in the United States of America. 287 



Liberty County, Georgia, forty miles south of Savannah, is 

 decidedly the richest in bulbs I have ever seen ; and their 

 luxuriance would astonish those who have only seen them in 

 the confined state in which we are obliged to grow them in 

 this country. M. le Conte has discovered many new plants; 

 and through his kindness I have been enabled to enrich pur 

 collections with some splendid treasures. This gentleman has, 

 for above thirty years, given his attention to the successions 

 of the different species of timber, as alluded to by your exr. 

 cellent correspondent, J. M. of Philadelphia [Vol.V. p. 421.]. 

 As I consider M. le Conte's ideas on the subject highly de- 

 serving of attention, I insert them verbatim, as I noted them 

 down when on a visit to him in January last : — 



" The pine lands in the southern states have generally old 

 oak grubs, which, by reason of the periodical fires, are pre- 

 vented from becoming trees ; notwithstanding, they still con- 

 tinue alive : and when land is turned out (that is, when the 

 cultivation of land is relinquished), pines, being by nature 

 unproductive of suckers, are consequently killed in toto ; while 

 the oak, now sole possessor of the soil, starts up, and grows 

 vigorously. On the other hand, land which had been solely 

 occupied by oaks previously to its cultivation, is invariably of 

 a superior quality to what is termed pine lands, and naturally 

 is a longer period under cultivation before it is turned out; 

 by which means the roots of the oaks are completely eradi- 

 cated while it is in a state of cultivation. The pine seeds 

 being winged, and thereby easily carried by the wind to a 

 considerable distance, if the ground is free from the roots of 

 other trees, are the first to establish themselves; and, being 

 of a free and rapid growth, they take the lead of all other 

 species of timber, and become the principal occupiers of the 

 land : but when the roots of the oaks are not destroyed, they 

 will take the lead, anil resist the pine and other trees. AIL 

 pine lands which originally had no oaks will invariably pro- 

 duce pines again, whether they have been under cultivation 

 for a long or a short period." 



These remarks are the result of thirty years' close observ- 

 ation, and, consequently, are correct ; but I find, on referring 

 to my notes, that M. le Conte adds, as a hypothesis respect- 

 ing the succession of wild cherries to beech, &c, " that birds, 

 being naturally fond of the cherry, eat them with avidity, and 

 swallow the stones of the fruit, which do not suffer, in their 

 germinating qualities, while in the bowels of the bird ; and 

 as these frequently resort to beech woods, it naturally follows 

 that they void these cherry-stones there ; which either lie 

 dormant (as they retain their vegetating powers for a length 

 of time), or germinate and remain in a diminutive state : but 



