Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-07-12
THE HERALD.
Tees Of Wind Breaks.

estimated. 1t is quite natural Tor
one, in selecting o site for q rural
home, to choose an elevated situation.
Such sites furnish a dry and pure
air; they afford wide prospects of
the adjacent scenery, and they pre-
sent facilities for good drainage.
Yet hill-sidcs are exposed to violent
winds, and this is circumstance Of
no small account in our northern lati-
tudes.
Wind passing over any heated OBJ
ject causes it to part rapidly with its
caloric. Every child knows this. for
he no sooner burns his fingers than he
falls to blowing Justify upon them.
So when wind sweeps over our fields,
il abstracts heat from the soil, and
from the animals and men that live
upon and cultivate it. Every one
has observed that in spring the grass
starts up fresh and green on the
southern and sheltered side Of his
house, while on the northern it is
hardly free from ice. Valleys pro-
tected by high hills, and the slopes
OF those hills looking east and south,
are warmest in winter, and respond
soonest to the call of spring. In all
unprotected grounds, the blossoms
OF tender fruits are often destroyed
by severe winds the fOwer-garden,
even in midsummer, is sometimes de-
spoiled Of its beauty ; on farms the
grasses and grains arc badly lodged !;
and in autumn, heavy-ladon fruit
trees are often injured, if not de-
stroyed. Newly-planted trees are
sometimes hacked out Of their per-
pendicular, if not thrown quite out
at the roots and many choice
shade tree, which, in favorable sit
uation, would have developed its
branches equally on every side, and
formed u spectacle Of luxurience and
symmetry,.is twisted out Of shape and
proportion, and made an eyesore to
the hand that planted it. Dwellings
also built on bleak sites are colder in
winter than those differently situat-
Cd. The winds not only howl around
tho walls, pitch down tho chimney,
rattle the windows, and shake The
house TO its foundations, but they
como in at every crcvice, and render
the exposed sides scnsibly uneomfort-
able. They lower the coal-hjn and
wool pile quite rapidly,
Must we, then, all OF us, live in the
warm valleys and sunny hooks un-
der tho shcltoring hills There is
not room, Some Of rs must pitch
our tents in the teeth OF Boreas.
And, moreover, some persons have
no special liking for valleys. They
wish to get up in tho world, and to
SEQ more Of it. They want to see
sunrises and sunsets they delight in
broad landscapes and an unbrolSon
horizon. But a. such persons feel
the wind as much as other people, ii
Is worth their while TO shield them
selves from it, or at least to break
something OF its violence.
This can be done, in some degree,
by providing artificial barriers. -
High fences will answer . good pur-
pose. Belts Of trccs-deciduous aud
evcrgrcen-will break Off the wind
from o large tract Of land, and rem
der the local climate comparatively
mild and equablo. The effect Of
screen Of evergreens, particularly in
breaking off the wind from houses
and grounds, and in modifying the
cold of winter, is far greater than one
supposes who has had no experience
in this matter. 1t is said by those
who have made the experiment, that
the expense Of planting such trees
about the house is soon covered by
the saving Of fuel Occasioned by the
shelter they afford. Such belts may
not break off all the winds that blow,
but they will soften their asperity,
and apparently mitigate their cold
ness.
Experiments Of this kind have
been tried on sea shores, and with
SUCCESS. A recent traveller speaks
IT. certain district in England, on
tho cliffs Of The German Ocean, which
nal formerly boon q bleak. sterile
prOmOntory, but which is now
beautiful and productive garden.
And this transformation was effected
by building on the exposed sides, first
"strong, high fence Of turze bundles
or brushwood, and then planting in
side OF this u thick screen Of trees"
These trees consisted chiefly Of the
Norfolk black willow, Scotch elm,
larch, and ash and Of eyergreens,
the PlauS pinastcr and Scotch pine.
These trees were fringed with such
shrubs as the snowberry, alder, and
barberry.
Every ono has heard Of the soft
and equablo climate OF the Isle Of
Wight. In this case, indeed, the
shelter was formed by nature. The
southern part Of the island is backed
by steep hills, sloping to the sea. In
these soft, inviting dells, tho climate
is nearly as mild Us that OF the Med
itcrraneau, and many OF the trees
and plants OF Southern Europe grow
mere without protection in winter
The mildncss OF the climate must be
ascribed chiefly to the shelter of the
hills on the north, and to the equal
izing influence of the sea on the
south.
The oft-cited case OF Mr.. Tudors
garden at Nahaut is still moro il
point. IL is well known that this
gentleman determined, many years
ago, 10 create one OF the best oil rar.
dens on one Of tho bleakest spots on
the Massachusetts, coast. Where
driving winds blew the salt spray
across the promontory, killing AZ
most every green thing, this heroic
horticulturist threw up artificial bar
riers, which served to break the
force OF tho winds, and TO sift thcm
OF their salt. He built two. and in
some places three, rows OF high.
open fences, made OF rough Fslats
three inches wide, with two inches
space between them. The fences
were sixteen feet high, and space
OF four feet was left between each
IL