Tree Nurseries in New York State 



IT is probable that the forest was the first nat- 

 ural resource about which mankind acquired an 

 elementary knowledge. It was his earliest 

 home, and on account of this close relationship 

 he became more or less familiar with its various 

 functions and natural benefits, as applied to hu- 

 man existence. It furnished him his shelter, his 

 many utensils and weapons, and, to a large de- 

 gree, his food. The Greeks possessed some 

 knowledge regarding the necessity for the preser- 

 vation of the forests three hundred years before 

 the Christian era. We find the Romans prohibited 

 the destruction of forest trees, by law, in certain 

 sections of their possessions. In 213 B. C. Cato 

 wrote one h'undred and sixty-two chapters on for- 

 estry, and at that time tree nursery work (sow- 

 ing and planting, as well as grafting) was more 

 or less intelligently understood. Marcus Varro 

 (116 B. C.) knew a great deal about nursery man- 

 agement and he wrote with minute detail relative 

 to the advantage of transplants and of what he 

 called "double transplant material." The question 

 whether to plant or sow was much discussed. It 

 is very likely the silviculture knowledge or prac- 

 tice, found among the German tribes who mingled 

 with the Romans in their civilized surroundings 

 during the fourth century emanated directly from 

 the writings and teachings that had been handed 

 down in Roman literature. 



Superstitions in Early Ages. 



Naturally, there were misapprehensions and su- 

 perstitions given current credence concerning' tree 

 planting in the early ages. The work has passed 

 through many stages of evolution, and to-day has 

 reached a fair degree of perfection; but silviculture 

 can never become an exact science because of 

 the varying conditions in different localities, in 

 soil, climate, seasons and organic characteristics 

 of the flora. All the information we have is of 

 an empirical nature. With a few general principles 

 to begin with, each state or locality has to work 

 out the problems as they arise. In America we 

 have hardly passed the experimental stage. 



The history of tree nurseries in New York state 

 is contemporary with the last decade. They were 

 brought into being through the recent awakening 

 in the public mind of the necessity for the con- 

 servation of our forests. This state, and in fact 

 the United States, up until 1898, had made no 

 permanent beginning in the successful propagation 

 of our native trees, although appeal after appeal 

 was made to the public conscience. We had been 

 blessed with a vast wealth of timbered land,, the 

 product of centuries, and the necessity for restora- 

 tive measures has only recently appeared; that is. 

 actual privation. Foreign countries have passed 

 through a more or less extensive experience in 

 raising trees from seeds. Switzerland to-day, for 

 instance, has 781 acres of land set aside as tree 

 nurseries, the total product of which annually 

 amounts to about 25,000,000 trees. Germany ex- 

 pends something like $4,000,000 annually for tree 

 planting. 



Before a commercial tree can be produced a pe- 

 riod of years, ranging from fifteen to fifty, accord- 



ring to species, must elapse. Hence, the time for 

 a reproductive forestry movement arrives long be- 

 fore the actual necessity for reforestation is mani- 

 fest. We should have learned this from lessons 

 taught by the old world, but we were busy with an 

 avaricious procrastination, which has approximated 

 criminality.. We should have begun planting in 

 New York state thirty years ago, and to offset the 

 consumption and destruction of our forest lands 

 we ought now to set out annually 40,000,000 trees 

 instead of the 2,400,0(K) we are planting. The 

 quantity of forest growth should be kept normal, 

 otherwise extreme conditions in wood values, in 

 variations of stream flow and purity of water, in 

 the supply of fish and game and the general pros- 

 perity of our country must prevail. Tree nur- 

 series and tree planting, to a large degree, except 

 in the case of afforestation, are the results of 

 forest mismanagement, inasmuch as they are 

 thereby made necessary. 



The general ideas involved in forestry problems 

 are well known. There are two phases the one 

 which is concerned with bringing about a more 

 rational management of existing natural forests 

 and the other which contemplates the need of arti- 

 ficial forests. With the first part of the prob- 

 lem, the application of forestry or forest manage- 

 ment to the virgin woodland, tree nurseries have 

 a direct relationship. The tree nursery problem 

 and the creation of new forests usually succeed. 

 Efforts directed toward better management of ex- 

 isting timberland. Forestry begins with econom- 

 ical utilization of natural woods growth, and then, 

 as necessity requires, the recuperation by artificial 

 planting follows. 



In this country public forests under proper man- 

 agement do not exist in the fullest sense of the 

 term. Except for a few sporadic efforts in the 

 west, wherever planting has been carried on, up 

 to within a few years, it was done on an infinitesi- 

 mal scale by private nurserymen for private inter- 

 ests; but there is a greater interest involved in 

 reforestation, represented by the public welfare. 

 It is seldom that the denudation of a water shed 

 affects a single private interest as it does the mul- 

 titudinous needs of a great commonwealth like the 

 state of New York. The ultimate object of the 

 reforestation is usually timber production, but the 

 state demands a forest for reasons that transcend 

 commercial values. A forest is essential to the 

 protection of fish and game, the regulation of 

 stream flow, and the preservation of the wild 

 scenery and health resorts of the state. We are 

 cutting from New York state about 1,400,000,000 

 board feet yearly. This does not include the large 

 amount of timber destroyed by conflagrations, and 

 the only way in which this annual loss can be 

 met is by replanting the lands thus denuded. 



Much Study Necessary. 



There is a vast amount of study and careful 

 observation necessary in the best conduct of tree 

 nurseries. The man who manages a tree garden 

 must have some knowledge of the way forestry, 

 as a science, utilizes different trees, so as to pro- 

 duce results in the most economical manner. Na- 



