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On Successiofi of Timber, by Richard Peters, Esquire. 



Read June 14, 1814. 



Belmont, May 20th, 1814. 

 Dear Sir, 



I intended to have added, by way of note to the 

 letter of Isaac Wayne, Esquire, on timber, the follow- 

 ing information, which I have recently received from 

 an old and intelligent land surveyor, Mr. Edxvard 

 Ohail, who has frequent occasions of traversing vari- 

 ous parts of our old settlements. 



On the south mountain, running through Adams, 

 York, and part of Cumberland counties, there are se- 

 veral extensive places on, and skirting, that mountain, 

 on which pine timber alone had grown. Noxv, many 

 of the pines are standing, though dead ; the whole of 

 the living pine timber having been long banished. 

 Among the dead pines, and generally through large 

 spots formerly occupied by them, very flourishing 

 chesnut is growing ; and not a living pine is to be seen. 

 The same person reminds me, that particular species 

 of timber perishes, while on the same land, and inter- 

 mixed with it, other trees continue flourishing. At 

 this time, and for some time past, all the pin oak of the 

 counties before mention'^d, on light soils, is perishing, 

 and passing away rapidly ; though other timber among 

 which it grows is in great vigour. It is a fact well 

 known, that, generally, trees of different species, on the 

 same acre or spot, flourish better than all of one kind. 

 To this, resinous timber may be an exception. The 

 perishing of one species, whilst other kinds remain vi- 

 gorous, encourages the idea of specific pabulum ; i. c. 



