1837] 



FARMERS' RKGrSTER. 



443 



These. lakes, besides aliordiiiff fjrcat (iicilities (or 

 intercoiiiiiiuiiicatioti, anrroeably diversily thecoun- 

 irv, ami n^iniei" it (ioiihly cliai'niin<j: to ilie lover ot" 

 the |)iciurt'S(|ue. Tiiey are iVeqiiently seen l)y tlie 

 iravelier Ibriniii-s before he reaches them, and in 

 connection with thecountrv, lyin^r in the distance 

 on the opposite side, they I'urnish landscapes, truly 

 enchanriritr. Perhaps I conid not convey a bet- 

 tor idea of the beauty and situation of the counlry 

 in tlieir vicinity, liian by briefly describin<p one of 

 th;'se landscapes.' It svas on a deliyhtful after- 

 noon, in the month ot Auyust, when 1 approach- 

 ed the west bank- of the Cayuu'a lake, with the 

 iritemion of crossinir over in the liitie sieamer, 

 which incessantly plies li-oni one side to the other, 

 a distance of three miles. Beiiiir detained longer 

 than I expected, [ had a favorable ojiportunity of 

 contemplatinji; the scene beliire me. The trans- 

 parent siieet ot water stretched far to the south, and 

 on iisunrulHeil bosom lay the little crafts, without 

 a breath of air to move them; the opposite shore 

 was sprinkled witii numerous villaifes, whose 

 while houses glittered in the sofi rays of the eve- 

 ning sun ; while beyoiKl, in the iiack ground, 

 the country rose from the water, for five or six 

 miles at a regular slope" of a hundred feet to the 

 mile, showing to infinite advantage the num- 

 berless small farms, and neat liirm-houses, like 

 patches in the distance. It was altogether unri- 

 valled by any tliinu; I had even seen, though [ 

 bad scalea the summit of the Peaks of Otter (or 

 the purpose of havinii: a view of the surroundmij 

 country, and had uazed with delight from the brow 

 of Laurel hill, which overlooks the western part of 

 Pennsylvania. 



In describing a country, it is proper to say some- 

 thmgofthe natura.l irrowth of the soil, as it is 

 considered an indication of its quality. The for- 

 ests ot New York. are extremely dense, and re- 

 markable for the size, and particularly for the 

 height of the trees. In summer, their foliage pre- 

 sents a shield throu'^h which the suti can seldom 

 penetrate. The most magnificient production is 

 undoubtedly the American elm (ulmus aincrica- 

 na); and the ic. racemosci, a species peculiar to 

 that locality, is scarcely inferior to it. The sunrar 

 maple and black maple — the tulip tree or poplar 

 of the south (liriodsndroii) — the bass wood (tj- 

 lia glabra) — the beech and the two species of 

 walnut — are the ftttinir com|)eers of the elm. Be- 

 sides these, there are many of the second class, 

 an)ongst which, may be enumerated the cucum- 

 ber tree (magnolia acuminata), the Avhite and 

 black ash, the cotton wood (popuhis angolata), 

 and several species of oaks. 1 was rather morti- 

 fied to see these monarchs of our southern forests 

 hiding iheir fliminished heads beneath the'elm and 

 the maple. The soil is doubtless less conjienial 

 to the oaks ihan it is in the south, which are 

 scrubby and stunie(i in comparison with the size 

 they attain in Virginia. The species are, more- 

 over, limited to a small number. The pines are 

 only occasionally seen in the western part of New 

 York; and when they do occur, it is in sandy dis- 

 tricts of hmited extent, between the limestone 

 lands and the lake. The white pine (pinus strn- 

 bus,) is the most ma)estic. as well as the most val- 

 uable. The hemlock (pinus canadensis) — the 

 Norway pine (p- resinnsa) — the hack-match (p. 

 pendala), afld some inferior species, toirether with 

 the arbor vitte (^thuja occidentalis,) grow in the 

 same localities. 



Tlie extreme luxuriance of the deciduous Ibrests 

 on a hitrhly calcareous soil, struck me as being 

 incompatible with the theory of an ingenious and 

 distingushed writer published in a Ibrmer viilume 

 of the Farmers' Register. In treating of the ori- 

 irin of the western prairies, he endeavored to sus- 

 tain the position, that the presence of carbonate 

 of lime was uniriendly to the growth of timber. 

 If the position was assumed without any (lualifi- 

 calion, the facts I have stated must go to invali- 

 date it; but if he had rclerence only to the oaks, 

 which constitute (he principal growth amongst the 

 prairies, the limited number and small size ot 

 those growing on the limestone soils of New 

 York may measurably tend (o support it. Be- 

 side:^, there are many hardy southern plants, as 

 I was informed, which will not flourish, or even 

 irrow in the calcareous soils of that state. I re- 

 gret that I cannot now enumerate them.* 



I should not omit to state that the precipitous 

 banks of the Niagra river afford an interesting 

 and imposing view of the geological structure of 

 the contiguous country. In the ia)men.«e chasm 

 which the current has worked out, we have, al- 

 most, at a glance ot'" the eye, a siu'hi of the difii^r- 

 ent rocks which are found in the western part of 

 the state. The strata are disposed so nearly ho- 

 rizontally, that we' must su])pose the elements to 

 have been in a state of almost entire quiescence 

 tliuiiig their deposition. There is, however, a 

 jiradua! tiip to the south, which becomes appa- 

 rent in ascending the river. Eegininirat the base 

 of the mountain ridije, the red sandstone forms 

 the substratum, which is distinctly visible lor 

 two or three miles up tlie 'river. Overlying this, 

 and commencing at the mountain ridire, is the 

 common limestone, risingsuddenly to the height 

 of some two hundred feet. Ascendinfi; the river 

 some miles, this denosite gradually sinks, and an- 



* The position assumed in tfie 'Essay on the forma- 

 tion of prairies,' (p. 321, voliii.) wliich is referred to 

 above, was not meant or stated as unqualified, oruniver- 

 sally true. The writer b^dieved, indeed, tliat a calca- 

 reous soil was less favorable to the growth of most 

 ibiest trees, than a soil not calcareous. To soihe kinds, 

 (as specified above by our correspondent,) such' con- 

 stitution of soil may be positively as well as compara- 

 Itvelij unfavorable— and to others, as of the most iisual 

 kinds and numerous pines, a calcareous soil is alto- 

 gether unhospitable, and seldom permits a single ti-ae 

 to live. On tie other hand, some trees thrive best on 

 soilcontaiuingmild calcareous earth, and will hardly live 

 where that ingredient isaltog/ther deficient, and great- 

 ly wanting to tlie constitution of the soil: of these, the 

 common locust {roblnia pseudacacia) is the mo- 1 strik- 

 ing example. 



But the mode in which the calcareous quality of 

 soils was supposed (in the theory of the formation of 

 the prairies,) to prevent the growth or continuance of 

 trees in gene'ral, was not only, nor principally, by be- 

 ing directly unfavorable — but indiredly, by favoring, in 

 a much greater degree, the growth of rank grass, 

 which furnished every winter more and more fuel to 

 the fires, as the trees more and more gave way to their 

 effects, and to the mora vigorous and increasing growth 

 of grass. — Ed. 



