FOREST PROBLEMS. 205 



trunks big enough for post timber and give good crops 

 of nuts, for which there is an increasing demand. This 

 tree is one of the quickest to renew itself from the stump, 

 and may be successfully managed as a coppice. The 

 best way of starting will probably be to thoroughly plough 

 the land and get it into as nice condition as for a crop of 

 corn. As early in the spring as the land can be worked, 

 make furrows with a plough, seven feet apart, and sow the 

 nuts putting them about six inches apart in the furrow 

 and cover two inches. Later sow corn or plant potatoes 

 between the rows, and keep the rows thoroughly culti- 

 vated all summer. Cultivation should be given each year 

 thereafter until the trees shade the ground. If the seeds 

 have come well, the trees must be thinned out so as to 

 prevent too much crowding from time to time. 



It is important in storing the nuts over winter that 

 they be mixed with plenty of sand or fine loam, as they 

 require very careful handling to prevent their spoiling. 



17. What kinds of trees are best adapted to use for 

 live fence posts? Should the wires be nailed directly to 

 the tree, or on blocks of wood which are fastened to the 

 tree? 



Answer: Probably the best tree for a live fence post 

 is one of the Willows or other hardy tree. Where the 

 White Willow is used for this purpose, there is no special 

 objection to nailing the wire directly to the tree, except 

 that the tree will soon grow over the wire, and it cannot 

 then be removed. If it is thought that the wire might 

 be removed within a few years, it w r ould be much the better 

 plan to nail it on to blocks of wood which are nailed to the 

 tree. Willow trees which are used in this way as live fence 

 posts may be cut off about a foot above the top wire and 

 allowed to reproduce themselves. Such trees, if properly 

 managed, will often produce a large amount of firewood, 

 as well as afford good fence posts. 



