VOU. XV. NO. 3a. 



AND GARDENEE'S JOURNAL 



253 



of tljeir beauty. Travelling amonEr the Islands of 

 our cast last suuinicr, aiitl [ ariiriilarlj' over the 

 Island of Natituckct, 1 was forcibly struck with 

 the desolate appearance of the whole Island. — 

 For the most |)art, not a forest or shade tree, was 

 any wJiere to be seen, even for the protection of 

 the numerous herds of sheep, which there roam 

 at large, ex[)osed, without even the shelter of a 

 tree, to the scorching sun of summer, and the 

 cold blasts and storms of winter. Here they roam 

 in winter and summer, devouring every shrub and 

 tree that will serve as food, without protection. 

 This Island was formerly covered with forests of 

 the most luxuriant growth, an evidence that tlie 

 soil is by nature fertile. These forests were once the 

 protection of the soil, drawing as they did, their 

 nourishment in part from the atmosphere, so far 

 from impoverishing they always improve the soil 

 which they retain and by the protection they af- 

 ford from the frost of winter, which somelinies 

 destroys the herb.age, leaving the naked soil ex- 

 posed in summer to the scorching sun, and to be 

 blown into the sea by the winds, as is actually the 

 case there. 



The price of fuel aiul of timber is fast advanc- 

 ing annually ; and as soon as these new forests 

 can be reared, a profitable and advanced sale would 

 be found. The aiuuial consumption of our innu- 

 merable steamboats on our great rivers alone, is 

 prodigious, particularly of the most combustible 

 kinds of fuel. Ip passing from New York to 

 Providence, on board one of the boats, I found 

 they consumed 25 cords of pitch Pine, during the 

 passage of about eighteen hours, between those 

 two cities, or at the rate of 4000 cords in 160 

 trips, or in a year. And the number of boats on 

 all our great rivers and lakes which now amount 

 to some hundreds, will soon be augmented to a 

 thousand, and will consume some million cords of 

 wo6A in a year. 



Forest trees may be raised by sowing the thor- 

 oughly ripened seeds as soon as they are gathered 

 fr.ira the tree ; the smaller seeds but an inch deep 

 or less, the larger seeds from 2 to 3 inches in 

 depth. When a year old, transplant them into 

 nursery rows pretty close, shortening the taproot, 

 that they may throw out lateral roots, and chiefly 

 that they may suffer less by removal at the final 

 transplanting. Never prune off a single limb till 

 the trees are 4 or 5 feet high, but only shorten 

 occasionally, until the last or final transplanting, 

 which may be done early, while the trees are 

 rather small. In old countries, we are informed, 

 that their waste lands and hills, even the most 

 barren, rocky and inaccessible, are covered with 

 forest trees, holes of suitable dimensions being 

 dug through the sod. 



Their modes and systems of planting, are va- 

 rious. In some places, oaks are first set at an 

 extended distance : between these, other kinds 

 are planted, as the Ash, the Larch, &c., all 

 valuable timber trees, for other uses ; and the in- 

 termediate distances, with another class, and be- 

 tween all, Ashes or other trees suitable for hoo|) 

 poles, are set very thick, that the whole ground 

 may be well covered ; all these serve as a shelter 

 by the mutual protection they afford. As soon 

 as the last named are of sufficient size, they are 

 cut out for hoop poles, and thus the first thinning 

 is effected. After another and suitable period, 

 another class are cut out, and thus the second 

 thinning is accomplished ; — and so on, until fi- 

 nally, the oaks alone are left to take complete pos- 



session of the soil. These last when fully grown, 

 serve for the construction of their ships, bridyes, 

 carriages for cannon, and the use of their arjiiies, 

 and for agricultural purposes, and for all other 

 uses where greut strength and durability is re- 

 quired. Even for the doors, wainscoting, or floors 

 of their public edifices and private dwellings. 



The system adopted in some countries where 

 fuel alone is the object, is to cut over the whole 

 ground complete every 20 years, then another 

 growth of timber will startup anew; and the 

 growth of wood and the increase will still contin- 

 ue about the same, while the capital which has 

 been expended, is again recovered, and may again 

 be applied to new use and purposes. 



In Britain, timber as well as fuel commands a 

 very high price, compared with the price of our 

 own country. The Scotch Larch and the Scotch 

 Fir, are trees eminently celebrated for the valua- 

 ble timber which they afford, and also for their 

 rapid growth, they even flourish when planted on 

 the poorest ground. And the celebrated politician 

 Lord Erskine, who is reputed also to be eminent- 

 ly skilled in all that relates to plantations of for- 

 est and of timber trees, has asserted from his own 

 experience, that in that countiy, 400 acres of land 

 set out during 20 years, with the Scotch Larch 

 and Scotch Fir, will produce annually, an income 

 of i^lO.OOO sterling, or about $44,000 a year. His 

 plan was, to begin by planting 20 acres the first 

 year, and thus to continue planting 20 acres every 

 year, until finally, in 20 years, the whole 400 

 acres will be completely covered. And now the 

 first 20 acres which were [ilanted, are to be cut 

 down and immediately re|ilanted — an<l thus the 

 same system is to be continued perpetually. 



It must be confessed, that nothing like this great 

 amount could be expected, or even hoped for, for 

 a long time in our own country ; yet ultimately, 

 we must adopt these systems, — as our forests are 

 rapidly diminishing ; others must be planted ere 

 long, to supply the demand for tindier and for 

 fuel. The subject of timber trees, I may reserve 

 for another and future communication. The for- 

 ests which cover the plains and the summits of 

 the hills, are the natural protection and cause of 

 the innumerable springs which arise on their sum- 

 mits or on their sides, as these springs are found 

 to diminish or totally to disappear on the des- 

 truction of the forests. In regard to our 

 Forests, as also in regard to our soil, the same 

 system with us has but too generally been 

 pursued, as has been practiced in all other fiew 

 countries, from the first settlement of our country, 

 down almost to the present day, namely, to take 

 all and to givt none. To exhaust the soil contin- 

 ually, and to restore nothing in return, is the gen. 

 eral mode which is at first adopted in all new 

 countries. To this cause, not less than to the late 

 untoward season, and to the insufBcient encour- 

 agement which is afforded to agriculture, may be 

 ascribed the extraordinary spectacle and position 

 which we now exhibit to the world, of a nation 

 wonderful for its energy, enterprise and industry, 

 and possessing the finest climate on earth, com- 

 pelled at this day to resort to foreign countries for 

 some portion, even of the necessaries of subsist- 

 ence. This state of things has been brought about 

 in a great measure, by certain of our most bar- 

 barous laws, which are still cherished, having a 

 most pernicious bearing on the prosperity of the 

 husbandman. WILLIAM KENKICK. 



J^onantum Hill, Kewton, Feb. 1, 1837. 



DIALOGUE BETWEEN A FATHEK AND SON. 



T. Father, the water pitcher in my room was 

 frozen over last night, and the water when I broke 

 the ice was so cold that it made my hands acln,'. 



F. It was very cold last night. But can you 

 tell me why you were not cold, what kept you so 

 warm while the water froze ? 



T. Oh ! the bed clothes kept me warm. 



F. Why the bed clothes were cold when you 

 went to bed, how could they make you warm ? 



T. I don't know, I alwayg thought the bed 

 made us warm ; you know the more clothes there 

 are, the warmer we are kept. 



F. Ye.s, my son, but the heat comes from our 

 own bodies. Too may pile all the blankets in the 

 house upon your bed, but it would never become 

 warm unless you get into it yourself. Your body 

 is constantly givint out heat, and when you have 

 your ordinary clothes on, this heat flics off into the 

 open air, as rapidly as your body produces it — 

 but when thick blankets are upon you, they pre- 

 vent the heat escaping, and thus render you 

 warmer. 



T. But, Father, why cannot the heat pass off 

 tiirough the blankets ? You know the heat from 

 our fire comes through a thick iron stove. 



F. True, my child, but the heat of the fire is 

 nmch greater than that of the body, besides all 

 the heat of the fire does not pass out of the stove; 

 a great deal is retained and flies up the chimney. 

 But blankets are very different from iron, and — 



T. Yes, father, iron is so solid that heat cannot 

 penetrate it, but as to blankets I should think it 

 might easily pass out through the threads. 



F. My dear son, there you mistake. So.me 

 substances conduct or carry heat well, while oth- 

 ers alitiost refuse to carry it. Now, metals and 

 irons, especially, conduct heat well, while wool, 

 fur, feathers, and all coverings of animals conduct 

 it badly. This is a wise provision of the Creator 

 to keep his creatures warm. 



T. But, Father, why have not men such a cov- 

 ering, too ? 



F. Because men are made to live in all cli- 

 mates, and therefore need different degrees of 

 clothing. It has therefore been left to them to 

 put on such as suits them best, and they procure 

 most of their clothing from other animals. The 

 wool from the sheep, the fur from various animals, 

 the silken shroud of the dormant worm, are all 

 used by man. 



T. But, father, if wo keep giving out heat, we 

 will soon have none left in us. 



F. Ah!; my child, you need not fear that. — 

 While life lasts the fire within you will keep up 

 its vivifying warmth. 



T. Why, Father, we have no fire within us, 

 have we .' 



P. No, but I said fira because it is somewhat 

 like a fire. When you breathe you do not throw 

 out the air the same as you take it in, — a part 

 called oxygeu unites with the blood, and the heat 

 which kept the oxygen in its fluid state is set free 

 and warms the body. 



T. But how do men kitovr this .' 



F. They do not know it ; they suppose it to 

 be so, because it cannot easily be accoimtedforin 

 any other way. But the regularity of this heat is 

 still more curious. The fattest Alderman and the 

 leanest beggar — be it July or be it February — 

 still keep the heat of their bodies about the same 

 — 98" of Fahrenheit. — The Lyceum. 



