielded by the massed tops of trees from 

 the sun and winds are exposed to botii ; and, above all, the blue-grass, running near the 

 surface with its matted roots, absorbs moisture and all the elements of growth, and leaves 

 the forests to decay. They begin by dying at the tops and at last perish by the rotting 

 of the centres. So the fine trees which should have lasted centuries have all disappeared 

 in sixty years. Of the native forests the black walnut, the coffee-bean, and the white, 

 burr, and chinkapin oaks are the most durable here. 



Happily for me, I left about fifty acres of native forest untouched, and that remains 

 vigorous as in the beginning, when an hundred years or more ago it was first seen. 



Fruit Trees. 



The peach cleared of the borer, and properly trimmed, will live twenty years or 

 more. All the seedling apple trees have died but one. An hundred-year old pear tree, 

 reduced to a shell and almost a stump, was cut away by me with great reluctance this 

 winter. The grafted apple tree has proved more short lived than the seedling. None of 

 the cherries have lived over the century. The quince has passed away also. 



Planted Trees 



seem to be in a way to live long, because the limbs being left low, kill the grass and 

 weeds, shelter the shafts, and generally adopt habits of durability. Of the planted trees, 

 all survive which have low limbs : as the walnut, hickory, water maple, and sugar trees. 

 And though the black locusts failed, it was in part, perhaps, owing to an insect which of 

 late years has attacked and eaten up the leaves. Trees planted singly, or in groups, if 

 left with all the branches, bid fair to live as in the original forests. 



The Re-Growth of Forests. 

 In some lands, the pine being cut away, the oak succeeds, and the reverse. I do not 



