AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 533 



the east. The soil anywhere will make excellent brick, and some 

 hoijses are built of atlobe, or sun-dried brick. 



Adrian Bergen, of Gowauus — The churches and schools are the 

 salt of the earth ! 



A member — What is your timber and your stone for build- 

 ings 1 



Atwill — Coal is our fuel; timber is scarce. Our planted lo- 

 cust trees grow fast. We make balloon houses with small timber, 

 and yet they prove to be as strong as any old fashioned timbered 

 houses. We use the earth for adobe building, and w^e can make 

 good bricks of it. We plaster the outside of our adobe houses, 

 and so exclude the wet which they w^ould otherwise absorb. 



Solon Robinson — The water of Iowa is affected by limestone — 

 is it so? 



Atwill — It is; and some persons are so constituted as to suffer 

 from it; generally rot so. 



Solon Robinson — Then one who goes to Iowa to live, ought to 

 know his peculiar constitution relative to lime water? 



Atwill — Limestcne of course abounds, and we have it in the 

 water, and we have the stone for building houses, bridges, &c., 

 &c., and excellent it is for that. We shall plant trees as fast as 

 we can — they thrive. 



Adrian Bergen — I have always been fond of trees. I plant 

 tree seeds and delight to see them grow. I plant walnuts, and 

 my neighbors are surprised to see how fast and well tliey grow^ 

 I plant the walnuts in ihe fall, they come up next spring. Trees 

 form the beauty of a country ! I am always in love with them. 

 A friend of mine traveled with me — late in the day, tired and 

 hungry, we came in sight of two taverns or inns — one had trees 

 about it, tlie other had none. "Come," said I to my fellow- 

 traveller, " that with the trees is the place for us, you may de- 

 pend.'' 



Dr. Wellington had noticed a singularity in the growth of trans- 

 planted trees in this city. He had seen some ready for setting 

 out, which were so trimmed of roots as to seem impossible to 

 live; but to my astonishment subsequently, I had never seen 

 transplanted trees flourisli so well as these almost rootless trees 

 did. I reasoned about, and liad to conclude that it was owing to 

 what we call mulch, that it is the stone slabs about the trees had 

 performed the office of mulcli. 



James 0. Miller, of Orange county, a young farmer, spoke 

 with just enthusiasm of the noble and most happy life of a true 



