:iRCULATION: 11,300 COPIES MONTHLY. 



ROBSON BLACK, Editor. 



^nadian forestry 3oumal 



VOL. XVI. 



KINGSTON. CANADA. JULY. 1920. 



No. 7 



The Walnut Plantations at Point Platon 



^y Major Alain Joly de Lotbiniere 



Remarl^able Success Achieved on 

 Famous Quebec Seignory- 'Impor- 

 tance of Wind Protection 



The Black Walnut Plantations set 

 out by my grandfather, Sir Henri Joly 

 de Lotbiniere, 37 years ago, were in 

 the nature of an experiment rather than 

 a commercial enterprise. It was his 

 ])urpose to prove that this valuable and 

 beautiful species of exotic could, if the 

 necessary time and care were taken, 

 equal if not rival the growth of our 

 own native species of the Province of 

 Quebec. I believe that he succeeded, 

 and in the followiiiic, paragraphs hope 

 to lead the reader to think so too, and 

 to impress on his mind one vital re- 

 quisite if he wishes to put his belief to 

 proof. I will first explain, then, how 

 these experiments were carried out. 

 what the results ha^•c been, and what 

 conclusions may be drawn from tbeni. 



How the Experiments Were Carried 

 Out. 



Tlie P>lac-k Walnut ( juj^lands nigra') . 

 can hardly bi' called a native of our 

 country, exce])! tHr certain iinrtiim^ of 

 Southern Ontario, its nio^t ])ro!ific 

 li.'ibitat ranging from New l-'ngland to 

 Minnesota and then J^oiith \o Texas. 

 It wU] lie seen at a glanct' tliat the 

 nattiral habitat conie> under \ crv' dil- 

 ferent clifnatic t-on(!iti< nis from the 

 Pro\inc(.- of (Jnebec, where the tree 

 must be pi\'|)ar(.'(l to meet our ri<.;(irtMi- 

 climate ol intiMise lu-at in the <unnner 

 and the cold icy bla>ts of the w'nler 

 months. ( )im- rnuince would then 

 seem to he the last ])lace in the world 



to support the Black Walnut in any 

 semblance of normality. But Sir 

 Henri thought otherwise, and set out 

 to demonstrate his theory in the fol- 

 lowing manner: First of all he chose 

 three different sites to carry out his 

 experiments : — 



1. A cultivated soil (protected on all 

 sides from the wind). 



2. An alluvial soil (protected from 

 the Avind on one side only). 



3. A lioulder clay soil. 



In these three soils he ]")lanted the 

 nuts of the Black ^^'alnut one late 

 spring' day when the frost had dis- 

 appeared from the ground. The week 

 ])re\ ions lie had soaked them in teiiid 

 water to awaken the tiny germ which 

 ANduld be called upon in so short a 

 time by mother I'arth to fulfil its des- 

 tinv, and into holes which he had stak- 

 ed out, 1 feet ap;irl. he buried them two 

 incbe-- deep. 



W ben Autumn came each little ]^l;int. 

 ;nid tlieri' w ire many of them, was \ery 

 i-;irelnll\' cii\ered with --traw to pro- 

 tect it froni the <no\\ ;ind ice. ;ind then 

 lied lo a st.ike to keep it from being 

 crn-.hed. And although my grand- 

 f itber was en.uaged in his iiarli.ami'U- 

 t.iry duties, he c:"Tied out this some- 

 what tediou-^ work himself with only 

 i>ne ni;in to ,i<-i>-t him. It w;ts i>nlv 

 ■ ifter I or ; winters that this practice 

 was (li>coMt'nued, .-i^^ by that time, with 

 the rapid he;id gr<>\\th which cha- 

 racteriz >; this species, its delicate 



