REPOIiT OF THE EORTICULTl'RIST 137 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



The distances chosen at first were 5 by 5 ft., 5 by 10 ft., and 10 by 10 ft. apart. In addi- 

 tion to obtaining information on the gro\YUi of the trees, another object of planting the 

 belts was to find what influence ihcy would have on the crops in the adjoining fields, 

 both favourable and unfavourable. It was expected also that these belts would add much 

 to the appearance of the landscape. It was hoped that other useful information re- 

 garding timber trees would also be obtained. 



The first planting was done in the autumn of 1887, just seventeen years ago, and 

 the rapid growth which mo.?t of the trees have made should be some inducement to 

 farmers and others to plant trees. 



Although the soil was not in all cases suitable for the trees which were planted 

 in it, being very poor in some places and badly drained, at first in others, these 

 various conditions have enabled ns to note the kinds of soils which crrtain species will 

 thrive in or those in which they will not do well. 



It has been found that the trees which were planted 5 by 5 feet apart, the closest 

 distance, used at first, are making the best trees from a forestry standpoint, as the side 

 branches are billed much sooner. The tre^^s planted 5 by 5 feet apart are more pro- 

 tected from storms than those further apart, and hence the tops arc less injured. They 

 are also a little taller in most cases, but are not so great in diameter as those 10 by 10 

 feet apart. During the first years of growth there is a great advantage in having the 

 trees close, as in order to get thrifty growth the soil should not become hard, nor shovild 

 the trees be almost smothered with weeds or grass, and to get these good conditions 

 it is necessary to cultivate at first, and the further the trees are apart the longer one 

 will have to cultivate, thus making the expense greater. 



Until the last three years the trees in the mixed plantation were making the most 

 satisfactory growth, and are yet making better growth than some of the clumps com- 

 posed of single species, but the rapid growing kinds are developing so fast in tha 

 mixed belt that they arc overshadowing some of the more valuable trees, and those 

 which cannot endure much shade are being killed. To some extent this overshadowing 

 is prevented by shearing the side branches and letting in more light. In nature, the 

 proper proportion of fast and slow growing, shade-enduring and light-needing trees 

 is gradually adjusted as the trees develop, but in artificial planting, it is very difficult 

 to arrange them in proper proportion where a number of species are used. The fewer 

 kinds that are employed the easier it becomes. 



In some of the clumps of single species the disadvantage of not having two or 

 more kinds mixed is quite as apparent as the disadvantage of having so many kind* 

 mixed in the mixed belt. Ash, Butternut, Black Walnut, and Elm, which have thin 

 foliage, do not kill the sod, and the growth on this account is checked. If other heavy 

 foliaged kinds, such as Larch, Spruce, Pine, or Box Elder had been mixed with these 

 the results would have been, almost certainly, much better. 



Beginning in 1899 and continuing at intervals since, some plantations have been 

 made with trees and shrubs at much closer distances apart, the largest proportion being 

 shrubs which are used for under-growth and which grow rapidly at first, but do not 

 reach a great height. In these plantings the trees and shrubs are but 2^ feet apart. 

 It is too soon yet to report fully on this experiment, but the results already obtained 

 go to show that this method, if properly carried out, has some important advantages 

 over wider planting, one of the principal being the saving of cultivation. It is pos- 

 sible that 3 feet apart would be as satisfactory or more satisfactory a distance than 2^ 

 feet. The chief shrubs used as undergrowth were Rosemary Willow (Salix rosmarini- 

 folia). Alder Bucktiiorn (Rhamnus Frangula) , Sand Cherry {Frunus pumila), and 

 Nine-bark (Neillm opuJlfolia). The last has been found the most satisfactory, as it 

 grows rapidly even in sod and has dense foliage. 



Every year measurements are taken in the forest belts at the Central Experi- 

 mental Earm, both of the annual growth in height and in diameter, and tables are 

 published from time to time in this report, the last one appearing in 1901. In the 

 following table will be found the measurements of the principal si)ecies of trees in the 

 belts up to this autumn. In most cases the published figures are the averages of three 

 average trees, but in a few instances six trees are averaged. 



