44 ESSEX SOCIETY. 



be thinned out and transplanted ; and when too large for that, 

 may be gradually thinned for poles or for fuel. I suppose that, 

 either for ornament or for timber forest, it would be a great ad- 

 vantage to continue to cultivate between the trees, until they cast 

 so deep a shade, that nothing would profitably grow. 



If recently cleared forest land is to be restored to forest, 

 ploughing may be necessary, but probably not sub-soil plough- 

 ing, as the roots will have kept the ground open and porous by 

 their own penetration. The thing to be principally regarded, is 

 the character of the previous growth. Land ought not to be 

 chosen, which has already been covered with oaks, unless the 

 cultivator is willing to go to the expense of trenching to the depth 

 of two or three feet, to bring to the surface unused, virgin soil. 



It would be well to cultivate all the different species, as differ- 

 ent species are adapted to different situations ; the swamp oak 

 and mossy cup to moist land, the rock chesnut to dry, rocky 

 hills, the red to sandy, the white to clayey, the black and the 

 scarlet to hard and hungry soils. 



Perhaps it would be well to interpret " oaks " as including 

 the oak family, and thus taking in the beech and chesnut ; the 

 former for its beauty as a tree near dwelling-houses, — the 

 latter for its great rapidity of growth, and for its value as fencing 

 and building stuff. 



As the terms of the trust to the Agricultural Society are so 

 general, perhaps it would be well to give an opportunity to those 

 who wished to save time by forming plantations of trees already 

 pretty well grown. This seems to be desirable ; as the growth 

 of all forest trees, for the first few years, is excessively slow, and 

 as, with the same expenditure, many times as many trees may 

 be raised in the nursery, as will be left to cover the ground in a 

 productive forest or for ornament. 



It would seem very desirable to make experiments upon cre- 

 ating forests in situations not susceptible of cultivation, as on 

 the hills in Lynn, and in some other parts of Essex County. 

 With this purpose, the acorns may be deposited amongst the 

 bushes, or amongst the stones, slightly covered, and in quanti- 

 ties sufficient to allow for the depredations of squirrels and mice. 

 The principal item of expense in this case, would be the fencing 



