, 1890-08-28
IN BASALT LANDS.
Surprises That Greet Those
Who Till the Soil.
FOOD FOR PLANT LIFE IN ROCKS
How the Forests, the Fields and
the Orchards Are Fed by
Air and Water.

IS' bdruhu rooVe WTItcS from SDO.
kane Falls to the Northwest Maoa,
zine:
1t seems trite, yet rather anoma.
lous assertion, but true 1t Is that tho
most striking peculiarities of anv
section Of country are less apparen,
to the Inhabitants thereof than to n
newcomer from region essentiallv
different.
Let one accustomed to the mellow
prairie soil of Illinois, the stoneless
bunchgrass plains of the Northwest
or even an average portion of tho
oak-openings of Michigan, where,
"the granite doesn't crop up for sev.
eral places together" be suddenlv
removed to n region of ancient voi,
canic activity, and his first imnros.
sion might, doubtless, be embodied
in the words of Linneus, "Stones
grow" yet, after long residence
among boulders and scoria. Tho
same individual will describe tho
country as rocky only in
places, and forget wherein 1t differ
materially from his former home,
This modification of opinion is dua
partly to the fact that the surface NJ
n basaltic formation Is always in A
stow transition, so that varying pre.
cipitation works miracles of fertility
or of desolation upon the decompos.
ing soil. There is plenty of food for
plant life even in a bed of basaIt n
only the magic action of air aud
water combine to crumble the par.
ticles and prepare them for absorp.
tion. A season of abundant rainfall
hastens the decay Of the rock, opens,
the little pores to the aggressive
rootlets, and there is n period q
vigorous vegetation, which, in Ia
decay, adds needed element to the
formation of soil.
Nothing can well be more desc.
late, or more destitute of interest,
save to the geologist, than such
region when suffering from drouth.
A journey across the recent bed ofa
dry lake would not differ materially
from "a ride across the heated gravel
of its prairies. The great, unac.
countable bluffs, lodges, aud SCARED
boulders, which cut the horizon In
the most unexpected places, shin.
mer with heat like 40 many ovens
under the sun of August and retain
a high degree of warmth through.
out the night. The little springs at
their bases dwindle to mere dril.
zle, quickly lyevaporated. and nothing
grows upon their glowing walls and
submits except "A few stunted and
hardy shrubs, scarcely more grateful
to the eye than the rock itself. The
thunders of falling rivers grow
faint, and the lesser streams shrink
to mere creeks, dripping and spatler.
ing down their mighty canyons,
suggesting the miserable perverslon
of grand possibilities.
In the timbered portion, the pines
look black and dusty, while the
sight of u watered garden, or lawn,
u few deciduous trees or even q strug.
Cling field of grain, is indescribably
refreshing. The very people haTea
uilcu anu WHY iooh lioHi ''us''W
exposure to the molstureless atmos'
phere, and compilations are all alike,
But suppose winters of heavy
snow, in such n region, are followed
by their natural sequence of show.
ers in summer. Behold! a change.
Water, the magician, has trans
formed the hot, gravelly desert tos
limitless parterre of loveliness. The
pebbles are early hidden from sight
under carpet Of springing grass,
and the advance of summer showsa
succession of flowers o! the rankest
growth and the most glowing colors.
The botanist revels in surprises, and
the eager children tire them.
selves under the huge sheaves
of blossoms too heavy for
their arms. The evergreen
timber trees take on a lighter all
with their frequent washings, and
toss tender green tassel of new
growth at the end of each
old, black lcaved twig. The
walls and detached masses OF rock
everywhere becomestudies of beauty
for the artist, when adorned WIZ
masses of wild syringas, dogwood
and roses, or draped with trailing
moss pinks and festoons of clematis
Voluminous springs gurgle out o.
each rocky reservoir, and make sun
more exhuberant the vegetation 10
their course.
Here an orchard rewards the faith
and patience of somebody with an
abundant bloom and fruitage; there
gardens filled with small fruit ana
vegetables show the most delignt
full growth and perfection. ihs
grain fields show the true "blace'
color and sturdy joints which de.
light the farmer. The snow ile,
late on the adjacent mountains, anu
ever and anon, IL rains.
After every shower how grateful
is the renewed growth and freshness
What an advance the young shaas had
trees make In such u season. Inc
rivers plunge and roar In reckless
prodigality Of the precious elemehs
all summer. The Inhabitants lose
some of the bronze and copper tones
out of their complexions, and tns
natural distinctions among the race7
become perceptible. =.
And such a season witnesses again
In the progress of tho soil towalu
the fertility which is never LOST
Every grain of rock pulverized anu
every atom of vegetable matter de'
posted by the giant forces of growth
and decay are so much additions
food for plant life, and so muCn
storage for water against posslp's
future drouth. Through the lone
contest of apes. in such region
life Is slow In triumphing overdeatnd;
But "the desert shall blossom" " anJ
when dame nature has once turnsu