Domestic JYotices. 153 



The remarks of Mr. Emerson, from what we have noticed in some 

 of the papers, not having been al)le to be present ourselves, we 

 judge were in anticipation of his report, and were probably some of 

 the more prominent facts which he has collected in his researches 

 upon the subject. Mr. Emerson spoke of the destruction and rapid 

 decay of our forests, and hoped that the time was not far distant, 

 when attention would be attracted to this important sui>ject, and we 

 should find extensive plantations springing up to take the place of 

 those which had long since yielded to the woodman's axe. He 

 spoke of the trees of Great Britain, in comparison with those of our 

 own State, from which it ai)peared that Massachusetts alone was far 

 richer in her timber productions, than the whole of Great Britain. 

 He presented a variety of statistical facts to show this, and read 

 from a table which enumerated all the maples, oaks, ashes, &c. of 

 Massachusetts. From this table, it appears, that all our tall timber 

 trees amount to fifty-six, while those of England, which are natives, 

 only number twenty-seven. We should be pleased to receive a co()y 

 of the table which Mr. Emerson presented to the meetinff, and offer 

 the same to our readers. 



Mr. Emerson then alluded to the importance of improving our, 

 what are termed by so many, unimprovable lands. He does not 

 believe that of the great number of acres, (more than three hundred 

 and fifty thousand,) which come under this denomination, all are un- 

 improvable. Among the great number of trees, some are suited to 

 every kind of soil and aspect. He repudiated the idea of there 

 being absolutely barren sands. The pitch pine would flourish on the 

 sandy plains, while the larch would be fitted to the rocky nnd moun- 

 tainous districts; as an instance of this, he referred to the experi- 

 ments of the Duke of Athol, already noticed in our i)ages, (Vol. V., 

 p. 83.) On lower grounds which have a tendency to moisture, the 

 white or Weymouth pine would rear its lofty and noble form. 



Of the uses of forests he also spoke at some length. The value 

 of trees, as furnishing a vast quantity of material for furniture, are 

 already well known. For the purpose of fuel, our trees are worth 

 to the Commonwealth the immense sum of ^5,000,000 annually. 

 Forests are also useful as furnishing shade and shelter — as conduct- 

 ors of electricity from the clouds to the earth, giving fertility to the 

 soil — as affording protection from the force of the wind, which would 

 otherwise sweep over vast plains, carrying with them destruction 

 and desolation — and are yet more useful as contributing, from the 

 annual deposits of leaves, &c., to the fertility of the soil. 



When the report appears, we shall take an early o])portunity to 

 give a synopsis of the subject. — Ed. 



Plants in glass cases. — Having noticed, in some one of your num- 

 bers, that this neat and elegant mode of cultivating plants is bein» 

 regarded with a favorable eye, I would just say, for the benefit of 

 those interested in some of the more uncommon objects of cultiva- 

 tion, that I have no doubt of its success with many plants Avhich 

 cannot be raised by any other mode. We have had growing on our 

 mantel, winter and summer, a group of the walking fern, (.isple- 

 nium rhizophyllum,) which has produced successive growths of 

 leaves, young plants, and even fructification, confined in a common 

 glass jar, and remaining, with scarcely any addition of water, for 



VOL. VII. NO. IV. 20 



