148 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



you find in the market is real spruce gum. I am the most important 

 lumber tree in Maine. Hundreds of lumbermen go into the woods 

 in winter, cut down the spruce trees, haul them to the water, and 

 then, when the snow melts away, float them down to the saw mills, 

 where they are sawed into timber, boards, clapboards, &c. Within 

 a few years my wood has been largelj'^ used in the manufacture of 

 white paper. 



Chairman. Basswood has promised to tell us something about 

 the way in which the trees are planted. 



Basswood. The squirrels eat many nuts, but carry a portion to 

 some distance in every direction, when they plant one or two in a 

 place. It may be the thought of the squirrel to return at some 

 future time of need, but his bump of locality is not well developed, 

 or he has laid up more than he needed. At all events some of the 

 nuts are allowed to remain where he planted them. In this way he 

 is a benefit to the trees, and pays for the nuts which he eats. He 

 has not lived in vain, for he is a tree-planter and believes in arbor- 

 iculture. His arbor days come in autumn, and he needs no guber- 

 natorial message to stimulate his work. 



Poplar. Many of our trees and shrubs produce a fleshy fruit or 

 berry. Among them are the mountain ash, service berry, cherry 

 and others. Man}^ of these, when ripe, are rendered conspicuous 

 by brilliant colors. The fruits are eagerly sought by the partridge, 

 deer, bears, other animals and the birds. In most cases the seeds 

 of such fruits are protected by a very fine covering, and are not 

 digestible. They are sown broadcast by wild animals, under cir- 

 cumstances most favorable for germination. The birds, too, belong 

 to the society of tree planters. 



Chairman. Many of the trees in the forest bear small winged 

 seeds, and others bear tufted seeds ; these are borne away by the 

 winds till they finally come to the ground, where they will sprout 

 and grow if left alone. Will Red Maple tell us how trees should be 

 transplanted ? 



Red Maple. In taking up a tree, whether large or small, do not 

 twist it about so as to break or bend the roots abruptly. Get all 

 the roots you can afford to, remembering that a tree will not grow 

 without roots. 



When out of the ground keep the roots constantly covered with 

 soil, moss, damp straw or something else. The roots are far more 

 sensitive to dry air than are the parta above the ground. No one 



