FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 5 I 



The seedlings included 1,200 white pine, 1,800 Norway spruce, and 2,000 Scotch 

 pine. They were three years old and raised from seed in the nursery of the New 

 York State College of Forestry at Axton, in Franklin County, and were secured 

 from Dr. B. E. Fernow, director of the college. They were shipped from Tapper 

 Lake on Saturday, October 5th, and arrived by express on the 7th, in fine condition, 

 packed in German baskets and bundles, and inclosed in damp moss. 



The selection of the white pine needs no explanation. It is well known, 

 however, that the white pine without a mixture of some other species will not clean 

 itself; that is, the lower branches as they die will not break off easily, and the 

 lumber resulting will be full of knots. If some other species, and especially a 

 species which grows more slowly than the pine, be mixed with it, the tops as they 

 are blown by the wind will strike against the dead branches of the pine and break 

 them off. 



The Norway spruce was selected, not only for this purpose, but for its own 

 qualities as a timber tree. Its wood is as good as that of our spruce. It has been 

 planted extensively in this country as an ornamental tree, and has thriven under 

 many conditions of soil and climate. It has an advantage in the matter of 

 reproduction as its cones are large and the seeds many. 



The Scotch pine for lumber will take the place of the hemlock. It is a hard 

 pine, and like the hard pines will be suitable for rough lumber. It is a fast growing 

 tree, while the hemlock grows very slowly. It is not exacting as to mineral 

 substance, accommodating itself to any description of soil from shifting sand to clay. 

 It Europe it thrives under any condition of moisture from very dry soil to swampy 

 ground. In Great Britain it ascends the mountains to 2,200 feet, while in the Alps 

 it reaches an altitude of 6,000 feet. 



The seedlings were planted between October 8th to 14th, inclusive. Holes 

 were made with pickaxes and grubhoes, and each plant was carefully placed in its 

 hole and packed about with the fingers. The plantation extends from the foot 

 of the mountain to the top, a distance of about one mile and a quarter. The 

 adjacent rows of trees were generally of different species, the arrangement being 

 more definitely shown in the accompanying sketch map. 



The trees were generally spaced from si.x to eight feet apart, although parts of 

 the two groves were placed closer. The soil varied in character froni a rich black 

 loam, with somewhat clayey subsoil at the lower end, to a thin earth consisting of 

 decomposed rock on the top of the mountain. On the intervening slope the only 

 soil was in the fissures of the rock, in some places yellow decomposed rock, and in 



