370 History of a Sod. 
our young readers, a taste for the cultivation and study of the 
beautiful ^oral productions of our country. Three-fourths of the 
beautiful flowers, so highly prized in European gardens, are ac- 
tually natives of this country. It is also our intention to take up 
the subject of cultivating flowering shrubs, probably in (fur next 
number. 
HISTORY OF A SOD. 
" Always examine what other men reject as worthless." 
We may perhaps be thought jesting when we affirm that the 
history of a sod of grass is one of great interest; and we are 
content to refer to what follows for our justification, as we state 
our serious conviction, that the reflections to which a little clurnp 
of green turf give rise, are replete with instruction of no mean 
order. The sod before us, and the pen in hand, we must proceed 
methodically to our investigation — investigate it historically, 
botanically, and chemically. Observing this order, we may first 
inquire hoM^ the sod took origin. If we examine its structure, we 
shall find that it is a thick and consistent mass of roots, which, by 
their countless entanglements, have enclosed a quantity of the soil 
beneath in such a manner that it is scarcely to be separated from 
them. This structure enables us to remove the sod wholly from 
the surface of the place upon which it is found. How% then, was 
the foundation, so to speak, of this mass of vegetable fibres and 
mould laid? If our sod was cut from the stony bosom of a rock, 
the answer lies far back in ages gone by. A tiny lichen began 
the woik there; and after serving its purpose in coating the 
naked and desolate surface with a thin layer of vegetable mould, 
it was at length vanquished by a stronger than itself in the form 
of a waving, clustering moss. The winds and tempests of years 
tried the courage of the moss, and many times threatened its utter 
destruction; but it still held firm. The lichen which preceded it 
had roughened the hard surface, and the clasping fibre of the moss 
laid hold of the smallest inequalities. The rain descended, and 
the winds blew; but neither conquered; for the moss flourished, 
and had a thriving family, which being rapidly joined by vagrant 
relations and friends, the rock began to look green. This was 
the first robe. By and by the birds of a distant region found rest 
on the rock, and left behind them the undigested grains of herbs 
plucked and devoured many miles away. Of these, some lived, 
some remained dead. Of the living ones, eventually only a few 
