The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-11-20
HOW FORESTS GROW,


HOW FOXES - UNIV,
From the New YorA Sun
When the superb bundant vegetation
of summer no longer cumoereth the
ground. Is the time TO walk along the
edge of a woodland and learn how
forests grow. Rising throUghthe grass,
sometimes only few inches sometimes
a foot or more. one now sees the
younglings of the forest, seedlings
from nuts and every form Of forest
fruit sown last autumn, or perhaps the
wear before. Nature in her reckless
profusiOn sows her forest seeds right
and left, at the root OF the parent tree,
and by the aid of the wind out beyond
the edge of the woodland MlIrors
rot upon the surface of the ground, or
are eaten by birds, beasts or insects
Comparatively few are covered with
earth and terminate. Many OF those
few perish by q thousand accidents
when they first peep above ground.
Some fractional percentage OF the
whole number Of seeds sOwn live to the
end of their first year, and 1t IS these
that now greet the eye upon the wood
lands edge, pretty mlmlcs OF then
giant parents.
One gets a notion of the forest trees
tenacity of life when one attempts 70
uproot the baby tree. j yearling
hickory is found with deep struck tap
root thicker than the stem above
ground and often longer. Only q
strong arm can uprOot the infant from
the spot, where ne has set firm foot
in his native soil Is if he knew his
destined towering height and six feet
OF girth. So the oak: his infant tap
root exceeds in length his height above
ground, and he braces himself with
lateral rootlets rs il he felt the temp
est in his locks a century hence.
The nobler forest trees, too, ii their
youth have to make provision for the
needs of age. 10 dive down into the
bowels of the earth and draw thence
( the stuff from which giants are mold
/ ed, the water that shall serve for life
/ and growth when droughts destroy
| the punv ANNALS towering in their
/ mushroom growth Of season above
t the tiny oak with its heritage OF
/ centuries The birches are less firm
/ " rooted. They content themselves
with a modest depth and a wide
] lateral spread Of branching roots.
/ The beech spreads wide and sinks deep
/ in preparation Of the time when the
! secret alchemy OF its cells shall trans
/ NIT the food drawn from earth and air
into the marvel Of its giant limbs.
There is a peculiar charm in the in
fancy of these future giants. The tiny
young oaks of the larger varieties some
| times exceed their parents in the size
and richness of their leaves, and for
some years the growing oak has pc
! cular autumn splendor that comes late
/ and fingers long. The leaves OF the
young pin-oak are more delicate than
those of the parent. They take on
early the tints thai glorify this variety
/ of oak The almost 'pentagOnal leaves
of the Seeding tulip tree also are tiny,
while a transparency unknown to the
broad rich greenery of the well-grOwn
tree. The foot-high elm wears his dark
green flannel leaves far into the au-
tumn and seems to escape the beetle.
/ The baby birch when uprOoted has a
pretty secret to reveal of the way her
kind grows in SisterhoodS of three four
five, or more. All about the base
of the baby trunks, just be
meath the surface of the
! ground, are little buds that will in time
develop into independent trunks. al
least such seems their promise. The
elms propagate abundantly. So do tbs
naples, growing in single tall straight
wands. The tulip tree is also the par
ent of a great brood. and the young
wild cherries spring abundantly. The
oaks seem less prolific, probably be
cause the acorn is an excellent food fol
a great number of creatures. SO, too
the chestnut, whose seed escapes tht
worm only to fall into the clutches o.
the schooIboy. The birches spring NJ
in all directions. but the beech Is les
commonly found in its infancy. The
sassafras surrounds itself with a Who'll,
colony Of young shoots from its far
spreading roots. Hence the charm o.
the natural plantations of the sassa
fras The beauty of its family group
should be perpetual reminder 10 hu
man families that few Of Us in the mas
are so well worth the photographer.
art as the spontaneous vegetable prod
ucts of nature