FOREST COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 71 



WHAT TREES TO GROW. 



This question sliould be well considered before the work is com- 

 menced. In the first place it will be well to confine ourselves 

 mainly to a selection from native species. Foregn trees, though 

 they seem to be hardy, do not continue to flourish for many years 

 in this climate, not even when petted as ornamental trees. In mak- 

 ing a list they had better be omitted, with few exceptions. 



Select trees of rapid growth that make valuable lumber. The 

 •white, or Weymouth pine, stands at the head of the list. The red 

 pine (Pinus resinosa) is not only a valuable, but also a beautiful 

 tree. It will succeed on, and in fact prefers, a dry, sandy soil. 

 It is ever} where hardy, and makes a quicker and straighter growth 

 than the pitch pine (P. rigida). All of the pines will grow on a 

 a poor soil, but the two first named are best for timber. 



Among the different trees suited to our soil and climate, the pines, 

 hemlock, larch, spruces, hickory, walnut, chestnut, oak, beeches, 

 birches, linden, ashes, and maples, will be found the most profitable 

 for the purpose under consideration. 



It seems hardly necessary to suggest that the species and varie- 

 ties to be planted should be adapted somewhat to the soil and situa- 

 tion they are to occupy. The young man who should plant the oak, 

 hickory, or cedar, on a dry, barren plain, would hardly live long 

 enough to reap a harvest of timber. The same tract planted with 

 the pines, larch, or white birch, would be fit to cut in thirty years. 

 There are some trees, such as the willows, that flourish on the bor- 

 ders of streams and on land too wet for growing the most valuable 

 lumber. The cedar, larch, spruce, and arbor-vit?e will all grow on 

 swampy ground, but the growth will be slow. 



THE TIME TO TRANSPLANT. 



The best season for transplanting all trees in this latitude is early 

 in the spring, as soon as the ground has become warm and friable, 

 and just as the buds begin to swell. The habit of the different 

 species should be watched, and it will serve as our best guide. 

 Some few commence their growth almost before the frost leaves the 

 ground, while others sleep till June. As a rule deciduous trees 

 require transplanting earlier than the evergreens, the buds of which 

 seldom push before the last of May. 



All hardy deciduous trees may be safely moved in autumn, and 

 this season has the advantage of affording more leisure for per- 



