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leaves and even young twigs being blasted and killed; and the fruit torn 

 from the stem. Occurring just at the time when wheat was forming its heads, 

 in some counties, and the whole plant in a tender, rapidly growing condition, 

 it caused a rust that severely injured the crop, The injury to fruit and orna- 

 mental trees was much augmented by the mechanical effect of the violent 

 wind, switching about the branches and leaves. Cherries and plums were es- 

 pecially injured, the fruit falling from the trees as though a hard frost had 

 cut them loose from the footstalks. Iruit-growers who had watched the young 

 fruit with interest, saw it fall to the ground when the " hot wind " came. 



Passing through the dusty streets of cities and villages these high winds 

 sweep away the loose particles in the form of clouds of dust. If the soil con- 

 sisted of loose sand, much of it would be driven before the wind like the sand 

 storms of a great desert. 



During the continuance of these " dry storms " the electrical condition of 

 the air is disturbed ; the positive electricity being reduced to zero, or con- 

 verted into negative, gives rise to lightnings and hail. 



Orchards and crops protected by a sufficient belt of trees on the south and 

 ■west side were found to be uninjured ; and the damage resulting from this 

 one storm, was, doubtless equal to the cost of such protection around a very 

 great number of farms. 



The south-west winds in Wisconsin, especially when the shape of the 

 ground is such as to concentrate their force, have the effect of causing trees 

 to lean towards the north-east ; as may often be seen in the openings where 

 the trees do not protect each other by growing in masses. 



There is on the borders of the upper Wisconsin river, and stretching far 

 towards the east and west, a district of country embracing several counties, 

 underlaid by the " Pottsdam sandstone," where the soil is thin and sandy, 

 with only sand below. This light, thin soil will yield but a very few crops, 

 with our usual careless culture, before it will become exhausted, and the 

 trees and sod being removed, there will be no protection against the motion 

 of this sand by every wind that blows; hence the clearing away of the trees 

 from this sandy district, will so loosen the soil that it vM he blown away by the 

 wind The peculiar structure and arrangement of the distorted layers of 

 some portions of the sandstone at the Dells of the Wisconsin river and else- 

 where, seem to indicate, that there was a time when this district was covered 

 by a desert of loose drifting sand, such as can be seen in the great deserts of 

 our day. Now, since nature has clothed these sandy places with fertility, 

 arrested the motion of the loose particles by covering the soil with a dense 

 growth of forest trees and bushes, it becomes us to beware how we inter- 

 fere with this new order of things, lest by the thoughtless destruction of the 

 ameliorating causes we bring back these lands to .their former condition of 

 barrenness and sterility. What has been once, may be again ! On the other 

 hand, if we study the laws by which the condition of a country is improved, 



