378 ANNUAL REPORT OF TIIE Off. Doc. 



for the exhibit of a plantation of Norway Spruce planted by him in 

 1867, and which in 1903, at the age of 36 years were 65 feet high. 1 

 have seen these trees and they are now really monumental in size. 

 Another exhibit is a white pine grove of trees now 6 to 12 feet high 

 raised by me from seed gathered in 1901 ; they are good but not ex- 

 traordinary. The third photo is of Colorado Blue Spruce, with white 

 ash in the background in one of my own nursery rows. These trees 

 are raised for experiment, and from my own experience, I urge every 

 one who lives in the country to start this spring to raise their own 

 trees, with which to improve with valuable species some now worth- 

 less corner of their woods, or to bring variety and a new interest into 

 their planting. But that we shall all co-operate earnestly to promote 

 a re-foresting movement in our State is my earnest hope. We have 

 the land and the machinery and all we need is the will to do. 



REPORT ON SOILS AND CROPS 



By PROF. FRANKLIN MENGES 



This is a new departure with the State Board of Agriculture. 

 We have had reports on well nigh all agricultural and allied sub- 

 jects, but so far as I have been able to learn, never a rei)ort on soils, 

 climatic and crop adaptations. 



The State of Pennsylvania has as varied soil and climatic condi- 

 tions as any of the Eastern states. The southeastern part, more es- 

 pecially the counties east of the South Mountain, with an elevation 

 nowhere about six hundred feet above tide, have a growing season 

 ranging between the last killing frost in the spring and the first kill- 

 ing frost in the fall of 200 days, while in the same altitude, on Somer- 

 set county, at an elevation of 2,200 feet, the season between killing 

 frosts averages only approximately half that of the southeastern sec- 

 tion; and west of these high elevations in Fayette, Westmoreland, 

 Washington and Greene counties the growing season is a])proximately 

 one-third to one-half longer than on the high plateau of the Allegheny 

 Mountains. With these shortened seasons, the crops raised in 

 Somerset county and the crop rotations followed are very similar 

 to those of the southeastern and the areas west of the Alleghenies. 



The question at once arises, Is this practice the best or is it justifi- 

 able and will it bring the best results, or can we utilize crops better 

 adapted for these higher elevations and cooler climate and can we 

 devise a rotation of crops by means of which advantage can be taken 

 not only of the season between killing frosts of hot weather plants 

 and the season when plant juices of cool weather plants no longer 

 freeze in the spring and until they begin to freeze in the fall and all 

 growth stops? Plant growth is nothing more than the storing up of 

 sunlight, and there are varieties of plants which can store up sun- 

 light during cool and even frosty weather or until the plant juices 



