REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR. 51 



REPORT OF THE FOREMAN OF FORESTRY. 



The spring of 1894 was a very early one and work was begun in connection with 

 the division of forestry and ornamental grounds during the first week of April. The 

 mulching of barnyard manure which covered the lawns was removed and the grass was 

 uninjured, excepting in a few exposed places where there was no mulch, and where the 

 snow had been blown off. During the spring and summer the grass was regularly cut 

 by the pony lawn mower, and the lawns at all times looked well. 



Tree planting was begun on the 18th of April and continued until May 30th. 



The horse cultivator was used throughout the season among the trees and shrubs 

 as often as necessary, which kept the surface of the soil loose and the weeds subdued. 

 Very little cultivating was required in the forest belt along the western boundary of 

 the farm, as the trees there are large enough in the rows (5 feet apart) to shade the 

 ground and prevent weeds from growing; the same may be said regarding a great many 

 of the trees in the rows 10 feet apart. In the older plantations of trees in the mixed 

 belt along the northern boundary, very little cultivation was found necessary. 



The trees and shrubs on the farm have, in nearly all cases, made good growth. 



REPLACING TREES IN FOREST BELT ALONG WESTERN BOUNDARY. 



By consulting the list of trees given in the report for 1893 as living in the forest 

 belt along the western boundary, it will be seen that there still remained a number of 

 vacancies to be filled. In this plantation the experiment is that of growing trees in 

 blocks all of the same species. In cases where the trees have grown so as to shade the 

 entire surface, it was considered unnecessary to fill the vacancies with young trees of 

 the same species for the reason that they would, in all probability, be smothered by the 

 larger trees before they could establish themselves. Where the species were not per- 

 fectly hardy, the same kinds were not always re-planted. For the first time since the 

 forest belt was begun, several trees, eight in all, were girdled by mice, all of which were 

 White Ash (Fraxinus Americana). There were 131 trees replaced in this belt to fill 

 vacancies. 



MIXED FOREST BELT, PLANTATION OF 1893. 



In last year's Annual Report a list was given of the trees added to the mixed forest 

 belt during the spring of 1893 ; also the number of these which had died during the 

 summer of that year. Another record was taken in the spring of 1894, and it was 

 found that 25 more had died in the winter of 1893-94. Of these 8 were Ulmus nion- 

 tana and 17 Acer Pseudoplatanus, neither of which species are perfectly hardy here. 

 The vacancies caused by the death of trees during the summer of 1893 and the winter 

 of 1893-94 were filled, and in the case of Acer Pseudoplatanus and Ulmus montana, 

 replaced by hardier species. This plantation has made very gratifying growth, and 

 towards the close of the season when the growth was completed, in some cases the 

 trees were already touching one another. During the growing season, the soil was kept 

 frequently stirred by the horse cultivator, and to this is to be attributed, in a large 

 degree, the satisfactory growth which the trees have made. 



MIXED FOREST BELT, PLANTATION OF 1894. 



To complete the mixed forest belt along the northern boundary of the farm, there 

 remained yet to be planted a strip of land a little more than 500 yards long, extending 

 to Preston street, the greater portion of which had always been one of the roughest 

 parts of the farm. Beginning at the hill opposite Fourth Avenue there was a steep 

 bank sloping to the east. This was partly filled with stones which had been gathered 

 from the farm. In October this stone was covered with a thick coating of soil sufficient 



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