50 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of a foot, is liable to bo moved with eveiy changing wind, says : 

 " The tree best suited to this locality — and, there is good reason to 

 suppose, to sandy plains in general — is the AilantJms glandulosa.' 

 With testimonials like these it is certainly safe to give the tree a 

 fair trial. There is no soil so poor, and no situation so exposed, 

 that it will not grow there. It is propagated as easily as the 

 blackberry. A piece of the root tlie size of your finger when 

 planted will produce a tree, and the seed, whether scattered on the 

 surface, or covered with soil, will quickly germinate. One objec- 

 tion to the Ailanthus as an ornamental tree was its tendency' to 

 throw up suckers from its roots, and thus reproduce itself without 

 limit, — a positive virtue when cultivated as a forest tree. Unlike 

 the oaks and pines, it increases in size most rapidly during its 

 earliest years. The perfect adaptation of the Ailanthus to the 

 localities mentioned may be justly regarded in the study of the 

 origin of varieties as an evidence of design. 



In view of the foregoing facts, however imperfectl}' presented 

 here, it is not easy to account for the general apathy found to exist 

 on this important subject. Capitalists are eagerly seeking per- 

 manent investments promising not more than three or four per 

 cent per annum, while the industry' we advocate pays a better 

 dividend, and in every instance has proved financially successful. 

 One of the motives which prompted Mr. Pratt to plant his grove, 

 he says, was, " that he might be remembered pleasantly by those 

 coming after him." To this must be added the genuine satisfac- 

 tion of having contributed to increase the wealth of the country, 

 at the same time clothing the sterile hill-side with verdure. This 

 is, in itself, a dividend, which, though ntit contributing directly to 

 swell the cultivator's bank account, nevertheless possesses a value 

 not easily overrated. 



Discussion. 



"William C. Strong was called on, and said that it was a very 

 great surprise to him that the people of Massachusetts do not 

 cover their barren hill-sides with trees. He knew a sand-bank in 

 wdiich there was apparently not a particle of organic matter, where 

 a gentleman, living opposite, planted white pines, which ai'e now 

 growing thriftily, and present a much pleasanter appearance than 

 the naked sand. 



At the meeting two weeks ago we were told that the early 

 settlers of New England complained of drought, and the con- 



