ARBORICULTURE 



123 



These were planted in the Autumn, and 

 from carelessness of the tenants, many 

 were destroyed during the winter by be- 

 ing thrown out of the ground by frost. 



In the spring of 1899 others were 

 planted — set 8x8 feet. These have been 

 allowed to grow at will ; attempts have 

 been made to cultivate them, but it has 

 been only partially done. The trees will 

 be cut off at the ground during the winter 

 and one shoot allowed to grow. The soil 

 is of heavy black loam, rather wet, except 

 one portion 5 acres of. a hard pan. in 

 which no crop has ever been successfully 

 grown; on this portion the growth has 

 been unsatisfactory, but on the whole the 

 experiment promises excellent results. 



The Boston & Maine Railway, in 

 Spring of 1901, planted several thousand 

 trees, in the Merrimac Valley in Massa- 

 chusetts. These have been very success- 

 ful so far. They now have about 40,000 

 trees. 



The Boston & Albany road planted at 

 the same time some 20,000 trees, and a 

 quai^tity of seed, which have grown well. 

 Thei' now have probably 40,000 trees 

 near Westfield, Mass. 



The Illinois Central Railway made 

 careful investigations in regard to pros- 

 pects of obtaining cross-ties by planting 

 Catalpa trees and decided to make some 

 experiments. A tract of 200 acres at 

 Harahan, La., eight miles from New Or- 

 leans, w^as selected and 110,000 trees were 

 planted in spring of 1902. They are now 

 seven to nine feet in heighth. This loca- 

 tion was an old sugar and rice plantation. 

 The trees were planted to correspond 

 with the peculiar method of laying out 

 sugar lands in this low alluvial country. 

 The sugar rows are seven feet apart, on 

 ridges, deep furrows between the rows 

 carry oft' the water. The trees were 

 planted on alternate ridges, being four- 

 teen feet apart, and seven feet di.stant be- 

 tween trees. 



While the wood growth is very much 

 greater in this warm, moist, rich land 

 than in the Xorth, yet the labor question 

 and want of intelligent workmen, are 

 against the southern plantations. The 

 comipanv has selected 200 acres near Du 

 Ouoin, 111., and purchased 100.000 trees, 

 which will be planted next spring. This 



being upon coal land and in a location 

 where there is constantly a demand for 

 mine timbers, as well as a decreasing 

 supply of the wood, it is believed that 

 the trees cut out in thinning the tract 

 will more than pay for the expense at- 

 tending the experiment. 



These trees will be planted 8x8 feet, 

 expecting to thin the plantation in seven 

 or eight years to 16x16 feet. 



Li-.\ i i;l 1 1.I.K, 



Who has cultivated a patch of fiarden truck in the 



Harahan iilaiitation of the Hlinois Central Railway. 



'I'ree. one season's jfrowth. 9 feet hi},'h. 



