294 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Little cultivat'n. Prairies, without 

 Swamp willow, Oak & hickory, Pine forests trees. Wheat, cot- White labor. Forests and 

 cotton and rice, tobacco & sugar, and swamps. ton. Slave labor. general agriculture. 



Sea, 



Tertiary and 

 Alluvial. 



Tertiary and 

 Sand. 



Secondary 

 Hills, ttc. 



Primary Granite Rocks. 



The above figure represents the coast of America, from the ocean to the 

 mountains, and shows the relations between plants and soils. The same 

 plants do not succoed on clays, sands and marls equally; and even where 

 they do succeed for a time, they die out without apparent cause, notwith- 

 standing the soil is as sandy, clay as dure, and the alluvial as rich in lime 

 as ever. It is because there are other substances requisite, which in time 

 are worn out, such as potash, magnesia, iron, &c., and so soon as this is 

 the case plants die- 

 In planting, where it is performed on the more elevated or mountainous 

 tracts, warmth and shelter are to be considered, as without these the trees 

 seldom thrive in a perfect manner. In such situations there is, in general, 

 the most difficulty and the least progress made in the raising of timber 

 trees ; the success of the planter depending greatly upon choosing such 

 sorts as may in future become the most highly valuable, on planting 

 thickly with plants of not too large a size, and on a considerable plat or 

 extent of ground both in length and width being planted. 



In these unfriendly situations to the growth of trees, small plants must 

 be chosen and planted thick on the ground, as the winds are very prejudi- 

 cial to trees of a large stature, by loosening the roots and frequently 

 breaking the fibers ; but, though this is the most disadvantageous situation 

 for planting, it is possible, with proper care in the above respects, to grow 

 young timber on it. Where it is intended to cover a mountain from its 

 base, it will be most conveniently done by planting round the base in the 

 first instance, rising gradually, by which means an artificial shelter will be 

 forming, from the growth that will be made by the trees that were first 

 planted, particularly if the extent is such as to require several years to 

 complete the planting. The portion first planted should be extensive in 

 all cases where shelter is intended. 



The kinds of trees to be selected for such situations should be regulated 

 by the quality of the soil. The pine would generally flourish the best, but 

 the larch is to be preferred as a nurse. The ash, mountain ash, beech, 

 birch and fir may all be planted with hopes of success ; and where the soil 

 is deepest and richest, the oak. In sheltered positions, where the incon- 

 venience of exposure to the winds is obviated, trees may be planted with 

 great hopes of success, the principal care necessary in this case being to 

 select those of a right kind, and placing them at the proper distances, 

 according to their varieties and sizes. As these situations admit of most 

 kinds^ on the more sheltered parts, the beech, elm, larch, oak, walnut, 



