OAK 



OAK 



29S 



oaks be propagated ? They may 

 undoubtedly be raised in nurseries, 

 and transplanted, as well as other 

 trees. But this method is not uni- 

 versally approved. 



Mr. Miller says, oaks are best 

 produced from the acorns m the 

 places where the trees are to re- 

 main ; because those which are 

 transplanted, will not grow to so 

 large a size, nor remain sound so 

 long. He advises to planting the 

 acorns as soon as they are ripe in 

 October, which will come up in the 

 following April ; because if they 

 are attempted to be kept,they will 

 sprout, although spread thin. He 

 directs that the ground designed 

 for a plantation, should have a good 

 and durable fence ; that it be pre- 

 pared by three or four ploughings 

 and harrowings ; that the acorns be 

 taken from the largest and most 

 thrifty trees ; that they may be sow- 

 ed in drills about four feet asun- 

 der, two inches deep, and two in- 

 ches apart ; that the ground should 

 be ploughed and hoed among them, 

 during the first eight or ten years ; 

 that after two years some of them 

 should be drawn out where they 

 are too close ; and so from time to 

 time as they grow larger, till they 

 come to be eight feet distance,each 

 way, when they will want no fur- 

 ther thinning for a long time. But 

 after the trees come to be large,he 

 thinks 25 or 30 feet apart will be 

 the right distance. 



Another writer directs that the 

 acorns be gathered as soon as they 

 fall in autumn, and kept in a box or 

 boxes of sand till the following 

 spring. Then open them, and 

 carefully plant those of them which 



are sprouted, which he says will not 

 fail to come up. But no time should 

 be allowed for the sprouts to dry, 

 I incline to prefer this method, es- 

 pecially since I have tried that 

 which is recommended by Mr.Mil- 

 ler without success. Not one in a 

 hundred ever came up. 



A rich deep soil suits the oak 

 best, and in such land they will 

 grow to a large size. The timber 

 is apt to be tough and pliable : But 

 in a gravelly soil, or one that is dry 

 and sandy, the wood is more hard 

 and brittle. The oak, however, 

 will grow in almost any soil that is 

 not too wet. 



Many are apt to object against 

 attempting to raise timber trees, 

 that they shall not live to receive 

 any advantage from them. But do 

 they think they were born for them- 

 selves only ? Have they no great 

 regard for the welfare of their own 

 children ? Do they not care how 

 future generations fare after they 

 are gone ? The more growing trees 

 they leave upon their farms, the 

 better will their children be endow- 

 ed ; and does this appear as a mat- 

 ter of indifference ? Or if they 

 should providentially be under the 

 necepsity of selling their farms 

 while they live, will they not be 

 prized higher, by any rational pur- 

 chaser, for having a few hundreds 

 of thrifty young trees growing 

 upon them ? But it is possible that 

 while they hold their farms, they 

 may receive actual advantage from 

 their trees themselves. Possibly 

 trees may grow faster than they 

 apprehend. The Marquis of Lans- 

 down planted with trees a swampy 

 meadow, with a gravelly bottonij 



