PLANTING NOTES. 65 



tlioro tlio work of planting at least has been snccessful. The trees composing them averaged at thirty to thirty-five 

 .years from the time of i)lanting, not far from If) feet in height, and m.asurcil approximately 2 feet 6 inches in circnni- 

 ference, breast hij;h. These nieasnremcnts vary for difforeni bodies of pine, but are believed to represent very closely 

 the average size at thi' a^o indieated, and in many cases the trees un: (considerably larger (see meaBiirements of 

 growth on page 8X). This growth of jiino is of such value that a(ceording to competent .judges of property in that 

 region, much of the land that without the pine would be worth only *3 to $10 per acre, is worth with the standing 

 pine $50 to $75 or more ]ier aire according to location. 



Upon visiting these (lilior.^nt groves and conversing with men who had planted some of them, it was found 

 that opinions and practice were ([uito variable, both .as to time and m.anner of planting. Mr. S. E. Hall, of Rayn- 

 ham, who h.as had long exi)erience, states that he has set the White I'ine successlully every month in the year. 

 The young trees, 4 to (i inches, or oven a foot high, are taken up with a piece of sod on their roots and set out in a 

 wet time. These two conditions were particularly emphasized by Mr. Hall, who says that if they are ob.servcd the 

 trees "will grow anywhere." He plants 10 feet apart each way and reconmiends this as the best distance, which 

 is, however, not good forestry practice. In a grove set by him forty years ago tlie trees were set in rows at the 

 above distance and had m.ad(^ a vigorous and healthy growth. In another grove, planted about the same time, 

 the trees stood 8 feet apart each way and were apparently doing (juite as well as in the tirst one. On the other 

 hand, Mr. Spencer Lomuird, of Bridgowater, after many years of practical trial and observation, states that having 

 formerly set out pine trees 10 feet apart, he is now setting them at a distance of 15 feet, with a view to reduce the 

 expense of jdanting and biceause they soon became crowdeil if planted closer. He, too, sets out the trees with a 

 sod, 8imi)ly jilowing a furrow and setting the seedlings at thc\ right distance. Mr. Hall digs a hoh> for each tree, 

 but s.ay8 that the work can l)e done very rapidly, and that he has himself set an acre a day. 



One of the numy plantations in southeastern Massachusetts known as "Leb. Pratt's grove," is within less 

 than a mile of the village of North iMiddleboro. It was set out forty-two years ago. The trees were set in rows 

 10 feet apart each way. The grove twelve years ago even was practically impenetrable by reason of the dead 

 interlocking branches that had never been removed. 



Four trees of average size were measured in 1886 and .showed diameters of 7 to 9 inches. Some were of larger 

 and others of smaller size, though the growth was fairly even. The average height was estimated at 40 feet; the 

 branches were dead three-quarters of the way to the top, the remaining one-fourth, say 10 feet, constituting the 

 crown, was green and healthy. The soil was poor, that passed over from the road in reaching the grove being liglit 

 sand with some gravel. 



Another grove, some 3 miles noithward of North Middleboro, was visited in 1886, and a greater number of 

 measurements ma<le. According to Mr. 8. Hiiy ward, near whose farm it stands, this grove was set out r.ather more 

 than thirty, not more than thirty-five, years ago, l)ut had not made ([uite as good a growth as some nthers have. 

 The trees are in rows, 7* to S feet apart each way, .and are (juite uniform in size. Beginning with the third from 

 the north side, a fair average row, thi^ following measurements were made of the trees t.aken in order as they stood. 

 The circumference, bre.ast high, was: 



Ft. 



No. 1 2 



No. 2 2 



No. 3 



No.4 



No. 5 2 



No.6 



, a T\vi> main .steiiia ;aiti liu«l Inst .a t liirW. 



The largest tree measured in the grove was 3 feet 1 inch in circumlerence or 1 foot in diameter, breast high. 

 A very few have been choked out and have died after living fifteen or twenty years. An .average tree on the south 

 side measured 45 feet iu height. All the trees of the grove that were still living seemed healthy and vigorous. The 

 lower branches had die<l at an earlier age than iu the preceding grove an<l the trunks were free from them for some 

 8 feet or more. Above this line the dead branches still remained on the trees, only those of the crowns being green 

 and living. 



Near Bridgewater, Mass., a piece of land had been sown with pine seeds some thirty-five years before, the seeds 

 being sown broadcast and ilragged in. The trees were slender and too much crowded, the smallest ones dying out. 

 They seemed much in need of proper thinning. Some of the best specimens measured 2 feet 7 inches iu circumfer- 

 ence, breast high, but they were very uneven iu size, and did not impress one nearly as favorably as those in the 

 groves that had been regularly planted at a distance of 8 or 10 feet apart. 



This second growth pine finds a ready market at the box factories of Bridgewater, H.alilax, T.auntou, and 

 various other towns in this part of the St.ate. Six dollars per cord is the price paid at present (1886; now $8 to .$9) 

 for logs delivered at the factory. Logs are accepted down to 8 inches in diameter, and in establishments where 

 staves are made a smaller size is taken. There is no trouble in obtaining all that is wanted, there being an 

 abundant supply of pine for box boards, staves, and the like in the immediate vicinit.y of the towns where they are 

 nianufactureil. 



A few notes on plantiitiotis made on the Westerti border and outside of the natural range of 

 tbe White Pine will show the adaptability of the species in those regions: 



There is an instructive plat of White I'iues iu the forest plantation of the State University of Illinois. This 

 institution is located at Champaign, about 200 milos south id" Cliicagii and miieh beyond the luiliiral range of the 



20U33— No. 22 5 



