KAL 



KAL 



237 



his countrymen to take notice at 

 what times the trees unfold their 

 leaves. N;Uure is so uniform in 

 her operations, that the forward 

 ness of tr«'es is an unfailing indica- 

 tion of the forwardness of the spring. 

 And the genial warmth, which cau- 

 ses trees and shrubs to [)ut forth 

 their leaves, will be sufficient to 

 cause seeds to vegetate. 



In order to reduce to practice so 

 ingenious a hint, an account should 

 be made out of the first leafing,and 

 I may add, the blossoming of a va- 

 riety of trees and shrubs. 1 suppose 

 trees and shrubs to be most suita- 

 ble for this purpose, as they are 

 more deeply rooted, and therefore 

 more steady and uniform in their 

 appearances, than any plants which 

 are perennial only in their roots. 

 They are especially much more so 

 than annuals. 



It is certain that such an account 

 taken m one place will not answer 

 alike for every part of the country ; 

 because the vegetation in every 

 part is not equally forward. There- 

 fore, I would earnestly recommend, 

 that in each degree of latitude, 

 throughout New-England at least, 

 some attentive naturalist would 

 make a list of a considerable num- 

 ber of trees and shrubs, which are 

 common, and near at hand ; care- 

 fully watch their appearances, and 

 minute the times of the first open- 

 ing of their leaves, and also of their 

 blossoming. By comparing the 

 accounts, the absurdity will imme- 

 diately appear, of sowing the same 

 kind of seeds at the same time of 

 the month or year, in the 42d, 43d, 

 44th, and 45th degrees of latitude. 

 This is a matter that farmers ought 



to attend to ; that so those who re- 

 move from one degree of latitude 

 to another, may not be confounded 

 concerning the true times of sow- 

 ing, on supposition that they have 

 been once in the risht practice. 

 The right in one place will be 

 wrong ill another. 



When these accounts are obtain- 

 ed, let trials be made by sowing a 

 certain kind of seed before, at, and 

 after the foliation, or the flowering, 

 of some particular plant, and the 

 produce compared. Let accurate 

 experiments of this kind be yearly 

 repeated, with all the most useful 

 spring plants ; by this, in a few 

 years, complete kalendars may be 

 obtained for every degree of lati- 

 tude in this country. The conse- 

 quence will be, that the farmer will 

 be able infallibly to read the true 

 times of sowing, b) casting his eye 

 upon the trees and shrubs that are 

 about him. We have already such 

 a rule as this, with respect to Indi- 

 an corn ; but it perhaps ought to 

 undergo a further examination. 



But such rules, after all that can 

 be done, must not govern us inva- 

 riably. The right times of seeding 

 admit of some latitude, on account 

 of the degree of dryness of the soil, 

 and of its exposure to the solar 

 warmth. Land should have the 

 right degree of moisture when 

 seeds are sown on it ; and a south- 

 ern exposure will afford an earlier 

 vegetation than a northern. 



That I may set an example of 

 what I have been recommending, 

 and begin the needful work, here 

 follows an account of the leafing 

 and blossoming of trees and shrubs 

 in that part of New-England which 



