638 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



other trees, in -winter by the character of their 

 spray, as well as by their foliage in summer ? There 

 is a gracefulness about the elm in winter which is 

 even more apparent than in other seasons. Not 

 only do the large branches form beautiful arches 

 by their drooping, but they are sub-divided into 

 the minutest spray that hangs almost like fringe 

 from every part of the tree. The spray of the ash 

 and the horse chestnut, on the contrary, is stiff, 

 blunt and coarse, and would afford a stranger but 

 a feeble conception of the beauty of these trees 

 when they are in foliage. It is needless to extend 

 these remarks ; but any one who has not previous- 

 ly made such observations, would, if his attention 

 were called to them, find much to interest his mind 

 by its novelty and beautj'. 



It is in winter only that an opportunity is afford- 

 ed us to observe the different colors of the branch- 

 es of trees. These, in some instances, present a 

 very beautiful sight. Some species of willow have a 

 bright golden colored spray ; in others it is of a 

 vivid green ; and these colors are often beautiful- 

 ly contrasted with the dark purple bark of the 

 branches, and the ashen spray of the birch or the 

 poplar. 



In the shrubbery of our pastures we observe a 

 still greater variety of hues, passing through a se- 

 ries of beautiful gradations, from a bright crimson, 

 to a dark purple and mulberry hue. All these are 

 placed in pleasing opposition to the brown surface 

 of the pasture and the grey rocks covered with li- 

 chens and patches of bright green mosses. When 

 one has once become accustomed to observing these 

 ajjpearances, they provide for him an endless source 

 of amusement, when engaged in the occupations 

 of the field. 



But we must not confine our remarks to the 

 mere aspects of the season. We are reminded by 

 our observations abroad, in a peculiar manner, of the 

 uses and the necessity of trees and forests, for pro- 

 tection from the cold and raging winds of this in- 

 clement season. This is a subject that has never 

 sufficiently occupied the attention of our farmers. 

 Many there are, who appreciate the beauty of for- 

 ests, and the value of the shade of wayside trees ; 

 and all feel the necessity of preserving a constant 

 succession of woodland growth, to furnish a regular 

 supply of timber and fuel. It is time we should 

 all duly consider the advantages of trees and forests 

 as a protection from the bleakness of winds. These 

 advantages are not obtained by a wide extent of 

 wood, in any greater degree, than by a dense and 

 narrow strip. A mere row of single trees affords 

 but little protection from the winds, because the 

 current passes freely underneath the branches : but 

 a narrow plantation of wood, with its undergrowth, 

 especially if it consists of a liberal mixture of ev- 

 ergreens, must be a sure protection from all the 

 winds that blow at right angles with its length. — 



Hence it is plain, that the more generally any tract 

 of country is intersected by such strips of wood- 

 land, the more secure it must be from any steady 

 currents of wind. 



This consideration suggests to us the necessity, 

 when we are employed in cutting down a tract of 

 woodland, of leaving a narrow strip with its under- 

 growth, wherever it may be left with advantage. 

 If there be a ridge of land extending through this 

 piece of wood, leave the trees on this elevation ; if 

 the whole be a level, leave a strip on the outside of 

 the wood, where it joins with the open pasture. — 

 The advantage of choosing the outside for this pur- 

 pose, arises from the greater number of well formed 

 and fully developed trees, on the outskirts of a 

 wood. Such as cannot be found in the midst of it. 

 The outer portion is likewise always btitter supplied 

 with undergrowth which is quite as important as 

 the trees, to protect the adjoining fields from the 

 wind. 



We have often been surprised to see how ruth- 

 lessly our people will sometimes cut down a little 

 warm plantation of trees, like the kind which we 

 have recommended, for the sake merely of clear- 

 ing the whole of a certain space. Sometimes they 

 appear to understand the value of the trees, but 

 spoil half of their advantages by depriving them 

 of their undergrowth. A wood covering a square 

 space of ten or fifteen acres, might be divested of 

 its undergrowth, and if necessary, converted into 

 pasture, without diminishing its value for purposes 

 of protection ; because a current of wind could not 

 freely pass through such an extensive body of trees. 

 But a long and warm plantation, though nearly as 

 valuable for shade without its undergrowth, is al- 

 most useless without it as a protection from winds. 

 We should advise the owner of land, therefore, 

 never to clear such a warm tract of its under- 

 growth ; and if it be destitute of it, plant it as soon 

 as possible, with those hardy and valuable shrubs, 

 such as the cornels, the vimineous blueberries, ha- 

 zel-bushes, laurels, and even barberries, which flour- 

 ish readily in all situations. 



To return to the aspects of nature : — has the 

 reader never observed that a small tract of wood — 

 that is, a tract of only a few rods in width — is nev- 

 er so pleasing an object of sight, when its under- 

 growth is wanting, as when it is well supplied with 

 it ? See how bald and naked every wood appears 

 which is without this pleasing accompaniment! 

 How artificial it looks, how cold and uncomforta- 

 ble! The smaller trees and shrubs and tangled 

 vines, that always skirt a wood of several years' 

 standing, unless they have been cleared away by 

 the hand of man, are the shading which nature em- 

 ploys to embellish her landscapes. They cause 

 the wood to unite gradually and almost impercep- 

 tibly with the plain, instead of presenting a bold 



