522 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



preserve the moisture of the earth's surface, and prevent the drying up of 

 springs, by the shade which they afford, and .by the spongy character of 

 leaves and leaf mold, at a time of the year when their green leaves are not 

 pumping up the water through the stems from the subsoil which holds 

 them ; and it is not improbable that this may have contributed to the 

 erroneous notion, and the mere retention of water mistaken for its fall. 



What Shall We Do? — A correspondent of the Grange Visitor talks of 

 remedial measures thuswise : 



Now what can be done to restore in some measure the equilibrium of our 

 climate and the beauty and prospective value of the farms in Michigan? Our 

 State has very wisely encouraged tree planting upon the public highways, 

 and statistics of the acreage of wood remaining in different counties are 

 being gathered. But the people cannot expect the State to aid them mate- 

 rially in this matter. Tree planting, which will prove of climatic and 

 economic value to Michigan farms, should not be confined to the roadside 

 and to a few ornamental trees in front of the house. A plantation of several 

 acres of the most useful and beautiful of our native forest trees should be 

 made. This plantation should be made on the south and west of the house 

 and outbuildings when practicable, and at a sufficient distance to shelter the 

 orchard and small fruit gardens from the winter winds. In a plot of four 

 acres I would plant one-half with sugar maples and the remaining two acres 

 with walnut, butternut, hickory, and a good portion with the American 

 chestnut, which has proved itself both in growth and fruit well adapted to 

 Southern Michigan. A row of evergreen trees might be planted on the out- 

 side, but I would make the future woodland a thing of joy forever to future 

 generations of juvenile inheritors by planting the nut and sugar bearing 

 trees. The elm, lawn and other varieties of trees should be planted by the 

 roadside. The ground for the timber plat should be thoroughly prepared 

 and marked into squares of eight feet. The maples can always be procured 

 and will all grow with ordinary care in planting, but small trees grown in an 

 opening are best. The nut bearing trees may be obtained of nurserymen, 

 but must be transplanted very young and the utmost care used or they will 

 die. The better way is to plant several nuts on each hill where the trees 

 are to grow, and after a good tree is established remove others. Nuts of all 

 kinds are sure to germinate if planted late in autumn without having been 

 dried or heated in bulk. They may not show themselves until midsummer, 

 and it is necessary to mark the hills with a covering of different colored 

 earth or by short sticks. The ground may be planted in any hoed crop dur- 

 ing the first three or four years and the trees carefully cultivated until they 

 are well established when orchard grass or clover can be sowed. But little 

 loss of use of ground will be sustained, as the young wood lot will soon 

 become a paradise for the calves, lambs and pigs. 



The best land is not too good for the tree plantation, and thorough culti- 

 vation is requisite to success. Eough broken places are found on many 

 farms where the germs of the original forests have not become extinct, and 

 a fine growth of trees can often be induced in such situations by judicious 

 thinning and planting, and proper care against depredations of stock. 



