Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-11-28


inserted thrss times fov o.; ssssy esksr a., =
tvise vsek, ok&senes avseks nssnis psrsQuaxs
FOE each inssrt1oo. - = ~ 4 Il 8 - -
rHE rRkxs OF NoaTH ANERicA. J.
Although Il i generally conceded that the 4
srboreous luxufiance of this continent Is per.
hsps unparalleled, and although seversl work.
trsating Of the sylys Of various portions Of
North America have been Published, there mas
been no snort concIso statement Of the number
this part Of the world, until the smithsonian
lnstifnes, N pursnanes eof thsif purpose of
illustrating, in connection win the nstsorols<
gear OBSERVATIONS now in progress under t1o-
direction Of this insfjtufion and the Patent
Once, the climate Of North America, eneegsd
DR.. J, q. Cooper TO prepare An srticls upon
inert pQbiished In pamphlet form BY the
smithssHlan Instituts, Ne Sleau sonae interest
fisrs ere no less sha. sas hundred and
thirty -four different species Of trss>ef ths Con-
tinents Of North Ameriea, insluding . vast
Of the Mexican districts to the stunted pines
that pas their unseen sturdy lives smeue the
snovD OF Labrador. The tsilest troesarc found
IN California, where h the giant redwood
the Se4n0sa gf1autea Of Torrey, or the Wei
hagtoase gtgssfee Of Heoker-which affains
the prodigioss hsight Of four hundred and 6fty
feet from the groond, shout half as high again
as Trinity chnreh stsspls The yellow ar, or
Aosss grandIs, which grows in Oregon, Is also
q very respectable tree, often reaching the
height OF two hundred and ffty feet. In Mas
sachasstts they have the whitewood poplar, Of
one hundred and forty feet in height, and the
same State also Possesses ZastAosyiHn,
Amsrieannm. which 10 more fsmiliarly known
AZ the toothache Tree In Nov jersey there
may be found species Of white beach one
hundred and twenty feet high. Alter thsss It
n quite contrast to descend 10 prickly pear
tree - Hsxico vhish, though rejoieing i1 the
geosyeoss uue ef 0eszfse Akhaafkeasrpa, is
a kind Of plum tree, ID anothsr sylvan dwarf,
and the Jnnipsrns Paekypofoee is aiso an sr.
boreous p;gmy, neither Of those Mexiean trees
being ever ovsr ten fest IN height. . sss.
Ihe Gulf Of Mexico hos an Important effect
upon fbrest growth in the United States. tt
and they are blown sastsriy By westerly winds
until they fall generally before reaching thu
Ohio. Thus, as they do not rsach the Illineis
region, that district sdsprived Of is fair share
Of rain Without moisture there can be NO
trees, and that ID the reason that nIinois and
Michigan abound in treslsss prairies that are
not 70 be found In places where the rain storms
from the gulf fail. In Texas, where these euf
storms do not travel, the moisture and conss-
qusnt vegetatioa and yyiva grow less and less q
We proceed westward, until We have come into
the great deserts that exist in the Dseotah re-
gion. r61 0Ek TlT1T
Dr.; Cooper, in order to further explain his
remarks on North American trees, has prspar-.
ed map Of this continent, which he divides
ITO arbitrary districts. the frst Of these dis.
lricts or regions, the Alxonquin, includes the.
eastern part Of British America, Labrador.
&c-, and contains Eve species Of frsss We
i've IN the Canadian region, which posssss ssv-
ssteen eh,rset tsristie end one peculiar species
OF trees, The Tsnnessean dbtrict is the rich
est in sylyan treasure, possessing thirty four
charsefsristie and seven peculiar species, while
the Mississippisn and Floridian regions are not
far behind, each containing thirty-two charac-
teristies and the latter seventeen peculiar spe-
cies- -, = = :
II. has been remarked that the re.,ou;uer .
power Of man b seldom more strikingly exem-
piifsd than In the processes by which the gs-
oiogist and student Of nataral history can
from few Disconnected bones, estimate the.
size and peculiarities Of the extinct animal in
whose physical anatomy those old bones, many
centuries ago, played an important part. But
tnis - really no more remarkable than the
skill with which the botanist win, from an in5
signidcant bit OF lichen-eovsrsd bark, . hand
tut Of dry leaves. or q wifhered fruit discover
peculiarities and deduce facts that are Of value
60 the cause OF natural science. It IL in the
power Of our readers, wherever they may Be,
States, to assist with very little troub.s, the
edorts Of the Smithsouian Institutiou. Col
iectioDs Of the leaves, fruits, bark and wood of
our native trees are particularly desirable, and
from ss many localities - possible, in order 10
dstermine both their range and abundance,
and also to decide those knotty points as %
frne specific distinctions which still perplex
the most skillfuI botanists. Tho specimens
from each tree should be- kept carefully to-
gsther, and the name Of the locality and col
isctor given in full- A good way Of preservink
acompiete q set from each species Of trees = 70
obtain two pieces Of the thick bark, Of the
trunk shout foot square, taking care not =
rub Oh the mosses or iichsns, which are oftsn
very characteristic Of the tree Other speci.
mems Of the bark from the branches, sulkeient
70 show all its changss in appsaranee. and
tvigs With isaves, flowers and fruits NAY Be
pfsssed between the trunk, with suf6eiont
psPsr Of sny kind Intervening 70 sbsorb all tho
neistnrs- Aeeemp.nying the specimsms sAosld
- ssnt msmorxnda, With obssrvatione - "a
the relative abundance Of each tree which nav
bssxpfessed numerically, thns very rare. 4
occasionalIy met with, 2; not uncommon. 8
eon.0n, 4; abanaant, 5; and % on, usine
.numbsu up TO ten, and explaining then.
Eetiss shoula always bs made Of the nstare of
the eouutFy and soil. whether mountansons.
rocky, mndy or svampy, which viii help 70
determins the limits q the natural regions.
Uuafneaa. T.fka G1arr3ase = -