1878.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



275 



use of the saw instead of the axe would work an 

 average saving of a lineal foot in each tree and ! 

 a number of cubic feet where the tree was a 

 large one. This process of removing trees is 

 after Nature's own way, and I oflfer it as worthy 

 of consideration on account of its economy both 

 of time and product. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



THE BYFIELD ELWl. 



BY JACOB W. MAjSTNTNG, READING, MASS. 



We measured the " Byfield Elm," on the land 

 of Benjamin Parsons, Byfield Parish, Xewbury, 

 Mass. The tree is in sight of the cars as one 

 goes to Newburyport, Mass., by Boston & Maine 

 Railroad, some thirty miles from Boston. Mr. 

 Parsons has authority to call the tree very near 

 100 years old. There is some decay on one side 

 near the roots. Height of tree 100 feet; diame- 

 ter or spread of branches 118 feet ; circumference 

 of trunk by line, three feet from ground, resting 

 on the foremost ridges, twenty-seven feet; cir- 

 cumference at three feet from ground by press- 

 ing the line into the depressions between what 

 may be called buttresses, forty-two feet; around 

 the waist, at six feet from ground, seventeen and 

 three-quarter feet; by estimation, at twelve 

 feet, where the branches shoulder out, thirty 

 feet. 



I do not know of an Elm in this part of the 

 State of Massachusetts equal to this, but there 

 are very many that rank well as to size and some 

 far excel it in age. I think few Elms live much 

 over 100 years without showing some signs of 

 decay. Doubtless many would remain healthy 

 • much longer here if not for the fact that they 

 get broken by winds in Summer when in leaf 

 and in Winter b}'^ ice. 



The different forms the American Elm assumes 

 is a feature of note. Some have immense trunks 

 and comparatively little top as compared with 

 the Byfield Elm. It must have fifteen cords or 

 more of cord wood, or even twenty cords if root 

 and all could be sawed to four feet crossties. 

 Seedling trees from such patriarchs ought to 

 command ready sale, but like live stock or fruits, 

 soil and culture are elements of success. 



Accounts of big trees coming from the Eastern 

 coast look tame by the side of facts from the 

 Western coast, but local pride is something to 

 date from. Mt. Washington, in our native State, 

 is not the largest sort of an elevation, but is the 

 best we can show, and many go to see it. 



Tree Planting in Switzerland.— It is 

 the custom in parts of Switzerland to plant a 

 tree on family holidays, such as a marriage, &c., 

 the friends of the family usually furnisliing and 

 planting the tree. The work is often accom- 

 panied with a great deal of parade, the relatives 

 joining in procession. Music and congratulatory 

 speeches make a part of the performance. — The. 

 .Journal of Forestry. 



The Eucalyptus in Memphis. — We see by 

 the Avalanche^ of Memphis, that those who 

 want other people to plant Eucalyptus forests in- 

 stead of themselves, are having a warm time in 

 that part of the world as well as elsewhere. The 

 discussion has brought out Mr. Stewart, the well- 

 known nurseryman of that place, who tells his 

 neighbors that he planted a lot out in 1877. 

 They grew twelve feet during the season, but 

 were destroyed by the same white frost that 

 killed the sweet potatoes. A prominent seeds- 

 man tells us that the amount of Eucalyptus 

 seed he sells is astonishing. At fii'st he wrote and 

 told the inquirers that they might as well plant 

 forests of cocoa nuts in our country as this, but 

 it was looked on as a "trade excuse for not 

 keeping the seed." So he now sells to whoever 

 orders it, giving only the information about its 

 Australian character when any one asks the 



question. 



*•♦. 



SCRAPS AND OUERIES. 



Forest Corporations. — H. J. S. writes : " I 

 understand you to advocate the planting of 

 forests by corporations. I would now ask you 

 to project, first, a working plan for .such compa- 

 nies adapted to the capacity of country neigh- 

 borhoods ; to indicate, second, what legislation, 

 if an}^, is essential and desirable for such corpo- 

 rations ; third, what locations and aspects are the 

 most favorable ; fourth, what habitats are well 

 adapted to the various species ; and fifth, such 

 other information as may best promote the com- 

 mercial success of such companies. First. Cor- 

 porate enterprises for conducting agricultural 

 I enterprises are, if not unknown, at least unusual, 

 j and this because agriculture demands the closest 

 vigilance and the most painful economy. Cor- 

 poration sylviculture may have different ele- 

 ! ments, but at least it could be best managed by 

 I neighbors, whose vicinage, sympathies and in- 



