ms 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



oaks, beech, blatk walnut, tulip poplar and larch. Hut 

 the bulk of the planting has been and will be in coni- 

 fers, as these afford greater prospects of being com- 

 mercially profitable than hardwoods in a shorter period 

 of time. 



The fastest growing conifer is the Banksian pine, 

 Pinus divaricata, known as the willow among conifers, 

 but its commercial value is small. Some 5,000 of these 

 have been planted, accidentally strangely enough, so 

 far as species is concerned, the year before the writer 

 took charge. Scotch pines were ordered from a nurs- 

 ery and the trees received were planted and paid for as 

 such. Banks pine, both as nursery stock and as lum- 

 ber, is worth only half that of Scotch, and is not nearl)' 

 so ornamental ; in fact it may be said to be almost with- 

 out artistic features. These, together with some white 

 pines, planted at the same time, were set out 8 feet 

 distant, which is too great a distance for forest plant- 

 ing. In some cases it may be that trees planted at this 

 distance will have a greater weight of lumber in a 

 given time than those planted 4 feet, all other things 

 being equal, but those at the greater distance will be 

 full of knots, while the others will be practically free 

 from them ; and, therefore, those standing at 4 feet 

 would be worth perhaps double per acre. The aim is 

 to get straight, clean growth by planting, so that the 

 side branches are naturally pruned uff while young. 



IX ri-:aiii\k 



l-OR FI.ANT1X( 



For the sake of variety a block of 1,200 Douglas spruLC 

 was planted last fall. This species makes a very pretty 

 tree, and its lumber is amongst the most valuable, but 

 our soil conditions are scarcel}" suited for its being- 

 planted in any quantity. We have in the nursery about 

 3,000 bull pines, Pinus pondcrosa. Those who have 

 seen this tree in the Rocky Mountain district and fur- 

 ther west are aware what a grand pine this becomes. 

 It has been scarcely planted at all in the East, and no 

 one can say with any certainty what the results will lie. 

 It continues to make good growth in suitable soil for a 

 longer period than any other conifer, excepting the 

 Sequoia, and it should stand at least 100 years to make 

 the most of it. White pine does not make enough 

 growth after the fiftieth year to pay interest upon cap- 

 ital ; in fact, some people put forty-five years as the 

 limit that a crop of any other pines should occupy 

 the ground. 



The bulk of our planting has been with white pine, 

 Pinus strohus, and for the future this species and 

 Pinus resinosa will be exclusively used, excepting 

 small groups of other species planted for artistic pur- 

 poses along the boulevard by which means we hope 

 to have in the end a few of every species of tiative coni- 

 fer which will grow in the East. 



Why Pinus resinosa has Norway pine for its coni- 



mun name is not apparent, as it is unly native of Nortlx 

 America. Red pine, a name sometimes given to it, is 

 certainly more suitable. This pine at present is notable 

 as being immune from insect and fungous attack. 

 White pine is sometimes subject to weevil, which, by 

 boring, kills the leaders. The c.mly remedy is to pull 

 nn nr cut down the tree attacked and burn it imme- 



up 



PdCKETS MAUK AMONGST THE ROCKS A,\L> FILLED WITH 

 SOIL, IN WHICH YOUNG TREES ARE PLANTED. 



diately it is noticed. We have had trouble the past two 

 summers with the larvce of a saw fly of the genus 

 Diprion, which eats the needles, and the tree attacked 

 is liable to be entirely defoliated. The first season we 

 sprayed the plantation with arsenate of lead, 4 pounds 

 to 50 gallons of water, but have found that the only sat- 

 isfactory method is to kill the larvse by hand. There 

 are several broods during the summer, commencing 

 earh' in June and continuing until the middle of Sep- 

 tember. These larvae have red heads and have so far 

 attacked the Banks and Scotch pines only, apparently 

 ])referring the former. In 1912 some similar larvae, only 

 that they had black heads, were discovered upon some 

 white pines, but the writer personally killed every one. 



WHITE PINES, FI\E YEARS OLD, PLANTED AT THE AGE OF 



THREE YEARS. THEY ARE SIX FEET APART. PLANTINGS 



SINCE THEN HAVE BEEN AT FOUR FEET. 



and we have seen no more since. Many of the specimen 

 pines around the lawn have had their needles covered 

 by a species of white scale; repeated sprayings during 

 autumn anrl winter with various mixtures had no ef- 



