282 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



not necessary for us to give a complete list of these plants 

 which historical records and present distribution indicate 

 to have become less common ; we will, therefore, take into 

 consideration only a few of them. One of the most notal)le 

 of these is the wild strawberry. This crop has so diminished 

 in the greater part of Massachusetts that one cannot procure, 

 without diligent search, a pint of berries in half a day. In 

 olden time, however, this crop was exceedingly large, hence 

 the practice of growing the fruit in gardens was wholly 

 unnecessary ; and, as a matter of history, the strawberry 

 was not cultivated to any great extent in this State previous 

 to one hundred years ago. The former abundance of the 

 strawberry in ]\Iassachusetts is mentioned by William Wood 

 in 1635, and also by Roger Williams, in Rhode Island, in 

 1643, who stated that he had " many times seen as many as 

 would fill a good ship within a few miles compass." It is 

 well known to men now living that it was possible not more 

 than seventy-five years ago to gather a half-bushel of straw- 

 berries in a few hours in certain localities of this State, 

 where a gill cannot be found at the present time. Many of 

 our native grasses have diminished in like manner. Among 

 trees we find the beech, canoe birch and hemlock less com- 

 mon, the latter having fallen ofl' to an enormous extent; 

 while such plants as orchids, ginseng, hobble-bush and a 

 host of others have become much less common in certain 

 localities. This is evident to any one who has taken pains 

 to study the past and present distribution of these species, 

 and who has taken into consideration their natural environ- 

 mental adaptations. 



The question naturall}^ arises. What is the cause of this 

 change in our floral conditions ? This can be answered in a 

 few words. It is due to a decrease in the organic matter 

 of the soil and its associated humus compounds. There are 

 other influences, however, which are in part responsible for 

 the disappearance of certain species, notably the hemlock, 

 where the condition of light for the growth of seedlings is 

 at fault. It is, nevertheless, a lack of organic matter which 

 is responsible for the decline of these species, taking them 

 as a whole. In order that we may see the differences in the 

 amount of organic matter that exists in a soil approaching 



