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TREE-PLANTING FOR PROFIT IN THE MIDDLE STATES. 



It has been shown by the result of actual experiments that timber- 

 growin<? on the prairies and phiins of the West is a profitable enterprise. 

 Its profit has not been so clearly deraoustratetl in the Middle States, a 

 country of natural forests, where neglected fields are constantly under- 

 going transformation from tillage lands to woodlands. Where the for- 

 ests have been cleared, and jiopulation is dense, there is still an abund- 

 ant and cheap supply of coal in the latter States; and though coal is 

 abundant west of the Mississippi, the opened mines are at such a distance 

 that corn is often used for fuel, and the planting of rapidly-growing 

 trees becomes a necessity, and its practice is already proving a success. 

 The question of the profit of similar enterprises on the Atlantic coast is 

 an interesting one, which has occupied the attention of many practical 

 minds. The following communication from a correspondent, Mr. Wm. 

 C. Lodge, of Claymont, Delaware, presents facts and suggestions per- 

 tinent to this subject : 



Though few experiments, aud those generally on a small scale, have been made iu 

 timber-planting in this section, we yet have specimen plantations of all ages, from 

 those but recently made to the towering groves of sixty years' growth, comprising all 

 varieties of timber and cord-wood trees, showing the relative growth and value for 

 mechanical purposes of the difterent trees common to this climate, and demonstratiug 

 the fact that larger trees and more valuable timber can be produced by culture 

 than, can be obtained from natural forests of equal age. Another advantage in artificial 

 forests is the control of the varieties, which is, of itself, a matter of such imj^rtauce as 

 to render the artificial products more than double the value of the natural. 



It is a well-known fact that the durability of timber depends upon the .qual- 

 ity of soil in which it grows, the climate, and the age of the tree. As a rule, tiiQ 

 strongest and most durable timber, particularly hardwood, is grown in a temper- 

 ate climate, and in a clay or "white-oak" soil. While all varieties of the oak 

 grown in high latitudes are comparatively soft and brittle, the same kinds grown 

 between the thirty-sixth and forty-first degrees of latitude are more compact iu tex- 

 ture, stronger, and more durable. The white oaks of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and 

 Northern Virginia furnish timber for mills, ships, and other purposes where great 

 strength and durability are required, almost equal to the live-oak of the South. A 

 competent inspector will at once determine the locality in which the specimen sub- 

 mitted to his examination was grown, and tell whether it grew iu a clay or sandy 

 soil. 



With the hints furnished by nature as our guide, we began the business of planting 

 forest-trees. Our operations extend through a period of forty years, and our design, 

 originally, was to utilize waste places, such as hill-sides difficult of culture, rocky 

 fields, irredeemable swamps, as well as sterile or exhausted sand-beds. At the same 

 time we planted a portion of our lands best adapted to general agricultural purposes, 

 in all cases charging the crops with the cost of labor l>estowed, the interest on the 

 value of the land, and crediting it only with the products actually realized or carefully 

 estimated. 



We aimed to select such trees as were adapted to the soil and the situation. On our 

 fertile " bottom-land" we planted the tulip-poplar for its clean, rapid growth, the white 

 oak for its timber value, and the chestnut and honey-locust on account of their quick 

 growth and durability as fence posts, railroad ties, aud the latter especially for tre- 

 nails, or trunnels for vessels. We also planted the black walnut and some other trees 

 for their ornamental woods. It is needless to say that the best lands gave the most 

 satisfactory results, and, with one exception, the largest clear profits. 



The white willow plantation gave the largest returns for the capital and labor in- 

 vested; but this was owing to the local demand for its wood by the extensive powder- 

 works of the Messrs. DuPont, in the immediate vicinity. 



The best or " bottom-lands " were planted after a previous corn crop with young 

 trees taken from a nursery, two years old. The trees were planted in the intersections 

 of the markings, leaving space for two rows of corn both ways between the rows of 

 trees. The number of trees to the acre was somewhat over three hundred. Corn was 

 planted between the trees annually until it ceased to be remunerative or interfered 

 with their growth. This occurred in the fourth or fifth year. Thereafter the soil was 

 once plowed and harrowed annually for about three years, when further care was 



