182 Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts. 



ly sprang. We know of knobs, so to speak, of the most rocky- 

 land, rendered productively valuable by the careful preserva- 

 tion and pruning of the Red Cedar, which sprang up sponta- 

 neously upon them, and which would have remained as 

 shrubs, if browsed by cattle, and have continued to be as use- 

 less for food, as unsightly to the eye. From the success which 

 has attended the experiments in France, on the most barren 

 sands, and in Scotland, on the bleakest highlands, as well as 

 from our actual knowledge of what humbler and more limited 

 operations have effected in this vicinity, we are persuaded 

 that the sterile and mossy ridges of grave], stretching around 

 some of our maritime towns, for instance, Duxbury, which is 

 particularly in our mind now, and the sandy plains of Hing- 

 ham, and of the more interior towns, could become of a future 

 value, which scarcely can be calculated now. The impor- 

 tance of forests, and indeed of every tree and shrub, in im- 

 proving the soil, is too great to be overlooked, while their own 

 intrinsic value is by no means small. This is effected by the 

 decomposition of the original soil through the roots ; by the 

 gradual decay of the foliage, and through the prevention of 

 the winds carrying the particles of soil from spot to spot. 

 Many an acre would resemble the moving sands of an Arabian 

 desert, were it not for the thick carpet, of pine leaves which 

 lie under the trees, which such a shifting soil bears : and not 

 a few such we know, where entire days are required to dig 

 out the walls and fences, buried, year by year, by the drift 

 sand; a species of husbandry of most improvident character, and 

 an evil which soon could be remedied, by the judicious plant- 

 ing of various species of pine. De Candolle tells us that he 

 herborized for a whole day, in similar artificial " forests sown 

 by Brementier on sand completely arid, and on which, before, 

 scarce a trace of vegetation could be seen." It is well known, 

 too, that the shade of the yellow Locust, (Robinia psuedaca- 

 cia,) is most favorable to the growth of nutritious grass, even 

 on spots where, before the planting of this tree, it was impos- 

 sible to make it grow, and numerous such facts only tend to 

 exhibit the facilities, as well as advantages, which this kind 

 of agricultural pursuit offers. 



Those who are fond of vegetable statistics, whether in the 

 economical employment of the various kinds of woods, or in 



