July 17, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



289 



ences of water, frost and vegetation. It is to the part wliich 

 vegetation then took in this worlv, and has ever since been 

 taking to this day, that I wish in this article to call attention. 

 This farm is in every characteristic distinct from another, upon 

 the shore of the lake, which I have owned for nearly thirty 

 years, and which consists, down to and below the water-level, 

 of fine gravel and sand. This was covered, when the country 

 was opened, less than a century since, with a heavy growth of 

 mafnmoth Pines, some of which were of almost incredible 

 girth and height. It is now divided into fine level farms, ex- 

 tending back about a mile from the water. Then begins an 

 ascent of two miles to another plateau, extending for some 

 ten to fifteen miles, gradually and then more rapidly rising 

 to the watershed between the Memphremagog basin and the 

 valley of the Connecticut River. It is upon this first bench 

 that the farm first referred to is situated. 



It appears, on a mere surface examination, to consist of a 

 soil nearly as light, as regards its finer constituents, as the lake 

 shore territory, but encumbered with stones of all sizes, from 

 coarse gravel to large bowlders, most of the latter having been 

 removed in the sixty or more years since the farm was first 

 opened. The slope toward the west is moderate, offering a 

 magnificent outlook, not only toward the grand range of the 

 Green Mountains, but to all points of the compass. This farm 

 has passed through many hands, but has never been unoccu- 

 pied ; and it has had the reputation of being " a good farm to 

 a good farmer." I bought it because the winter range of the 

 thermometer at this elevation is not so low by several degrees 

 as near the lake, the cold air " settling down " into the low- 

 lands. This difference is shown by the fact that the Tolman 

 Sweet Apple, while a failure by the lake, succeeds well at this 

 elevation ; and this is the case with many other of the almost 

 hardy varieties, making it particularly valuable to a fruit- 

 grower. But, besides this, it is particularly interesting as 

 affording an opportunity to study the formation of soils — a sub- 

 ject which has interested me greatly, almost from my boy- 

 hood. 



Many, very many loads of loose stones have been carted off 

 from this farm, and it is now in good condition for the use of 

 all farm machinery ; but the peculiar thing about it is that, so 

 far as it has been examined, it appears to be underlaid by a 

 stratum of clay of unknown thickness. This clay seems to be 

 almost free from small stones, though containing many water 

 or ice worn bowlders of the same character with those found 

 upon the surface. Rfany of these are of grariite, but some are 

 of softer rock, approaching to slate, and some of these are of 

 easy cleavage. On these I have long noticed the appearance 

 of corrosion by the solvent action of the roots of trees and 

 plants ; and this has led me to the conclusion that this erosive 

 action has a good deal to do with the formation of soils and 

 the maintenance of their fertility. I believe that tillage and the 

 application of manurial matter tends to increase this action, 

 and that in this way we get a double influence, tending to the 

 improvement of the soil. 



As to the actual disintegration of stones by the roots of trees 

 and of smaller vegetation, I think no observing person can doubt 

 the fact when his attention is directly called to it. The lines of 

 corrosion can be seen in thousands of instances on mossy 

 stones, even of granite, though more distinctly on slates and 

 limestones. Careful removal of the moss will reveal the fine 

 roots lying shallowly, but plainly, in the minute creases which 

 they have made. It is not the moss alone which thus erodes 

 the stones ; other vegetation has the same action. Chemical 

 analysis reveals the presence of mineral matter as an organ- 

 ized constituent of plant tissues. On the death of these plants 

 this mineral matter which they have taken up is relegated to 

 the soil, and constitutes the mineral plant-food for succeeding 

 generations of plants. Thus our farm-lands are being, so to 

 speak, renovated — or, as farmers are wont to say, " rested " — 

 by lying fallow. 



It seems to me that this action of plant-roots in preparing 

 their own mineral nutriment has not had due weight given to 

 it by writers on agriculture. It acts in cooperation with the 

 solvent operation of the water of the soil to render the mineral 

 elements available, and thus we may say that plants devour 

 rocks and turn stones into bread ! ^ rr rr 7 • 



Newport, vt. T. H. Hoskins. 



[It is well known that most soils are made up of minute 

 fragments of rock which have been pulverized and decom- 

 posed, and the te.xture and fertility of a given soil may be 

 often known from the constitution of the original rock 

 from which it was made. Besides the well-known wear- 

 ing action of water and air, the chemical action of sub- 

 stances dissolved in the water and the disruptive power of 



ice, dead vegetable matter and living roots are both recog- 

 nized as disintegrating forces. Certain substances, gener- 

 ated by the fermentation and decay of plants, help to 

 soften rocks with which they come in contact, and it is often 

 noticed that the surface of a rock under living lichens can 

 be scraped away when the bare surface of the same rock 

 remains hard. There are acids in the juices of plants 

 which have a solvent power on rock, and that the root- 

 hairs of other plants have a similar effect is proved by the 

 common experiment of sowing seed in sand which is 

 placed on a marble slab. After the seedling has started, 

 the roots adhere to the slab and eat into it, so as to leave 

 their impression visibly upon it when the roots are re- 

 moved. If we include the action of tree-roots which 

 helps to split open rocks, the great mass of vegetation in 

 the soil during a period of years will be an important 

 factor in converting stones into soil, but, of course, it is 

 impossible to estimate just to what extent they are effec- 

 tive in this vi'ork. — Ed.] 



Recent Publications. 



Ten New England Blossoms, and their Insect Visitors. 

 By Clarence Moores Weed. Boston and New York : 

 Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



This little book differs from many of the popular treatises 

 which have to do with flowers, some of which are mere 

 rhapsodies, consisting mainly of exclamation points and 

 adjectives in the superlative degree, with no intelligible or 

 continuous purpose. Mr. Weed, fortunately, has some 

 accurate knowledge of his subject, and he has formed a 

 distinct and coherent plan of treatment. In the first place, 

 it is not devoted to descriptive botany, and it does not aim, 

 primarily, to describe the forms and colors of flowers, nor to 

 count and measure their different organs, but if is devoted to 

 the one purpose of showing how these ten well-known flow- 

 ers have adapted themselves to the wants of their visitors and 

 how the structure of the visitors has been developed to 

 help on the reproductive processes of their hosts. Of 

 course, the little book makes no pretense of originality, 

 but a very eareful selection of flowers has been made to 

 illustrate how odor and color catch the attention of the 

 wandering insect and advertise the fact that nectar and 

 pollen can be had for the taking. The structure of each 

 flower, so far as this is related to the act of pollination, is 

 given and figured, and the bees and moths and butterflies 

 and other insects which accept this invitation are in like 

 manner described. In an easy and generally pleasing 

 style all the devices of the plant and the organs of the in- 

 sect which cooperate to insure the gathering of pollen from 

 the stamens of one flov/er and transporting it to the stigma 

 of another flower and fastening it there are clearly ex- 

 plained, and to young and receptive minds this revelation 

 cannot but be a stimulus to further study. For the value 

 of the book does not rest altogether on the array of facts 

 set forth, but rather in helping to stir the spirit of 

 original discovery in every one who has the privilege 

 of watching flowers and msects and noting the relation 

 between the two. Of course, it is necessary to use scien- 

 tific terms in treating such a subject, but in a few cases we 

 think Mr. Weed has been needlessly technical, as, where 

 he says, for example, "this Mayflower at Hanover is tend- 

 ing toward a more perfect dioecism.'' This is a question 

 of judgment, however, and in the main there is nothing 

 repellent in the language, and any bright boy or girl can 

 follow the argument without difficulty. Altogether, it is 

 one of the most successful attempts to set forth in a popu- 

 lar way some reasons why the organs of plants have 

 assumed their present form and texture and covering, and 

 how nicely the habit and structure of their insect visitors 

 are adjusted so that plant and insect cooperate to meet 

 each other's needs. The book is well illustrated and clearly 

 printed, and it can be commended to any inquisitive child, 

 be he younger or older, whose attention has not been 

 directed to this striking example of structural correlation. 



