The Arkansas advocate., 1835-07-31

 plants began first to germinate in such de- posltes, II IS evident, as Ishave before sta ted, that where the vegetable matter is thin, and the season unlavorable, they are liable 10 Tpensh;; and where they would tIot attope- ther perish. Ii must be remembered that this country sas stocked, i the ,,,,r,, ,fi;s- tant prairios still are, with buffalo. which would, by their periodical visitation of the country in numbe.less herds, assist in ex- terminating plants of vigorless constitu- tion. These may be enumerated amongst he efhclent causes Of prairie or meadow state of extensive. tracts of country. This view ot the subject Is somewhat strength ened by the fact of plants, in modern times. encroaehlag on the prairies; for have ob served they enefoaeh on the sides where vegetable matter has been washed and ac- cumuiated, finding nutritious bed there, into which they can push their innumerable dellcate flores, secured from the devastating teeth and hoots of the buffalo, which have now all loft this part of the country. for where man settles that animal never re- mans long. But there is also another view of the subject.
 "Ihese vast pfairies of the West, as well as tue dlmnullye ones in question, must be admitted to be ancient floors of the ocean. When It abandoned them, they were, of course without plants; and, unless we ad mt their spontaneous growth, we must sup pose them to have germinated from seeds aeflved from plants growing on lands which had been left with higher level than the ocean before t reeeded from these prairies. lheir borders would, of course, be planted tfst, and thus We can conceive of every new generation of plants giving some of it's seeds to the winds and waters, and gradu- ally extending the forests, like the present members of the human family, advancing upon and settling the country for the uses of posterlty. This seems a more natural and just method of accounting for the i'm mense praifies of the West, and the pampas ot the southern portion of the South Ameri- can continent, than conjectural opinions. founded on convenient method adopted by the indians of securing their game, and which they have practised at all times. eer- tainly with the effect of thinning, but with out destroying the timber, as we know from the immense forests of Virginia, Tennes- see, kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, and Ar- kansas, which were once annually fired by the Indians 10 burn tho high grass, that they mght better see their game--a practice which destroyed the undergrowth. but only thlnned the trees; and how that the Indians have left these countries, we find the un- dergrowth rapidly occupying the ground agaIn. Before We receive opinions altooe- ther hypothetical Tn relation to the cause of the prairie condition of land, it seems as if we were bound to enquire what was their hrst condition, consistent with the geologi- cal fact that they are ancient floors of the ocean. 1t, therefore, appears to me to be probable that many of these floors have ne- yer, since the ocean left them, been covered by any vegetables of greater importance than the gramIna. Under this view of the matter, It IS reasonable to suppose, what is personally known to me 10 be the fact in many observed instances, that trees and plants may be transplanted to those prai- ries with perfect success.n
 The author is now speaking of the impor- tance oi geological surveysto the different States; and, alluding to the mneraiogical branch ofgeology, has the valuable remarks contained in the following passage:
 The exigencies ofsociety have reached stage Tn Europe, to which we are advan. eng Tn this country. There, not only the metals but every rock, every stone. every bed ot sand or clay, has its value. A quar- ry of stone, of whatever quality, produces an income, and canals and railroads are the facilities which carry them cheaply to their destination. 4 very few years ago geology Tn this country, was merely considered lib- eral branch of knowledge; 1t IS universally deemed science which teaches tho true structure of the earth, and the most proba- ble situations in which the metals and min erals are to be found. Before many years elapse, the study of the science will be gen- eral here. because the wants ofsociety are eniarging. In the increasing desire mani- tested III the States to establish geological surveys, we have the evidence of this, an9 of the existence of a spirit that must lead to very great development ofthe mineral re- sources ot the country, as well as the exten- sion of its intellectual character. But in putting these State enactments into opera ton, 1t should never be lost sight of, that the advantages to be derived from inyestiga- tions, the proper and sole objects of which are physical facts, depend entirely upon the practical experience of the persons to whom they arc to be entrusted.
 1.-The mineralogical branch IS composed oi men who, keeping up with the knowledge of the other branches, have devoted them- selves rather to q practical stndv of fhaf