364 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



which we are indebted to our experimental farm- 

 ers, and t) book reading. This principle, of the 

 rotation in crops, is probably as well understood, 

 at this time, as anything connected with the sci- 

 ence of agriculture. And this is the principle, no 

 doubt, which explains why it is that the white-oak 

 is leaving our forests and giving place to the black 

 oak timber. It has been so long the undisputed 

 tenant of our woods, that, having exhausted from 

 the soil that aliment upon which it lives, it retires. 

 in the order of Providence, to give place to a suc- 

 cessor whose special food yet remains in rich 

 abundance in the earth. 



Every farmer who has attentively observed the 

 progress of vegetation in his own lane and yard, 

 must have noticed the operation of this principle. 

 The order of our grounds is something like this — 

 the first occupant was the smart weed — the next 

 a species of white blossomed weed — then the dog 

 fennel, and now the yarrow is coming. As soon 

 as the aliment was extracted that nourished each 

 particular kind, it died for the want of something 

 to live on, and was succeeded by another species, 

 and perhaps mere accident determined the suc- 

 cessor. 



Since our attention has been directed to this 

 transition in the forest, we have made the subject 

 a matter of inquiry, when favored with the com- 

 pany of men who would be likely to notice things 

 of this kind. 



Having been referred, with reference to this 

 matter, to Joshua (Joperthwaite, of Medford, New 

 Jersey, where they have timber lands which have 

 frequently been cut off for the supply of wood to 

 the Philadelphia market, we wrote to that gentle- 

 man upon the subject, and have received his an- 

 swer, from which we take the following extract : — 

 "If the pine is cut off the oak will grow, and if the 

 oak is cut off the pine will grow." 



At the late State Fair, at Cincinnati, we met 

 with an intelligent fruit grower from Illinois, to 

 whom we mentioned this forest subject, and found 

 that he had noticed this change going on among 

 the trees of the wood. At our request he penciled 

 down and handed us the following statement. He 

 was formerly a resident of Ohio, and his remarks 

 refer to this State : — 



"I have long been convinced that two genera- 

 tions of the same kind of forest trees seldom or 

 never succeed each other on the same tract of land. 

 A crop of trees, nearly all of one kind, which last 

 from two to four and sometimes to five centuries, 

 seem to exhaust the soil of that peculiar nutriment 

 which is adapted to that sort, and at the same 

 time prepares it for some other 



"Instances : there is the track of an old tornado, 

 which passed through DelaAvare county, the north- 

 east corner of Licking, and finally into the south- 

 east part of Knox, which, upon counting the an- 

 nuals on a number of stumps, I ascertained to 

 have occurred about the year 1740. In the track 

 of this tornado, the timber is essentially different 

 from the older timber on each side of it. Again ; 

 most of the west part of Knox county was, thirty 

 years ago, when I first became acquainted with it, 

 covered with a growth of beech, slightly mixed 

 with other timber. That this growth had suc- 

 ceeded an oak forest was quite plain, from the fa< t, 

 that o ik trees of enormous size, in a state of dec.iy, 

 were t > be found in every direction." 



The f n-egoing extract is taken from the Agricul- 



tural Report of the State of Ohio, a large volume, 

 for Avhich we are indebted to our respected corres- 

 pondent, C. Springer, of O., who directed our at- 

 tention to this subject, which is contained in a let- 

 ter to E. Harkness, of Muskingum Co. 



We have noticed, and we have heard many 

 farmers remark, that white oak and maple came 

 up after pines were cut down. We have seen this 

 in the pine forests in the counties of Albany and 

 Oneida in this State, but we have never examined 

 the subject so attentively as to perceive the exist- 

 ence of a certain law in these changes. The sub- 

 ject, we believe, demands further investigation, for 

 it is one of great interest to every class of our citi- 

 zens. — Scientific American. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE GARDEN. 



BV E. PORTER DYER. 



A garden, a garden, O give me a garden, 



With soil of a mellow dark mould. 

 Where my face may get tanned, and my fingers may harden; 



I would not exchange it for gold. 



This spading, and hoeing, and raking, and wheeling, 



Preparing to scatter the seed in, 

 To my mind the goodness of Him is revealing 



Who planted a garden in Eden. 



The scent of fresh mould — 'tis refreshing to smell of — 



The toil it requires is reviving; 

 The sweat of the brow, though 'tis nothing to tell of, 



It sweetens the gardener's living. 



Our first father found it an exquisite pleasure, 



To practise the science of pruning, 

 Or walk with his Eve in the shade at his leisure, 



For instance while ''taking his nooning." 



And whether he planted corn, beans, or tomatoes, 



I find not a word or tradition, 

 But always supposed when he dug his potatoes, 



lie found litem in healthy condition. 



His strawberry plants must have looked quite delicious, 



At least, while in process of bearing — 

 As berries and cream were regarded nutritious, 



Of cream, his dear Eve was not sparing. 



She always took pleasure in setting her table 



To study the taste of her Adam ; 

 And he from his gardeit whene'er he was able 



Found comfort in picking for madam. 



And often I've thought had not garden employment 



Been famished in Eden for Adam, 

 His wife had been homesick, and all his enjoyment 



Been making herb-tea for his madam. 



STRAW AS A COVERING. 



Clean straw is an excellent covering for many 

 things ; thousands on thousands of sea kale in 

 frames or under hoops have no other blanching ma- 

 terial ; and how clean they grow in it ! Rhubarb., 

 in winter forcing and early spring, grows beauti- 

 fully pinky. It is well known that early spring 

 frosts destroy rhubarb ; but if a six inch layer of 

 straw is put on every crown, as the heads put up, 

 they raise the straw with them, and it not only 

 gives the stalks a better color, and makes them 

 less "stringy," but it keeps the leaves from grow- 

 ing too large. No wind will blow it off, nor will 

 the most intense frost injure the plants. Straw 

 should not be looked on as a mere litter ; it is as 

 good as a frame upon a large scale. What sort 

 of eatable strawberries would we have without 



