118 [Senate 



in this matter. Not content with clearing of its timber more land 

 than they could possibly cultivate, they have gone on to destroy and 

 waste in a manner which has already left many districts of our 

 country almost bare of wood for fencing or for fuel. It seems to 

 have been forgotten that a tree does not spring up like a mushroom, 

 but is the work of a century; and while little pains have been taken 

 to preserve and plant, the ax has plied its work of destruction in- 

 cessantly. On every farm of 100 acres, from 15 to 20 acres of 

 land should be kept in wood. This will not be more than sufficient 

 for ordinary building purposes, for fences, and for fuel; and it will 

 leave for cultivation, far more land on every farm, than is usually 

 cultivated well. Many seem to think that when they reserve a piece 

 of woodland, if the timber is spared, all is done that is required, 

 but it is not so. The timber should be cut with system, and 

 not at random. The land should be kept fenced, and all animals 

 excluded, or the young growth of timber, on which every thing is 

 depending, is destroyed. Too many of our farmers allow their wood- 

 lands to be fed, and though some profit may be derived from this 

 source, and their woods cleared, yet there is a serious loss in the 

 end. Oak and chestnut lands are not so much injured by cattle and 

 sheep, as maple, elm, beech and basswood lands, yet all suffer more 

 or less. Ten acres kept fenced, will produce in a given number of 

 years, at least one third more timber than the unfenced, and the last 

 must eventually be destroyed. This is as certain as it is that con- 

 tinual cropping and no manuring will exhaust fertility in any soil. 

 But it is not enough that a regular piece of woodland should 

 be reserved. There is scarcely a farm or field, on or around 

 which large numbers of trees may not be advantageously grown. 

 Planting trees should be the yearly business of the farmer, not 

 fruit trees merely, but forest trees; and the man who neglects 

 to do this, neglects one of the simplest elements of success. Every 

 vacancy in his wood lot should be kept filled; the roadsides planted 

 with trees, and clumps or scattering trees in his pastures or fields 

 will add far more to the beauty and value of the farm, than they 

 will detract from the crops cultivated. All trees may be transplanted 

 with success, if sufficient care is taken during the operation, and if 

 the soil into which the tree is removed, is in a proper condition to 

 receive it. It is only necessary to remove so much of the earth with 

 the roots, that the finer fibres shall not have their hold on the soil 



