The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-01-08

amlned one OF the most renarEapie OF these
ridges soath of where the village OF Thornton
now stands. II il composed principally OF COM
pact travels as s,raisht as possible, nearly north
and south; l should think, perhaps three hun
bred feet wide, and elevated, probably, ten feet
above the IN arshe> on each side. II is ~ regular
in it's grade as ii thrown up by the hand OF man.
under the direction of a sklliul engineer, and
con'itutes the most be ,utiiul natural drive
ever saw, and, understand Is now used AS
public road. Not tree was standing on II, nor
the evidence that there had ever been one. The
soil was light but sufficient 20 sustain the pine
or the black oak
Although il j. reasonable 10 suppose that this
dyke cut of the waters to the west long before
the waters TO the east of it were separated from
the lake 10y similar process, yet the marsh on
the west was not. and venture to say i not now
elevated apprecaby more than that on the east.
This may serve to teach us how extremely slow
l. the filling up process OF these marshes, even
after they have been elevated so AS to become
passable to animals, and are annually covered
with heavy growth of grass-so slow. indeed.
that it is insppreciable from one gener atom Of
men To i u. her | accept this as a formation of
some praiilrs in the manner supposed by our
author but not ts a reason why they are desti-
tute of trees 1t seems 10 me that he does not
sufficiently appreciate the effect of the chemical
and mechanical action of the elements upon all
things above the waters even in short period,
as reckoned by geological time, in which the life
of man ia 50 short as to be hardly an = precable
moment and the entire historic period = scarcely
long enough for single breath. Although,
gaologically speaking, We can consider thus "a
new country, vet time enough has elap..1 since
these high praries first elevated, OF rather,
will say, we've last elevated above the waters, To
add to them something, at least, from animal
and vegetable deposits and particles floating IN
the atmosphere, though slow indeed has been
and will be the this accumulation upon ths sur.
face, accelerated or retarded by human industry
where civilization directs its energies
Through the changes of accommodating ages,
the soils of our prairies and woodlands have no
doubt. at different times, been adapted TO the
healthy growth of almost every variety o. vege-
tation of the temperate zope both herbaceous
and grborescent, nor do | think it unreasonable
to suppose that not only our present prairie, but
the great forest land covering the plains which
spread away clear to the foot of the mountains
east of US, may have been many times clothed
with heavy forests, and these again denuded to
naked prarles 1t is familiar fact that places
have been found covered with what appeared
primeva forest of hard wood, showing abundant
rem,ins of growth OF pine, which must once
have occupied the same place. No fact is better
settled in agricultural science, than that any
Particular crop Of vegetation, II long continued,
will in time exhaust the element necessary TO it:
vigorous or" n, Wheh' II NegeISIioi requiring
inherent eithieuI oe SuoStlt"'So' ~ VIII sio"
with peculiar Insurance. Hence the necessity
tor rotation OF crops, which mas oeen thu' en-
forced by the laws of nature herself long befors
man appreciated IT'S r'll''F or "deP'eo II IN
practice.
When the vegetation i not .aken from the
ground, but l. allowed to return 10 1t, the pro-
cess of exhaustion is, no doubt retarded to "a
certain extent oNt i no. eh'ireiy arrested anu
hence we see THIS rotation OF crops wrought ont
10y the mana of nature ltstI "l'hough at longer
intervals thah l. required 'or '"g Hu>''humah'
encrely concur III 'ue l'P"" 'P'h'"H' way
among the most lmPrt''u' '' %h' causes Nh!9h
nave produced 'hi' i"''re't'hS result - 'tt,
whiie the eSha"1ioh ANU ''pleHl'"'1@ LAe so',
WIN particular e4eih'A'S A''e' no """o'' h'A
ihnuehce.
The opinions OF 'he f'1' sou erS Oh me P'a'f'eS
VINO are oi'eh 9ooa "oH'' " many Pe"''''''''
are ehtl.led 20 respect AND : > '"r AZ d." aware
.hey universally attribute 'Ae absence oil Uee'
from the prairles |" the vtfIvi''Si hies winch
swept over them, oVoriopNihE' no aono,' many
minor causes. Inc hard' llnpenolraole character
OF the sward 1orined ny most OF the heFp'ct"u'
vegetation OF the ll'4''e'' 'v'H' " 81 'o"' e'
lment 10 the gerihIhatioH % 'tt"H ~ L'eIS "'"i'
by accident, they lai! upon H. 10 II hoI 'he
composition o' !'e SOL '"a' prevents '"' Urn,
natloh OF thls CLASS u seeus' o"' "h"'e'er t'ii
Guilty Is exper'ehceo IN this reSaru arises from
the mechanical cause ABOVE suggested. Inc
herohceons vegetation "hi'h covers ,he Prairie-
| IS furnished with IN Immense NUMBER OF very
strong roots,-far more - imam any OF the tame
| or cultivated grasses In general, these form
complete mat Oh ',, the surface "nu Pehe''s'e 10
| great depth lsey are oiten met win OF con-
| siderable AT q Qeptn or SIX or eight 1eet.