256 



superficial acrel It is difficult to find a regular plantation of any kind of trees of that- 

 diamotfir here, to help us toward a solution of the question, and the way in which trees 

 are scattered in the forcist and their irregular size leave but a vague impr(;ssion on the 

 mind, varying according to the personal experience of each. I am not ready to answer 

 the question at present for want of full information, and will not venture a guess, but I 

 do not feel the same hesitation where trees standing in one single row, with plenty of 

 room on both sides, are concerned ; in that case, trees twtmty-one inches diameter would 

 not be too clo.y;, standing at (sighteen feet from one another. Take a farm thre(s acres 

 wide, with a road across the width and ro>v of black walnuts of an average diameter of 

 twenty-one inches on each side of th(i road, the trees eighteen feet distant from one an- 

 other, you g<.'t sixty trees containing fifty cubic feet each, three thousand cubic feet, worth, 

 at the preseiit i)rice, three thousand dollars. 



But it will be safer to sow the black walnut in clumps, pretty close. They will pro- 

 tect one another when young, and, as they grow, they can be thinned gradually. Their 

 culture will entail little trouble, apart from the preparation of the soil, and the sowing of 

 the nut ; the work of thinning will soon n^pay itself with the timl)er removed. The better 

 the soil, the quicker the growth. Such a valuable tree as the black walnut deserves to be 

 well treated. If possible, find some sheltei- against the strongest prevailing winds for the 

 young plantation, a belt of older trees, or a hill. They are rather soft, like our butternut ; 

 it is the only drawback I have found out so far, but not fatal. Even the youngest trees 

 will <f('.t several branches torn off and very ugly wounds without dying ; they are wonder- 

 fully hardy. 



The value; of these plantations will increase steadily from the day when they have 

 taken root ; they represent an ever-increasing marketable value long before the expiration 

 of that period of seventy-live years which I have indicated — not as the limit of their 

 growth ; they will grow for centuries, but — as the period necessary to attain a profitable 

 size, when they can be cut down without waste. 



The Butter >mt grows spontaneously here ; its beautiful timber can be worked with 

 as much ease as the softest pine ; it ranks immediately after the black walnut, and is in- 

 ferior to it only in the colour of the wood, which is lighter. Rubbed with linseed oil, it 

 takes the soft, rich hue of sandal wood, and if judiciously sawn, shows wonderful marks. I 

 recommend strongly its culture, and will be glad to send nuts to those who will plant 

 them, next fall, as we gather a large crop of them. 



White Oak — ^The acorn ought to be sown as soon as possible after it droj)8, in the fall, 

 as it loses its vitality rapidly, and to avoid the great check resulting from transplanting, 

 it ought to be sown at once, if possible, where the tree is destined to remain. Its wood 

 is tougher, and not so liable to bn^ak when young. I think it ought to grow with at least 

 as much ease and rapidity as the black walnut ; ours are rath(n- be,hind, as they have been 

 transplanted twice. The oak is so useful and valuable, and its culture so easy, that every 

 plantation of trees ought to contain a good proportion of oak, provided the soil be not too 

 poor for it. 



While Elm —This splendid tree recommends itself sufficiently by its beauty and use- 

 fulness to dispense me from dwelling at any length upon it ; it grows rapidly in a deep, 

 damp soil. I have not grown it from seed, but by taking up young trees from a low 

 island, where they grow in abundance. It app(!ars to bear transplanting better than the 

 oak, walnut or maple, and can b(!i moved safely of a much larger size than any of those 

 trees. 



Maple — If you wish to raise a maple sugary with the smallest amount of expense 

 and troubhi, go to an old maple grove in the fall ; the ground is covered with a thick 

 carpet of .se(Mllings. After rain, you can pull them up by hand with the greatest ease, 

 without breaking any of their small roots, if you are moderately careful. Plant them at 

 once in a corner of your garden, about two feet apart each way ; weed during the first 

 two summers with a light hoe. We found, after four years, the trees fit for transplant- 

 ing, about five feet high, and the thickness of a man's thumb. As the ground was mellow 

 and free, we took them up with little damage. Of course, there is still the objection of 

 transplanting, but in a less degree than when you seek your maples in the woods, where; 

 their roots are mixed up with those of other trees, stumps and stones, and must ])e more 



