YALE AGRICULTURAL LECTURES. 71 



mose, the strange forces by which food is taken into the plant ; 

 of the composition of the products of plants, the formation of 

 wood, and the circumstances favorable to growth ; how to 

 manage the ground in preparation for planting, to select the 

 place where they shall flourish, and the trees of the best form 

 for planting. He must be acquainted with the friends and foes 

 of each tree, both insects and birds, and with the various pro 

 cesses of layering, budding, grafting, &c. The observant fac 

 ulties are all necessary, and ought to be educated ; their neglect 

 is among the most serious omissions in a farmer's education 

 The objects of forest culture are to improve the land and to 

 furnish materials for use in the arts. Of single trees, those are 

 best which will furnish the shade we seek. The spray of some 

 of our native trees, as the birches, and willows, and especially 

 the maples, is most beautiful, and varies every season of the 

 year, ever being a source of beauty. The seeds of different 

 trees fall at different times, according to their size, so that they 

 may be covered up and germinate, and generally under the 

 shade of the mother tree. Seedling trees must be sheltered, a 

 purpose for which the Scotch or other fir is used to good ad 

 vantage. The value of leaf mould for these seedlings is well 

 known. The ground for the seminary, or nursery, must be well 

 prepared, but need not be very deep. The best manures are 

 leaves and leaf-mold, with a little of barn-yard compost, well 

 rotted, and then all suffered to lie for a year exposed to the 

 air. The seeds ought to be sown immediately upon gathering, 

 those which animals would dig up for their food excepted. Many 

 seeds will not bear drying. In imported seeds, some few come up 

 the first year, some the second, and others the third, whereas 

 had they been immediately sown as they were taken from the 

 trees, they would all have sprung up at first. The depth of seed 

 planting varies according to size, and the young trees must be 

 protected for the first year or two, from the sun. By transplanting 

 we cut off the tap-root, and thus render it easy to remove again. 

 Each soil as we advance should be poorer, till it becomes 



