226 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



culty, and have since made a fine, 

 strong progressive gi-owth, in height 

 and dimensions perfectl^^ satisfactory, 

 the spread at the bottom being about 

 eight or ten feet in diameter, and the 

 height twelve or fifteen feet, with a 

 thickness of bole at bottom of six inches. 

 Mr. B. told us that in winter time his 

 family experienced quite a sensible 

 diffei-ence between the inside and the 

 outside of this belt, and that the tem- 

 perature and the fierceness of the winds 

 did not appear within sevend degrees 

 the same on the inside as upon the out- 

 side, where he had to go if he wished 

 to ascertain the full power of the blast 

 that was raging without. On the land 

 on the inside of this belt and surround- 

 ing the home they grew fruits such as 

 apples, peaches, grapes, &c., with vege- 

 tables and flowers, with tolerable and 

 encouraging success, and enjoyed a very 

 pleasant and comfortable home life with 

 his family. But 



THE BEST EXAMPLE 



of this kind of tree planting, and a 

 model of the kind I wish to get at, is fur- 

 nished by Mr. E. Thomas, on his place 

 a little further north of Mr. Bissel's. 

 Mr. T. is said to have come originally 

 from Wales, with a good practical 

 knowledge of arboriculture and horti- 

 culture from his youth, and bought his 

 lot of fifty acres, with some improve- 

 ments upon it, some fourteen years ago. 

 He told us in conversation that at that 

 time they found it exceedingly difficult 

 in times of winter storms to stand out 

 of doors to cho}) wood or to do any out- 

 side domestic work. That this state of 

 things suggested to him the idea of 

 planting a good belt of pine around his 

 home, to include also his garden and 

 orchard. He consequently thirteen 

 years ago set to work to ])lant young 

 native white pine trees on the north 

 side thirty-five rods, and on the east, or 

 front of the lot, and west side, twenty 



rods each, making a total of seventy- 

 five rods. On the following year he 

 planted also the south side, being so 

 well pleased with the previous year's 

 work, thus making a total surrounding 

 of his home ground, and including 

 nearly four acres. They went for the 

 trees to the open pine slashings, and 

 took up nice young bi'anching forest 

 seedlings, about six or seven feet in 

 height from open spaces, and having 

 good roots, and as much sod as possible 

 upon them, and still adhering to them, 

 and as quickly as possible planted them 

 carefully in their places, most of them 

 twelve or fifteen feet apart, and others 

 only about six: feet apart. They grew 

 with remarkable readiness and beauty, 

 scarcely five per cent, of them dying, 

 and these were uniformly fiUed-in the 

 ;iext spring. On approaching this 

 plantation to-day it is a most con- 

 spicuously attractive spot, and at all 

 times inviting to the gaze of the 

 traveller. Situated as it is by the side 

 of the public highway, on an eminence, 

 it is seen for long distances ; its long 

 and beautiful branches, with their 

 wealth of refreshing green, gently 

 waving in the summer breezes, formed 

 a scene we loved to look upon. From 

 what we saw we could readily imagine 

 the kind of protection this belt would 

 afford from any direction against winter 

 storms and piercing winds. We found 

 some of the trees to be eight or ten 

 inches through at the bottom, and 

 regidarly and thickly branched their 

 whole length, fifteen or twenty feet in 

 height, making a regular, strong and 

 progressive growth of about two feet 

 per annum. On going into the en- 

 closure it seemed as though we were 

 in an amphitheatre of beauteous pro- 

 portions, with those charming pine 

 branches gently waving in the winds 

 on all sides, as if in perpetual and 

 ceaseless motion. Within, besides the 

 home, there was the vegetable gardens 



