FOREST TREE PLANTING. 41 



of some species known to be suited to the soil and climatic condi- 

 tions there encountered. The Pitch Pine (Pinus rigicla) seems to 

 struggle for existence on the sea-coast, and is of slow growth, and 

 produces a wood of little value except for fuel ; and he who shall 

 introduce in its place a hard}' tree of rapid growth under a like 

 exposure, should be regarded as a public benefactor. 



The trees of softer wood, whose fibre is susceptible of being 

 reduced to pulp, and rolled into paper, may prove as valuable to 

 the next generation as the oak has been to the present. Iron has 

 already supplanted oak in marine architecture, and paper may yet 

 take the place of both. 



To encourage and promote any new enterprise we have first to 

 show that it is safe and profitable as a business undertaking. We 

 therefore propose to examine this subject of Forest Tree Planting in 

 the light of an investment. 



In the case of every experiment that has come wuthin m}- knowl- 

 edge the result has proved eminently satisfactorj'. Although in 

 many instances pines have been planted because the land would 

 produce nothing else, and often for the purpose of gratifying the 

 taste by covering a rock}' hill-side or sandy plain, and not with a 

 view to profit, and though they have rarely, if ever, received any 

 culture after planting, in no instance that I have investigated has 

 the outlay failed to prove a paying investment. 



Mr. Zebulon Pratt, of Bridgewater, purchased 25 acres of worn- 

 out land in North Middleboro, near the village of Titicut, for which 

 he paid S9 per acre. Having a desire, as he says, to improve the 

 view, and to learn the result from a moderate outla}', but not an- 

 ticipating a profit, he had it set to white pines, in the spring of 

 1863, at an expense of S6 per acre, and two years after paid a 

 man $47 to fill up the vacancies where some had died, making 

 the whole cost of setting $200. 



The plants were from 6 inches to 18 inches in height, and 

 were set in straight rows 10 feet apart each way. Mr. Pratt wrote 

 me, in December, 1883, in answer to inquiries, " that the trees are 

 now probablj-frora 12 to'16 inches in diameter, and in a thrifty condi- 

 tion," and that he has from time to time been awarded premiums by 

 the Plymouth County Agricultural Society for the best plantation 

 of pines. The lot is taxed for 8800, which is based on a two-thirds 

 valuation ; and as towns are inclined to favor experiments of this 

 kind, it is fair to presume that the assessors' valuation is not too 



