72 BOARD "OF AGRICULTURE. 



wliicli may have crept into the statistics relied on, we may still 

 anticipate that future returns will show the existence of the 

 same causes now in operation, and that they will continue to 

 produce the same effects which they have done hitherto, not- 

 withstanding our growing population and the increasing demand 

 for arable land. 



A class of lands has been already mentioned, with a query 

 whether it would not be true economy to make woodland of 

 them, subjecting others less exhausted to cultivation in their 

 stead. Many thousand acres of poor and worn-out lands may 

 be found in the eastern part of the State and elsewhere, which, 

 for all practical purposes of cultivation, may be considered as 

 worthless, the net profits from them not being worth estimating. 

 Such lands as I have intimated, have already been planted with 

 pitch pine to a considerable extent; and as many acres have 

 been visited for the purpose of examining the progress of the 

 experiments, it is proper here to state the methods which have 

 been pursued with success. 



The pitch pine is adapted to a light sandy soil, or to one 

 which has been exhausted by continued cropping. On such a 

 soil it will do well, even in the early part of its growth, if no 

 attention at all be paid to it ; whereas, if it stands on rich land, 

 with a deep mould and full of organic matter, the grasses and 

 weeds too often check its early growth, if indeed they do not 

 entirely destroy it. 



The seed of the pine may often be purchased at about one 

 dollar a quart. It is usually gathered in October by taking 

 the new cones from the trees, before they have been opened by 

 the frost, so as to allow their seed to fall. These cones should 

 be kept free from moisture, and dried in the sun, or by artificial 

 heat. When dry, the seeds become loosened and drop from 

 the cones, or they may be threshed out. They are cleaned by 

 rubbing and winnowing. In Europe it is generally considered 

 better to sow thickly in beds ; when about three years old the 

 trees are transplanted. This course is not generally pursued 

 here on account of the labor of transplanting, though if the soil 

 were worth any thing for pasturage during these two or three 

 years, it would probably be advisable to adopt it. The seed 

 may be sown either in autumn or in early spring. Many use 



