432 WASHINGTON COUNTY, IOWA. 



among the trees where sunshine would linger until driven 

 away by the approaching shades of night. 



THE ORCHARD 



lies north of the house, and the fruit garden lies east. Both 

 aie protected west, north, and east, by a triple row of white 

 pine trees, now twenty to twenty-five feet high. East of the 

 pine belt there is an Osage hedge. Still east of the hedge 

 stands a grove of some two acres of maple, which are thirty 

 feet high. North of the orchard and pine belt is a piece of 

 timber, consisting of maple, willow, larch, pine of various 

 kinds, and spruce. 



TREES AND HEDGES. 



The farm is fenced principally with Osage hedge. I have 

 planted larches in the hedge along the road on the west line, 

 which are each twenty feet high. There is a belt of maples on 

 the inside of the hedge north of the house, extending a little 

 over a mile, one along the north side, and one across the farm 

 from east to west, near the middle, making in all some 20,000 

 trees. Three thousand of these are evergreens and European 

 larch. The remainder of my trees are white maple, with some 

 poplar, black walnut, butternut, birch, Cottonwood, elm, ash, 

 sycamore, etc. My idea of planting European larch in the 

 roadside hedges, was to create a pleasing effect, and should the 

 hedge die out, the trees would answer the purpose of posts to 

 fasten wire to, and in time would become valuable as timber. 

 I do not think they will materially injure the hedge, as I have 

 seen several cases where large maples and cottonwoods have 

 stood in hedges without doing the latter any apparent injury. 

 I intend at some future time to plant a few acres of European 

 larch, also of ash, catalpa, and black walnut, believing that 

 they will prove valuable property. Should I or my children 

 not reap the benefit, some other man's children may. When I 

 first settled on the land the only trees on the place were a few 

 scrubby hickories on the southeast corner. This grove is near 

 one of the artificial lakes which I have made. I have carefully 



