

SUCCESSION OF PLANTS. 297 



Cones in abundance are produced every season, but 

 they contribute chiefly to the food of the animal 

 inhabitants, and it is only where a blank occurs, from 

 the decay or the casual destruction of a tree, that 

 young 1 plants rise to fill it up. There are, indeed, 

 few or no trees of which the young plants grow and 

 form underwood, while the old ones remain filling 

 the air above. Nor would it be in accordance with 

 our general observation of nature if they did. The 

 young of no tribe, vegetable or animal, are the de- 

 stroyers of the old ; they merely come on, in succes- 

 sion, when they are required ; though the germes 

 of all are exceedingly numerous, so that there never 

 is room on a fit soil at the proper season, without 

 the plant appearing to fill it. But man comes in 

 with his nursery-bed ; and though he cannot be said 

 to overstock the country (for there can hardly be 

 too many trees and there are numerous and wide 

 wastes in England, where it is disgraceful that there 

 are not millions), yet the nursery-bed is over- 

 stocked, and the consequence is, the dry rot in oak, 

 and general rottenness and want of strength in all 

 timber. 



The inferiority of planted timber is often ,attri- 

 buted to the act of transplanting ; but though that 

 may have a considerable influence upon the growth, 

 it cannot have so much on the quality of the timber. 

 Trees that have long top-roots, as the oak has, 

 cannot be transplanted without injuring them, and 

 injuring them often to a considerable extent ; but 

 still that is only a mechanical injury, and can affect 

 only the size and appearance of the trees. 



The economy of vegetables has not been carefully 

 and extensively enough examined, for enabling us to 

 say what effects variously tainted atmospheres have 

 upon forest trees, or even upon vegetables of any 

 description ; but enough is known to let us see that 

 they must, be very pernicious. The air of the sea 

 is very hurtful to all plants that contain potass, 



