Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1867-05-17

REsULTs Of CLEANING OFF The wO1DS.-Our
climate has changed tor the worse since the
| original settlements Oi this country II II
| one Of more fierce extremes The hills,
which, cl'thed with their tores-s, are the
natural defence and protection of the pl,in7,
| have, in many places, with strange and
/ thOughtles, imprOvidence. been stripped and
laid bare, and the storms howl and pass over
them urchecked. On the plains the Old,
pumeval trees have been cut down, TIE
/ gr yes thinned, the thickets weeded away.
I Our br ader held- are dryer and hotter in
summer and the winds over them are more
/ unbrUsCn, and hence, at all seasons, more
violent. Delicate plants are cultivated with
more difficulty than formerly. C,real eroIs
are more liable 70 he injured by Drought.
/ The deterioration Il constantly going on.
| The thinning Of a narrOw border, the cutting
I down Ot a single tree, adds something 10 the
/ evil.
All that can be done ought to be done,
and very much may be done, 20 cleck It.
The bare hill tops and their steep sides may
again be covered with trees. The poorest
lands, which hardly pay for cultivation,
may BE- gwen back % the forest by careful
planting. All the surface that can be found
unOeupIed, every little nook that can be
spared, should be clothed or allowed to re-
main clothed with native or foreign trees
and shrubs
\ hare, unprotected field has the winters
snow swept of and 80 freezes 70 4 great
depth, and by its slow thawing materially
retards the spring. surface carpeted with
underbrush, such as whortleberry bushes,
arrests the falling or driving leaves and an
early snow, and iorms fbrOus blanket TO
keep 10 the warmth oil the earth. and keep
out the cUld. Thus protected the earth below
| this blanket does not freeze the roots Of the
/ large, and small, form a porous spOngy
mass, Of considerable depth, and the pervaded
earth, underneath. receives and keeps the
dissOlving snow and triekling rain. hid up,
as IN d reservoir, against the hour of need.
I Tue early flowers show that Spring comes
| first To these sheltered spots Every thIcket,
every elump of bushes, every row Of trees,
/ e-pecally every broad RIBBON of mingled
/ tees, bushes and underbrush, does some
| thing to soften the violence Of the wind, 10
/ arrest the mists and r.inclOuds, and TO store
/ up little treasure of moisture, like that
/ Just described. from the disSOlving SHOWS
and the rains of spring, and thus provide n
| source for daily evaporation to mitigate the
/ heat and drOughts Of summer.
Whoever can look back tor halt century
/ upon almost any country town in New Eng
| land, may remember many little perennial
/ rIll of former days which has now disap-
/ peared entirely, and many brook which
/ once ran full through the year, but which is
now IN the drs season, reduced to a dimni-
nutive runnel, whose music has ceased, and
whose course Is Indicated only by scattered,
stagnant pools, or by a greener line through
the meadow The change from worse 10
worse, from dry TO dryer, is sill 60
ing IN. To stay the evil. to bring back
a softer climate, will require the coOpera-
tlun of all public spirited persons Every
one must compensate for the mischief he has
done Whoever has cut down a single tree,
young or old, must set out two u take its
place whoever has uproOted an old, broad
headed tree, such as ancient chestnut or oak
ought TO feel bound to plant at least ten
young ones. Whoever has been, directly or
indirectly. instrumental in defIcng the
roadside, by destroying such border as we
have been speaking Ut, ought to hold him.
self responsible for another a. beautiful and
as precious Whoever has an acre of land
the cultivation Of which pays poorly, will. if
he has an eye to his interest. plant il with
such valuable trees as will flourish there
b,st Or, if it lies on the edge of a forest, he
will let it plant itself with acorus. seeds or
nuts from the forest, only taking care tnat
the young trees shall not be nibbled down
and killed BY cattle Or sheep.
Wood for fuel. timber tor building, mate
rials for furniture and for the use Of all
workers in wood, are becoming every year
scarcer and desrer, and trees upon the hill
side or the roadside, on the plain or IN the
valley, will be "aye growing" while the
planter is sleeping, and will continue To
grow when the planter shall be lying with
mis- forefathers under their shade.