214: TRANSACTIONS OF THE NORTHERN 



By a little union in arrangement, an analysis of any specimen of our 

 soils could be made for, perhaps, ten dollars, if not for five dollars, 

 when practical, positive, and profitable knowledge would flow in. 



. Adjourned till seven o'clock, P. M. 



EVENING SESSION. 



The following Essay on Trees and Tree-planting by W. E. Lukens, 



of Sterling, was read. 



ESSAY. 



BY W. E. LUKENS. 



It requires no little fortitude and moral courage to approach the 

 hackneyed subject of tree-planting. It has been so often and so elabo- 

 rately discussed at our meetings by persons much more familiar with the 

 subject than 1, that it is really embarrassing to attempt to say a word on 

 the subject. But if what I may say will be the means of inducmg one 

 man to plant a thousand, or even a hundred trees, it will pay for the time 

 spent in reading this short essay.' 



Our arguments and appeals to the people to do a more extended 

 business in this line, are shorn of much of their influence by the sus- 

 picion that we are incited by interested motives. Because some of us 

 are nurserymen, and have young trees to sell, they seem to think we are 

 devoid of that public spirit which would prompt us to urge this matter 

 irrespective of any pecuniary advantage to ourselves. But they should 

 remember that nurserymen and orchardists have necessarily given to the 

 subject of trees more attention than they who are merely raising corn 

 and beef and devoting their exclusive attention to these pursuits. Not 

 long ago I asked a farmer, the owner of half a dozen large farms, if he 

 had ever thought of planting any of his land in forest trees. With a 

 cunning smile he asked, " Will they produce beef.''" This was all the 

 reply he made. I mention this to show that this man, though a success- 

 ful and intelligent farmer, seemed never to think of any plan of drawing 

 wealth from his land but by raising beef. Of course the idea of raising 

 trees was new to him, as it is to thousands. When they see the advantage 

 of this as they do that of other pursuits, they will be smart enough to 

 engage in it. 



But suppose the trees do not produce beef, they produce value. 

 The farmer sells his beef year after year, and the avails he re-invests in 

 land or other property, or loans it at interest, till finally he dies and 

 leaves it to his heirs. If it can be shown that with a given capital the 

 farmer can leave more to his heirs at his death by planting trees than 

 by raising beef, and that, too, with less work and exposure, it would on- 

 ly be business-like to adopt this plaii. 



But it is not suggested to any farmer to plant all his land in trees, 

 by any means. If each owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land 

 would plant six or eight acres, it would make but a small inroad on his 



