18 
Trees and Shrubs* 
never be cut until it has passed the flower, and 
the pollen begins to drop from the head, and 
then for all feeding purposes the sooner cut the 
better. Even then, much of the seed will ripen. 
Ordinary faim stock fed on this hay will thrive 
if they have enough of it, and our own cattle 
have often, when purchased late in the fall, 
gone into the stables in low condition, and come 
out in high flesh in the spring with no other 
food than timothy and clover hay, water, and 
salt. 
We might pursue this subject with much 
interest, in discussing the best methods of cutting, 
and curing hay, feeding farm stock, &c.; but 
as it leads us into a longer essay than we in¬ 
tended at our commencement, we must defer it 
till ahother time. L. F. A. 
TREES AID SHRUBS 
Considered with reference to their Importance 
in tjie Economy of Nature, and to Man. 
'From a forthcoming work on the “Trees of America,” by D. J. 
Browne, C. E.] 
Few objects can be more innocently pleasing 
and of more importance in the economy of na¬ 
ture, and to man, than the various vegetable 
productions of the earth. The large propor¬ 
tion which its surface bears to its herbage, and 
the immense extent of the forests in comparison 
with that of meadows, pastures, prairies, or 
plains, seem to indicate that trees and shrubs act 
an important part in the economy of our globe. 
In countries uninhabited by man, the influence 
of forests must be on the climate, on the soil, 
and on the number of wild animals, and herba¬ 
ceous vegetables. In civilized countries, to 
those influences must be added the relation in 
which they stand to man. 
It appears highly probable, that the greater 
part of the surface of our globe has been, at 
one time, covered with wood ; because, among 
other reasons, coal is found in nearly all coun¬ 
tries in both hern ispheres from the equator to the 
poles; at all events, it is certain that this has 
been the case with the greater part of the tem¬ 
perate regions of the globe at no very distant 
period. The whole of the American Continent 
was until lately, almost entirely covered with 
trees and shrubs, and presented few naked sur¬ 
faces, except those of the prairies, alluvial de¬ 
posits on the banks of its larger rivers, and on 
the tops of the highest mountains: and what 
was so recently the condition of America must, 
we may reasonably suppose, have once, at least, 
been that of every other part of the world. 
The influence which a predominance of for¬ 
est must have in a country uninhabited by man 
must have extended to the animals, the herba¬ 
ceous vegetables, the soil, the waters, and the 
climate. To wild animals of every kind, espe¬ 
cially to those of the more ferocious tribes, for¬ 
ests have, in all countries, furnished shelter, and, 
in a great measure, food—birds, insects and rep¬ 
tiles are the more common inhabitants. Herba¬ 
ceous plants are, for the most part, destroyed by 
dense forests; but some kinds are encouraged 
by the thickness of the shade, and the moist 
heat which prevails among the trunks and the 
branches of the trees. But the great influence 
of forest scenery in a wild state is on the soil; 
and, in this point of view, natural forests may 
be regarded as a provision of nature for prepar¬ 
ing the surface of the earth for the cultivation 
of the chief productions which constitute the 
food of man, and of domestic animals. It would 
be interesting to show how the soil is furnished 
with that organized matter, so essential to the 
growth of perfect plants, by the decay of leaves, 
and, ultimately, by the decay of trunks and 
branches. The waters of a country, the rivers 
and lakes, are invariably affected by the state of 
the woods of that country. These woods, and 
their mossy beds, must, in all cases, act more or 
less as a sponge in retaining the water which 
falls on them; and water must thus be supplied 
more gradually to the rivers, in countries cov¬ 
ered with wood, than in fhose which are cleared, 
and regularly drained. A striking instance, 
illustrative of the above facts, occurred in the 
valley of Aragua, in the Republic of Venezue¬ 
la. Oviedo, who, towards the end of the fif¬ 
teenth century, so often traversed this valley, 
positively affirms that New Valencia was found¬ 
ed in 15*55, at the distance of half a league from 
the lake of Tacarigua. The same place was 
visited by Humboldt in 1800, and it was found 
that the town was situated more than three miles 
distant from its banks. In the meantime, new 
islands appeared in the lake, and the space which 
had been exposed by the retreat of the waters, 
was transformed into the most fertile fields, 
where the cultivation of indigo, sugar, cotton 
and cocoa had been carried to a great extent. 
In the year 1800, the valley of Aragua main¬ 
tained a population as dense, as the most popu¬ 
lous portions of France. The cheering pros¬ 
perity which existed in the numerous villages, 
teeming with an industrious yeomanry, could 
not be witnessed without the greatest satisfaction. 
After a lapse of twenty-twcf years, this country 
was again visited, and it was remarked by the 
inhabitants for many years, that, not only the 
waters of the lake had ceased to subside, but, on 
the contrary, that they were rapidly rising. 
Within the period which had intervened, im 
portant political transactions had occurred. 
Venezuela now no longer belonged to Spain. 
The smiling valley of Aragua had been the 
arena of the most bloody contests, and war and 
death had desolated those happy scenes, and 
