1885.J 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



8i 



trimmed from time to time (and the wood would 

 have paid the expense), the present value would 

 have been at least one-third more. There were 

 said to be 10,775 trees, and could the whole 

 growth have been thrown mto the trunks, they 

 would at a moderate estimate have been worth 25 

 cents each, or a total of $2694, exclusive of the 

 land. 



J. D. G. Williams of Raynham, set a piece of 

 pine in 1850, the value of the land being $10 per 

 acre and the cost of setting jf; per acre, and after 

 twenty-five years' growth the standing wood was 

 sold for $150 per acre, affording a very large pro- 

 fit, and leaving the land in good condition to set 

 again. Mr. Williams also set a piece of pine in 

 1841 on land of the same value, the cost of setting 

 being $6 per acre. This is, perhaps, one of the 

 earliest experiments of the" kind ever made in 

 Bristol county. The trees apparently came to 

 maturity in 1876, having made no perceptible 

 growth since that time. They were set in rows, 

 from six to nine feet apart and from four to six 

 feet in the rows. The lot has an eastern exposure 

 and the trees on the eastern side were evidently 

 set for a wind break, being not more than four 

 feet apart. They are large, with many strong 

 angular branches, resembling in shape an oak as 

 much as a pine, and contain as much timber as 

 those less exposed, but it is not so valuable. In 

 1876 an experienced lumberman estimated this 

 wood at seventy-five cords to the acre, two-thirds 

 being suitable for box boards, worth at the mill, 

 three miles distant, six dollars per cord. No 

 arithmetic is required to show this to have been a 

 profitable investment. 



The late Richard Sampson, of Middleborough, 

 set pine trees on a piece of land too poor to culti- 

 vate, which are now thirty-one years old, and esti- 

 mated to be worth $150 per acre, and would prob- 

 ably bring a much higher figure. This piece con- 

 tains about ten acres, and is remarkably thrifty, 

 and its growth during the next ten years will 

 greatly increase its value. 



The above instances of rapid growth and profit- 

 able results are not exceptional, but are selected 

 because their history could be given more in de- 

 tail than others. Plantations of pines from five to 

 thirty years old may be found in Norton, Mans- 

 field, Taunton, Raynham, Easton, Randolph, Mid- 

 dleborough and the Bridgewaters, all giving prom- 

 ise of remunerative results. 



[We take this from an excellent paper on Fores- 

 try in New England, read before the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society. — Ed. G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Root Fungus The note which we recently 



gave detailing the work of the landscape gardener 

 of Fairmount Park in destroying root fungus on 

 shrubs and trees by the use of sulphur has had a 

 wide circulation since it appeared in our paper. 

 It appears that similar attention is being given to 

 these dangerous fungous parasites in the Old 

 World, and sulphur is used also as a remedy. The 

 chestnut trees in the neighborhood of Nantes , 

 France, have suffered severely, many being wholly 

 destroyed. By laying bare the roots, and sprink- 

 ling with sulphur before refilling the earth, the 

 trouble has been arrested. 



Professor of Forestry in Michigan. — Ann 

 Arbor University has established a chair of for- 

 estry in connection with its other branches of 

 education. 



Profitable Timber Trees. — When people are 

 told to plant timber trees, they are seldom told 

 what kinds of trees are most profitable, yet this is 

 a most important part of forest culture. In our 

 own country few people know what kind of wood 

 is in demand and what therefore to plant with a 

 view to profit. They know that Black walnut is 

 valuable for coffins and cabinet-ware generally, 

 the locust for fence posts, the catalpa for posts and 

 railway carriage building ; but little more. The 

 Agricultural Department has undertaken a good 

 work at the New Orleans Exhibition by making a 

 national exhibit of wood-work, which will have a 

 great educational value. Philadelphia, is famous 

 for its wood-working industries, and has contribu- 

 ted freely to the government displays. So far as 

 our Forestry Congresses and Conventions are con- 

 cerned, we learn little but that, unless more trees 

 are planted the water courses will dry up, and the 

 country become a howling wilderness — the story 

 varied perhaps by the number of feet of lumber 

 left to cut, or the great advantages of free trade. 

 The practical information, that would enable one 

 to plant with a view to profit within a few years, is 

 seldom forthcoming. 



In the 0I?1 World information of this character 

 is widely diffused by forestry associations. In a 

 paper issued in Scotland we learn of the forest 

 products of that region, that apple is used to make 

 imitation rosewood and walnut, and for clubs, 

 bowls, wainscotting. Ash — largely by wheel- 

 wrights and agricultural implement makers. Moun- 

 I tain ash — for light crates and machinery, es- 

 I pecially in potteries. Beech — chairs, tools, and for 



