670 



HORTICULTURE 



November 21, 190S 



Tree Talks 



in. 



01 R M P] I PON I in : . 



Almost every branch of manufacture is dependent, 

 more oi ,--. ,,n trees or their products. In the man- 

 ufacture of the various articles used in commerce, a 

 great po] , of Hie materials used have been hitherto 

 ,,, tor the seaboard towns) the products of our 

 own woods. At tin present time we of Massachusetts 

 are dependent on other States for a large portion of the 

 material used in building and manufacture, ami every 

 ,„,., hanic who works in wood look- everj year, more and 

 more, nut of the State for his raw materials. Even 

 Eoreign resources are fast failing, and the forests of 

 Mam,. New Hampshire and northern New York ate 

 disappearing a- rapidhj as our own. At this rate the 

 supply of good Lumber, in many States, will soon be 

 exhaus en the large pineries in Michigan are fast 



u we have to go further and 

 further av. mr supplies. Some manufacturers of 



wooden wan- m Boston have already found it t<> be 

 economical to live near the woods where their 

 mes from, and have moved their factories out 

 of the State. What takes place in individual eases indi- 

 cates -an hut silenl movemeni of the masses, 

 and one by one the woodworkers of the State will have 

 disappeared. Tin- might, in a measure, be prevented 

 by planting at once plantations of trees most useful in 

 the various hranches of manufacture. Our legislatures 

 seem powerli -- to stay the axe of the woodman, though 

 they might do much to encourage the planting of 



and thus, in some degree, avert the evil conse- 

 quences which musl surely attend the destruction of 

 our nat ive forests. 



WHAT TO PLANT 



The next question is, what shall we plant that is the 

 most profitable? This would, of course, depend in a 

 measure, upon the soil to be planted. I would suggest 

 that the most profitable tree for New England, espe- 

 cially Massachusetts, would, for the worn-out lands, be 

 the White pine (Pinus strobus) ; for ordinary land of 

 fair quality, the Sweet chestnut, beech, Eed oak, Paper 

 birch, Tree of Heaven (Ailantus), Buttonball, Eed 

 cedar, Pin oak. White oak, and Sugar maple. The 

 willows, White ash, Water ash, elm, American linden 

 and Sour gum will do well on moist or wet lands. The 

 nut-bearing trees will grow on any good soil, but to have 

 them glow rapidly it needs a generous soil. The Black 

 walnut flourishes pretty well in the vicinity of Boston. 

 I know of trees planted from seed twenty-five years ago 

 that are now twelve to eighteen inches in diameter and 

 fifty feet high. Most persons who plant butternut 

 White walnut, Black walnut or hickory transplant trees 

 too large ; hence so many failures. One or two-year old 

 trees, ranging from six to eighteen inches in height will 

 give better satisfaction in ten years than trees five or 

 six feet high, unless they have been transplanted every 

 two '! their final transplanting. 



CULTURE OK THE WHITE PIXE 



The White pine should be planted from four to six 

 feet apart each way. on ground that was broken up 

 the year previously if possible, keeping the land culti- 

 vated between the row- for the first two years. This 



«rould enable the plants to get well rooted and destroy 

 the coat set >■ eds which might retard the growth of the 

 vnimir seedling bv sapping the land of what little vege- 

 table food it might contain. After this the plants 

 would grow rapidly, and b] their dense foliage would 

 hex oul the weeds, and the annual fall of the 

 pine needle- would protect and furnish the growing 

 plants with food. In making the plantations it would 

 b, well to have each lol planted with trees of nearly the 

 same size; that is, if the plants are from twelve to 

 twenty inches in height. Sort them as nearly as possi- 

 1,1, into the two sizes, planting each size by itself, to 

 insure a more even growth. After the fourth year it 

 would be well to trim off smoothly the lower limbs. 

 This pruning should be done annually for several years, 

 until the branches are as high as you could reach. This 

 would thmw the vigor into the trunk of the tree, and 

 help reduce the loss by lire, which soon destroys young 

 trees where the branches remain near the ground. 



TRANSPLANTING 



Transplanting trees is one of the most important 

 duties of the gardener. It is too often done without 

 sufficient attention to the principles on which its suc- 

 ces or failure depends. Yet it is simple enough, if we 

 do not Labor to render it confused by too many imagin- 

 ary refinements. When a plant is taken out of the 

 ground for transplanting, its roots are more or less 

 injured in the process: consequently, it is less able to 

 support the stem than it was before the roots were 

 mutilated. This loss of power will be in proportion to 

 the roughness with which the roots are handled. The 

 importance of the roots of plants is not alike at all sea- 

 sons; in the summer, when there is the greatest demand 

 upon them in consequence of the perspiration of the 

 foliage, they are most essential : in the winter, wlien the 

 leaves have fallen, they are comparatively unimportant, 

 as is evident from a very common case. If you cut a 

 limb or a tree in July, when it is in full leaf, it will 

 will in a few hours, the bark will shrivel and dry up, 

 and in a day or two the whole will perish. If a similar 

 limb or tree is cut in November or December, after its 

 foliage has dropped, it will often retain its vitality until 

 the following spring, when it will make an effort to 

 grow ; and in the case of some trees, such as the willow, 

 they will grow after having lain on the ground all win- 

 ter. I have seen pitch pine, willow, and several other 

 woods cut and piled, throw out hranches six to eight 

 inches long, after standing all winter. It is the power- 

 ful perspiratory action of the leaves of deciduous trees, 

 which renders them so difficult to transplant in a grow- 

 ing state ; even if the buds are pushing the process 

 should be avoided if possible, as immediately after that 

 period the demand upon the plants is the greatest. In 

 consequence of the smallness of the young leaves, the 

 perspiration may seem feeble, yet the thinness of the 

 newly formed tissue will not enable them to resist the 

 dryness of the atmosphere unless there is an abundant 

 flow of sap from the root; hence the necessity of syring- 



!,_ ;md shading newly transplanted trees or plants in 

 leaf, -ii as to supply and preserve as much as possible 

 the evaporation taking place, which, otherwise, would 

 soon exhaust the plant. 



Arnold Arboretum. 



