The Press.
London, England, 1854-11-18 00:00:00

NOVEMBER 18, 1854.

tion for young saplings is at an end, except in
cases of peculiar subsoil, and even then they
attain no growth. In large woods the absence
of young trees is to be accounted for from the
most obvious causes, for reasons similar to

those that make the verdure scant under trees,

and compel the Lothian farmers to clear their
lands of ornamental timber. Nor is the ab-

sense of undergrowth of shrubs or plants a
fact at all remarkable. In large pine woods
and beech plantations the ground under foot
is often as bare of vegetation as the flags in a
public street. The suggestion of " fires "is a
notable one, as if the old trees also would not
have been burned down just as well as the
young ones; and " vast heads of cattle " have
instincts that lead them to look for their food
elsewhere than in woods.
Where Mr. Bartlett records positive facts
which he has heard his statements can be ac-
cepted. Thus the following is interesting :

Mr. Osborne's men were all New England farmers,
several of them from Rhode Island; and it is astonishing
to see how much more work one of these men will perform
than a Mexican or Californian. He pays them seventy-five
dollars a month, and finds them, which pays him better
than employing ordinary hands at half the price. Mr. 0.
has ownedlthis property but one year, and a furrow was
never turned on it or a seed sown until he came into
possession. He has now more than a hundred acres under
cultivation, a considerable portion of which is protected by
a post and rail fence of red wood. Many fruit trees, grape
vines, flowering shrubs, etc., are in a flourishing condition
around his house. In no part of the Atlantic States or
Mississippi Valley could such improvements be shown in
the game time, except on prairie land.
So also is the following passage, in which the
author describes the geysers of the Pluton
River :
Another quarter of a mile, over steep hills and across
deep ravines, brought us to the principal " geysers."
Hero was truly a grand prospect, and difficult to de-
scribe by one unacquainted with such scenes ; for, to
speak with scientific precision of such a remarkable spot
as this, the writer should be familiar with volcanic regions
and know something of similar phenomena. The action
here was confined within a narrow ravine, in the moun-
tain side, running nearly at right tingles with Pluton
River, which we had crossed. The banks were from
one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty feet
in height, breaking in from the mountain, which rose up
from ten to fifteen hundred feet above, and were wholly
composed of decomposed rocks. In the chasm beneath
us columns of steam were spouting out on every side ;
while deep at the bottom ran a small rivulet 'Vegeta.
thin of luxuriant growth crowded close upon 'he crumb-
ling rocks, consisting of various kinds of shrubbery, pines,
oaks, firs, &c.
We clambered down to the spot where the scoria or
burnt rock first appeared. and seated ourselves under the
shade of a pine-tree. From this point I took a sketch
looking down the gorge. On each side of where we sat,
some twenty or thirty feet below, a small stream came
tumbling down, concealed from view by dense foliage,
and united at the base of a jutting mass of rocks.
I thrust a staff, which I carried with me, some
three or four feet into the crumbled granite beneath,
which led us to think it not quite safe to remain
where we were. From this place we got down with some
difficulty to the bottom of the gorge, where the main
stream ran. The water was here cold and pure, exhibiting
no unpleasant taste. A few yards further brought us into
the midst of the puffing geysers, or steam-jets; for I knew
not by what other name to call them. Fumes of sulphur
here met our nostrils at every step, while the rustling
steam, as it spouted from a hundred cavities, completely
enveloped us. The latter did not issue in one continuous
column, but at short intervals, as from the pipe of a
high-pressure engine. It was with some difficulty that
we could breathe here among the fumes of sulphur and the
steam ; and we crouched low in the bed of the rocky
stream to avoid them. In cavities along both banks, and
near the running brook, was boiling water, which rose and
fell, accompanied by a loud gurgling noise, resembling that
of a t gigantic steam-condenser. In one of these cavities
stones as large as an egg were in a state of commotion,
presenting a curious resemblance to a pot of boiling
potatoes. I held my hand fifteen inches above this boiling
pot, at which distance the water scalded it. From this
cavity to the running stream was just the width of my
hand, though the surface of the boiling water in the cavity
was about a foot above the running water. The whole of
this violent commotion was accompanied by a tremendous
noise beneath the earth's surface, quite equal to and
resembling that made by several ocean steamers letting
off their steam through their large pipes, lond, deep, and
harsh. There was no cessation to this awful roar, but one
continued noise, as though a vast workshop beneath was in
full operation.
The banks of the gorge were now too steep to attempt to
ascend, nor would it have been safe to do so among so
many jets of steam, boiling cauldrons, and fumes of
sulphur; ao we made our way down the gorge in the
very bed of the stream, jumping from rock to rock, first on
one side and then on the other, and occasionally, where
the stream took a leap, letting ourselves down in the best
war we could. Thus we worked our way along for about
an hour, filled with admiration and wonder at the myste-
rious workings of nature around us. The water, as we
advanced, grew warmer, in consequence of accessions
from the foiling cavities along its margin, until the stream
becalm quite hot. We had here an opportunity to select a