8o2 The Journal of FoTCslry. 



domain. It sliows, moreover, tlmt in tliose I en yenrs the nrea of woodland 

 increased somewhat. 



We have abont sevent5^-five or eiohty species of native trees in 

 Naw England, of which about sixty occur in this State. Of these last, 

 about forty species are large or medium-sized trees ; then we have smaller 

 ones, as the prickly ash, crab-apple, &c., and some species, as the sassafras, 

 is rather small here, but grows much larger west of the Appalachian Moun- 

 tains. Mere shrubs, like the laurel, alders, hucklelierries, &c., are not 

 included in the above sixty species. 



I may here say that the United States, as a whole, is very rich in tree 

 species ; the wood of over four hundred indigenous species was exhibited 

 at the International Exhibition the past summer, embracing thirty-seven 

 .species of oaks, thirty-four of pines, seventeen of spruce and fir, eleven 

 maples, eight poplars, &c. Of timber trees we have a goodly number of species. 



We may class our forest products under five general classes or groups. 



1st. Fuel. 2nd. Woods of construction, that is, heavy timber for 

 buildings, bridges, wharves, piles, ships, railroad ties, &c. 3rd. Woods 

 for furniture and joiner work. 4th. For miscellaneous manufactures, as 

 wooden ware, carriages, cars, machinery, tools and implements, &c. 

 5th. Other miscellaneous forest products, as bark, tanning materials, 

 gums, resins, nuts, &c., all of Avhich we can produce. 



The value and character of the useful product varies as much with the 

 soil, exposure, and other conditions, with forest productions as with 

 agricultural productions. Thus the rapidity of growth, the strength, 

 l)eanty, hardness, toughness, and durability '\aries greatly with the soil, 

 moisture, and exposure. In a general way, we may say that woods of 

 "second growth'' are tougher than of the original forest growth, and 

 woods grown on moderately dry soils are more durable than the woods of 

 the same species growing on soils too wet or too dry. Again, trees which 

 have had a sunny exposure during growth are better than when grown in 

 much shade, and the ship-builders along our coast prefer timbers that 

 have grown within sixty miles of salt water. 



iNFuch has been said and written of late years about tree planting in our 

 country; it has been a prolific theme at meetings, at fairs, and in the 

 ]iapers ; it has been considered from many points of view — from the orna- 

 mental and fBsthetic side, the useful side, and the sentimental side — and 

 yet I am sorry to say that I cannot offer you much knowledge of a definite 

 kind as to the Ic&t trees for ns to pJanf. 



Now here let me digress again. I have alluded to forest and foresters 

 in the Old World, in earlier times, and how that the foresters protected 

 the game and their coverts. From this they came to protect the woods 

 and timber for its own sake, and as these became more and more scarce, 

 and trees began to Ije planted for use as Avell as ornament, they naturally 

 were the persons who experimented on this. Governments and noble 

 landed proprietors aided, and slowly forestry assumed the character of a 

 science as well as an art, until at the present time the most of the wood 

 of the more populous countries of Europe is as much a cultivated product 



