Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1883-10-18


on the rich soil above are rcpe led by
the cold moisture of the gravel be.
meath and spread out for some distance
around without striking deeply In. -
Then comes a tremendous storm, and
the tall hemiock or pine is overthrown
literally torn up by the roots, bring
ing with them several square rods of
the dark. rich earth. with which they
were covered, The gravelly sub-soil Is
thus left exposed. and there the seeds
Of birch, willow and maple, carried by
wind, bird, or squirrel, will flourish.
The dirt carried up by the roots will
sink down, AS the tree decays, into q
knoll that will mark the death of the
monarch for ages, and on Ii will spring
up cherry y, poplar and sumach. Thus.
side by side, will be n marked-ya
tion iu types. Not only this, but where
the tree fell it.iswept down smaller
trees and underbrush along with it, ad-
mitting warmth aud light TO soil which
the sunbeems had not perhaps touched
for centuries. In this manner the eli
mate of that particular spot would be
as much altered as the soil, and the
final result might be an almost COM
plete alteration of the character of the
forest at that point. All this too would
be accomplished by the orderly work
ing of natural laws.
Again, on sandy plains, where the
fire that destroyed the forest growth I
the same time consumed the vegetable
mould that gave the Soil its fertility, 1t
is curious to note natures method of
recuperating from the injury. Tile first
step toward re-establishing n forest is
made by ehe TiIch-pine or simi ar trees
which require but little moisture. =
These send down their long roots, 10
90 or 80 feee through the loose, barren
gravel, to find and bring to the surface
the potash and other soluble salts that
are required. These elements are taken
up by the tree for its own nutrition and
then returned 10 the surface soil by the
falling leaves. Thus the earth is Cradu.
ally enriched and i'm course of time be-
comes capable Of supporting beech,
poplar and oak again, and thus natur,
] herself repairs the'damage that rhe ig
norance or carelessress of men infiict,
upon her
On the other hand equal provision
is made for those trees Which do moi
love the black, loainy soil, bat prosper
upon poor and sandy home. Just a.
the surface of the plains rs gradual,
enriched by the elements brought uI
from depth, SO is silicious sand froI
some distance below deposited upor
the surf.ce of bogs and sSamps, anC
enables trees to thrive there whicl
could not otherwise find n home. Ev
eryone who has noticed with care tn
cultivated lands of New England ha
observed that where hemlook tree
have fallen and decayed the soil is eX
ceptionally poor so much so that OF
ten, after several ploughings, the out
line of the tree can be traced by tn
poorer growth of grass or grain, an
the sorrel and coreopsis, which abho
n fertile soil, thrive ther.. IL the de
caying wood be pulverized it will b
found gritty, and grains Of sand ca
be detected with the naked eye. Thes
are crystals of silex taken up in solu
ton into the circulation of the tree
and on its death reverting to their cry,
talline form. They are evident to work
ers of wood because they dull the edge
! of their tools. Now, just this silciou
2 matter is what is wanted by variou
: deciduous trees, some of which canno
} live uyon wet, peaty soil. Therefor,
if a heinlock, spruce or pine be uproo
= ed from such soil, its very trunk de
= caying will supply n foothold for haze
r willow, and yellow and white bircl
AS these grow in strength they vii
e send down roots inside the bark of tn
e fast-decaying evergreen, which, pier
: ing the damp mould, will lao firm hol
+. upon the sandy sub-soil. Finally, Il
v trunk of the fallen tree will waste el
tirely away, and there the observer wi
y find the birches growing oil soil so w
= and rich that they could never ha,
r taken root there but for the death
e the tree that gave them birth.
e Der World.