File:Annual report of the Commissioners of Fisheries, Game and Forests of the State of New York (1897) (14752282861).jpg

Identifier: annualreportof4189718newy (find matches)
Title: Annual report of the Commissioners of Fisheries, Game and Forests of the State of New York
Year: 1895 (1890s)
Authors: New York (State). Commissioners of Fisheries, Game and Forests
Subjects: Forests and forestry Fisheries Game and game-birds
Publisher: (Albany, N.Y. : The Commission)
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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beating and leaching action of rain. Itincreases the capillarity of the soil. It fills up the interstices of the soil with rich,spongy, juicy matter, and thus obviates the main objection to a sandy soil, which isits coarseness. By means of it imbibation by capillarity of the water from below ispossible. Humus, then, is not only the great storehouse of plant-food, but the place inwhich it is being constantly produced. It is not only a sponge which holds water,but a blanket which prevents excessive evaporation, and which sucks up the waterwhich would otherwise slip away. The formation of leaf-mould is something more than mere oxidation. Hundreds offungi and bacteria are concerned in the process. In addition, the animals of the soil,especially the earthworm, play a very important role. These industrious creatures notonly aerate the soil by the channels which they form, but actually eat it, extractingfrom it what they may need, and casting out the rest in the form of a rich, friable soil.
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3 S Q o Q « O J o < a e l-l J FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 403 The Danish forester pays much attention to the earthworm, and a forest soil in hisestimation is not in good condition until fairly alive with earthworms. Beech forestsmay be seen in Denmark close to the salt breezes of the North Sea on sand land blownand washed up by the winds and waves. The floors of these forests are covered withleaf-mould and alive with earthworms. For the production of leaf-mould a forest is of course necessary; but it must be theproper kind of forest. It must be a forest with the proper kind of canopy andaffording the proper kind of litter. It must give the proper amount of shade andmust protect the floor from the action of wind and rain. The forest canopy and floor areinterdependent; they act and react upon one another. The admission of light causesthe humus to dry up and interferes with the processes of fermentation. An interferencein the formation of leaf-mould interferes with the supply of pla

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