118 TREE PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



abundant provision for its continuance. We see, as Maurice de Guerin 

 wrote, "Nature all absorbed in the mystery of her .maternities," and real- 

 ize that the gigantic forces of the world which, for ages of asons, were busy 

 upon the earth, have been preparing it for the growth of trees. The forest 

 was the finishing touch put to the earth, and with it the dwelling-place, 

 prepared by God for man, was declared complete. 



EVOLUTIONAL, GROWTH. 



The provision in nature for the renewal and continuance of the tree 

 growth is very remarkable. When certain requisite conditions of climate 

 are present, the hardest rock is as certain to be overgrown with wood as 

 the most fertile plain. Lichens and mosses first prepare the way by re- 

 taining the moisture of rains and dews and bringing it to act with the 

 gases evolved from their own organic processes in decomposing the surface 

 of the rocks they cover; they arrest and confine the dust which the wind 

 scatters over them, and their final decay adds new material to the soil 

 already half formed beneath and upon them. A very thin stratum of 

 earth is sufficient for the germination of seeds of the hardier trees, whose 

 roots are often found in direct contact with the rock, and which seem to 

 want but little more from the earth than the mechanical conditions favor- 

 able to the penetration of their roots and the support of their trunks in an 

 upright position, the whole of their substance being derived directly or 

 indirectly from the atmosphere. These prepare the way for other trees 

 and plants by deepening and enriching the soil through the decomposition 

 of their own foliage. This elaborate and careful provision of nature to 

 insure the permanency of trees indicates that they must have a work to 

 perform which has its effect upon all the conditions of the earth. Prof. 

 N. H. Eggleston. 



MOISTURE PRODUCTS. 



It is stated by reliable authorities who have visited Russia, that its top- 

 ographical and climatic conditions in general are very much like our North- 

 western prairies, and the flora of both countries largely corresponding. 

 Possibly, it may be found that their meteoric phenomena, local influences 

 allowed, are counterparts of each other. 



In his World's Fair report of Russian "Agriculture and Forestry," John 

 Martin Crawford, United States Consul General to Russia, informs us 

 that " the black-earth governments of Russia (a central southerly region 

 near, or comprising Moscow) suffer more frequently from drouths than the 

 northern governments, although in the former, the precipitation of moist- 

 ure is much more copious." In the northern region referred to, where the 

 precipitation is considerably less, "drouths are rare, and the harvests often 

 suffer from an overabundance of moisture." This seems to be a meteoric 

 paradox. But Mr. Crawford lucidly explains it all by stating, that at the 

 low temperature in the governments of northern Russia, " a much smaller 

 quantity of moisture is sufficient for the slower evaporation. Besides this, 

 the long winters, and the presence of large lakes, swamps and forests, 

 favor the existence of a greater quantity of moisture." 



