Climatic Changes—Appearance of Familiar Herbs—Rats—The True Theory—Fall Emigration—The Johnson Cut Off—The Target—The First Young Lady—A Spartan Mother—The Boys Up a Tree.
IT was often maintained by older heads, even at this time as well as subsequently, that climatic changes followed emigration to any or all parts of the world, and that various plants also would follow in their trail; but why was this? Whatever the theory may be, we found the fact one of verity in our experience in California. Can we ever forget the old-fashioned herb bag of our boyhood days suspended from the rafters in the garret, which we used to take delight in pelting with corn cobs and other convenient missiles, and which contained the precious herbs and medical plants that our grandmothers had carefully collected, dried and stowed away for future use? We surely can never forget our unpleasant familiarity with a portion of the contents of these same bags, when suffering from those same complaints with which “grandma” so assiduously and successfully coped! Now, had the grandmothers who crossed the plains to make their homes upon this side of the continent brought with them the ancient herb bag? More than likely was it, that from this bag, suspended from the hoops that formed the covering of the wagons, the seeds were scattered along the highways and byways; for here in this far-distant land where never before were they seen or known, could the familiar plants be discerned, sprouting into life among the ravines and gulleys. For instance, here was the horehound, the motherwort, the spearmint and the entire family of mints, including of course the mint julep, and following later, the U. S. Mint. The wild parsnip, the wild turnip and the catnip (including also in the list a great variety of other nips found at the bar), were additional evidences of the influence of civilization, upon the Fauna, Flora and herbaceous productions of new settlements. The old fashioned mullein stalk, with which we were all familiar in our boyhood days, delayed its appearance in California, at least in the mining regions, until about the year ’58, at which late date it came in the following authentic manner:
A Mrs. Coates, a resident of Reservoir Hill, Eldorado County, requested a friend in the State of Wisconsin to send her a package of the cherry tomato seeds. The friend complied, and the seeds were received in due time and planted. They thrived exceedingly, attaining immense proportions far above the diminutive turnip and radish plants around them; but it was found, alas, as they raised their heads above the garden fence that the cherry tomato was only a mullein stalk. They were allowed to mature from curiosity, and the seeds being blown into the water ditch near at hand the plants became profusely scattered throughout this portion of the mining regions. In referring again to the appearance of the plants before mentioned seeming to follow upon the trail of emigration, it is proper to mention here a mysterious phenomenon which was observed afterwards in the appearance of new varieties and species of plants, found in the mining regions wherever the surface soil had been disturbed, or where the dirt and gravel from below had been thrown upon the surface and exposed to the action of the sun and atmosphere. On these piles of dirt, sand or gravel, new species of plants would be often found that had not previously been seen in the locality. This phenomenon has for many years been reasoned upon, by not only the mining class, but by many able scientific men as well, in relation to the new species or plants, that spring forth from the soil and gravel that have been drawn up from great depths below the earth’s surface. Many theories have been advanced in explanation of the phenomena, and by many scientific men it is maintained that the seeds of such plants have been lying in a dormant state for centuries, perhaps, below the surface; but could not germinate until exposed to the sun or atmosphere. We find upon visiting again the mining regions where we worked in early days, that the hills and ravines in many places where originally there stood here and there an oak, are now covered by a thrifty growth of pine trees, many of them now nearly 40 years of age and of great size. The question, therefore, arises as to what caused these young pines to start from the ground after the miner had commenced his labor of extracting the gold.
Why had they not started previous to the discovery of gold; if mining among the ravines and hills changed the conditions which were necessary to make the coming of the young pine possible, what then were the conditions, and what was the nature and cause of the change? In the investigation of this phenomenon, I found one fact well demonstrated, and that is that these young pines spring into life from the ground only in those localities where oak trees had been standing, and which had been cut and removed from the ground. It was upon this now vacant ground that the young pines came forth in such numbers, and so thickly, as though the pine nuts had been sown in the same manner as grain would have been. From this fact, it is evident that the removing of the oak is the condition or the change required to bring them forth; but yet the question still remains unanswered. I found many localities now covered with this thick growth of pines that formerly but a few only of the oaks had occupied (and in some cases they were at least 150 feet apart), so it could not have been, as has been maintained, that it was owing to their shading the ground that the young pines had not before sprung up. Some scientists who have written upon this subject maintain that the seeds of the pine are scattered just beneath the surface of the ground; but, owing to the shade of the oak, they cannot germinate, and lie there dormant for hundreds of years, perhaps, until the conditions become favorable for their growth. My interpretation of this phenomenon is, that this soil is natural to the pine, or in other words the proper elements which bring into existence this species of vegetation, as the pine tree, are indigenous to the soil, for the reason, no doubt, that all of these barren places were in some pre-historic age, covered with pines: but in consequence of unusual dry season or by fire had become destroyed. Then again the question arises, that since the oaks are not natural to the soil in these locations, how then came they there? This can be explained by the fact that the natives who inhabit these regions subsist upon the acorns to some extent, and by them are scattered among the hills throughout the country; they become imbedded in a short time beneath the surface, germinate, and grow into great oaks. An accidental production, therefore, not natural to the soil, but which extract from it certain important elements necessary for the growth of the pine, and the latter, as a consequence, cannot spring into life until the former are removed. In other words, it may be stated that since the existence of any form of life, whether vegetable or animal, can only be possible when the conditions are favorable for such an existence, it is therefore very evident that the growth of the oak tree upon this soil changes, in some peculiar manner, those conditions which are necessary for the growth of the pine; consequently, the latter cannot have an existence until the conditions are rendered favorable by the removal of the former. That such is the true theory has been well demonstrated, in my opinion, in a few instances here in California in the case of the wild oats, when a field of wheat has been transformed or changed into the former. Wild oats being indigenous to the soil, or, in other words, the proper elements being contained within the soil necessary to produce this variety of cereal will under certain conditions, for instance, such as plowing, cultivation, or in stirring of the loose soil, spring forth spontaneously without the necessity of previously sowing the seed, and thus preventing the germination of the wheat. This singular phenomenon has occurred upon three separate occasions here to my knowledge, and is, as far as my knowledge extends, a phenomenon that has never been known to occur in any other country except upon a much smaller scale.
But the question might very properly be asked, Since these pines are indigenous to the soil, and await the time when all proper conditions are favorable for their growth, why do they not come forth and cover the ground previous to the growth of the oak, as well as after the latter has been removed?
The only explanation of this in my opinion is, so far as it is possible to understand the phenomenon, that the presence of the oak growing upon the heretofore barren sod, makes the conditions in some peculiar manner favorable for the germination of the pine, by transferring such elements from the atmosphere to the soil as are favorable for it, or otherwise extracting from the soil certain elements which are obnoxious to its growth, and for such reasons, therefore, upon the removal of the oak the young pines make their appearance; at any rate the phenomenon exists, whether the above explanation is the true one or not.
There also was soon seen the old faithful family house-dog, who had followed patiently and wearily through sandy deserts and over mountains the train of his master to find a new and a more pleasant
home upon the Pacific slope; but up to the spring of ’50 not a single cat, or “Kitty,” was seen in this part of the mining regions. Many started with the trains but died before reaching here. In the fall of ’50 many were occasionally seen, having been brought from Oregon and the lower part of California. Domestic animals will, like the herb, and for similar reasons (if any one can explain what they are), follow in the trail of advancing civilization, for here now, at this early day, when we have only scarcely arrived, and have hardly had time to get squared around and get located, or to look about us, we find among us the familiar plants, the faithful house-dog, the occupant of the hearth corner—the cat, and now but one thing, or but one more animal, is wanting to complete the complement needed to give all the appearance of an Eastern home which we have deserted, perhaps forever, and that is the affectionate and the docile rat. Oh, where is the rat! why has he so long delayed!
“He is here! here he is! hello, boys, boys, quick! he has come at last!”