136 



Canadian Forestry Journal, April, 1919 Y' 



FERTILIZE YOUR SHADE TREES 



A well fertilized shade tree will make a much 

 more rapid growth and present a more vigorous 

 appearance than one which is not properly nour- 

 ished. The leaves will be larger; will all come 

 out at the same time; will show a uniformity 

 in the characteristic color; and will remain on 

 the tree until maturity. 



A tree that lacks plant food will have a sickly 

 appearance. When the leaves come out in the 

 spring, they are often more or less in bunches 

 near the ends of the branches. This indicates 

 that the tree does not have enough vitality to 

 develop the leaf-buds back of the terminal buds. 

 The leaves will be fewer, and many under size. 

 All will not have the characteristic color, and 

 some will turn yellow early and drop. If a 

 whole branch or the tips of some of the branches 

 die, it is usually a sure sign that the tree is not 

 receiving the proper amount of plant food or 

 'moisture. 



However, it must not be forgotten that a tree 

 may be "sick" from plant disease, insect pest, 

 etc. 



A starving tree grows slowly. If our so- 

 called slow growing tree were well fertilized 

 and mulched, the rate of growth would be a 

 surprise. Commercial fertilizers can be used, 

 but they are not so effective as well rotted 

 stable manure. In lieu of manure a well rotted 

 compost of leaves, etc., can be used. If the 

 appearance of manure around a tree is objec- 

 tionable, it can be covered with a light coat of 

 straw or leaves. The covering can be prevented 

 from blowing away by weighting with sticks, 

 brush, woven wire fencing, etc. The depth of 

 the fertilizer should be two to three inches, de- 

 pending upon the requirements of the tree. It 

 should not be placed closer than 18 inches of 

 the tree, so that mice will not nest about the 

 tree and bark it. It should be spread around 

 the tree to a distance of at least a foot beyond 

 the length of the branches. Remember that the 

 principal feeding roots are located as far from 

 the tree as the length of the branches or much 

 farther. 



NEW PENTICTON CLUB FORMED. 



of Mr. R. S. Wilton the name was made to in- 

 clude the words, "and Forest Protection". 



HOW TO TAX TIMBER. 



A good stroke was accomplished at a recent 

 meeting at Penticton, B.C., to form a Penticton 

 Fish and Game Association. On representations 



Needed reform in our method of taxing timber 

 is a somewhat hackneyed subject, but some 

 new light was furnished upon it in an address 

 delivered by Orlando T. Barnes before the an- 

 nual meeting recently of the Michigan Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Association. 



It is generally recognized that a yield tax 

 when timber is cut gives much better results from 

 the standpomt of timber growmg encourage- 

 ment. It, however, greatly reduces the tax 

 revenues of timber counties and townships and 

 retards public improvements. The com.promise 

 has already been suggested of taxing the land 

 annually on its value as stump land, and the 

 value of the timber only when cut. 



This speaker in addition to a thorough de- 

 velopment of this idea suggests further that 

 when the timber is mature it may well stand a 

 moderate annual tax on its value if the owner 

 desires still further to hold it. 



This introduces another question which this 

 speaker does not consider. He apparently is 

 speaking of a body of planted timber of prac- 

 tically even age class, all of which would natur- 

 ally arrive at maturity about the same time. In 

 virgin forest, however, or any forest naturally 

 reproduced under most conditions, there is a 

 mixture of practically all age classes, so that 

 at any given time only a part of the total stand 

 of timber is really mature. 



Inasmuch also as the determination of the 

 boundary between timber which is still making 

 a satisfactory annual increment of value by 

 growth and timber in which the growth curve 

 and the carrying cost curve have practically ap- 

 proximated each other requires expert forestry 

 judgment it is obvious that the administration 

 of a tax law of any such refinement could not 

 be left to the judgment of such assessing bodies 

 as we have at this time. That, however, is not 

 to say that the ideas are not entirely practical, 

 but that it remains to develop all the necessary 

 details of administering them. — American Lum- 

 berman. 



