When the plantation is one year old, the trees may be cut back and 

 left at a height of about three inches. This will induce sprouting 

 and result in a better growth. The branches which have been cut off 

 can be used for other planting. 



Basket Willow. This stock is sold in the form of cuttings. They 

 are suitable for planting on overflowed land, except in the Adiron- 

 dack and Catskill regions. If you are interested in this matter, 

 send for our Bulletin No. 3, entitled " The Basket Willow ". It 

 is the purpose of this Commission to furnish small orders of cuttings 

 so that a few may be planted the first year and material for extending 

 the plantation secured from the cuttings made from such planting. 



Chestnut. This was one of our most promising trees, but on 

 account of the appearance and very rapid spread of the " chestnut 

 blight " a most virulent and destructive disease, it is not to be 

 recommended until some means of controlling the disease can be 

 found. 



YIELD FROM PLANTED FORESTS. 



In the destruction of forests by axe and fire which has been 

 taking place in this country ever since settlement began, vast areas 

 not adapted to agricultural purposes have been cleared, placed in 

 farms, tilled for a time, the soil exhausted and then abandoned. 

 These areas are of varying size, but in the aggregate are extensive. 

 In some places they include a few acres of an occupied farm; at 

 others they embrace entire abandoned farms. This land is lying idle, 

 is not producing any revenue for its owner ; in fact, is held at a loss be- 

 cause taxes must be paid, and the interest on the capital invested is 

 lost. A large area of such idle land in any State is just as serious an 

 economic proposition as idle labor, because both are non-productive. 



Such land should be planted with small trees in order to grow 

 forest crops and reap a future profit. The resulting forests will 

 also make the country more beautiful, more habitable, more health- 

 ful and more enjoyable. These forests will protect the hillsides 

 from erosion, prevent the floods which carry down debris and devas- 

 tate the low lands, and will make the water in the streams more 

 equable in its flow. These streams rendered cooler by the shade 

 will support more fish, and the forest cover will also afford a shelter 

 for birds and game. We can secure all of these benefits and at the 

 same time realize a large profit from these idle lands if they are 

 placed under wood crops. 



Natural grown forests are not the most valuable, because nature 

 does not utilize the light and moisture to the best advantage; but 

 by properly spacing the tree, as done in an artificial forest, more 

 and better trees can be grown in a shorter period. 



