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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Exercises centered around the tree dedicated to the 

 "unknown dead", the first to be planted. Arrangements 

 for the day were in charge of Clarence O. Siebenthaler. 

 An address by Prof. William A. VVerthner was followed 

 by an invocation. Mayor Pease gave the greetings from 



Maywood and Howard 



COL. GALBR.'MTH PLANTS MEMORIAL TREES 



Col. Galbraith is the man in the overcoat, speaking at the me- 

 morial tree planting at Vandalia, Ohio. 



Vandalia. Colonel Galbraith gave the main address. He 

 was followed by S. S. King, who spoke for the Forestry 

 Association, and by Miss Irma Gerkins, who represented 

 the women of the country. A few momentii of silent 

 prayer and the singing of "America" concluded the pro- 

 gram. 



THE SUCCESSFUL WOODLOT 



TN order to make a real success of the farm woodlot it 

 is necessary to know what trees to plant and how to 

 grow them. Many plantings of trees have turned out 

 failures because of the selection of species unsuited 

 either to the climate or to the soil. The best trees for 

 planting on a home farm usually are those which grow 

 well in similar soils in the region, according to the recom- 

 mendation of forest specialists of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, in Farmers' Bulletin 1123, 

 "Growing and Planting Hardwood Seedlings on the 

 Farm," which may be had by application to the Depart- 

 ment. 



In determining what species of hardwood trees should 

 be grown, the bulletin says the object of growing the 

 trees and their adaptability to the climate of the region 

 should be kept in mind. As an illustration, boxelder is 

 not a good tree to plant for timber ; the yellow poplar, be- 

 cause of climatic conditions, can not be grown success- 

 fully in the plains region of the central United States, 

 and hardy catalpa will not thrive in poor, sandy, or heavy 

 clay soils. 



To a certain extent trees may be grouped as those most 

 valuable for lumber, for posts and poles, for windbreaks, 

 etc. Some of the varieties listed as suitable for lumber 

 are: Ash, basswood, beech, birch, black cherry, cotton-, 

 wood, cucumber, elm, hickory, sugar maple, red oak, 

 white oak, red gum, sycamore, black walnut, and yellow 

 poplar. Varieties suitable for posts and poles are: 

 Hardy catalpa,, coffee tree, red elm, eucalyptus, black 

 locust, honey locust, Russian mulberry, oaks, osage 

 orange and white willow. Varieties best suited for wind- 

 breaks are : Green ash, boxelder, cottonwood, eucalyptus, 

 hackberry, silver maple, Russian mulberry, osage orange. 

 Russian olive, white willow and yellow willow. 



A mixture of two or more kinds of trees in a planta- 

 tion sometimes is desirable, says the bulletin. For best 

 results, trees such as the cottonwood should be spaced 

 widely, while others, such as black walnut and black 

 locust, have such scant foliage that their shade does 

 not prevent the growth of a heavy sod. A mixed plant- 

 ing of cottonwood with either of the other two varieties 

 mentioned will more completely utilize the ground, in- 

 crease the yield, and bring about a better forest condi- 

 tion. Frequently, less expensive and less valuable varie- 

 ties can be planted as fillers with trees that are to make up 

 the permanent planting. Mixed plantings also are desir- 

 able as a protection against diseases and insect attack. 



Unless intended for windbreaks, plantations should be 

 located on the poorest soil of the farm, that least suited 

 to the production of agricultural crops. Odd corners 

 cut off by streams or driveways and hillsides or poorly 

 drained soil should be selected. In starting a grove, seed- 

 lings one or two years old are preferable to seed or cut- 

 tings. Nut trees, such as walnut, hickory, and oak, 

 develop a deep taproot and few lateral feeding roots 

 during their first year. They can not, therefore, be trans- 

 planted as successfully as other trees. The nuts or acorns 

 should be planted on the permanent site. Sometimes it 

 is advisable to sprout the nuts before this planting is 

 made. Cottonwood and willow plantations are most 

 easily started with cuttings 12 to 14-inch sections taken 

 from one or two-year-old twigs of living trees. Cuttings 

 should be collected during early winter and buried in 

 moist sand in a cool place preparatory to planting in the 

 spring. 



In general, early spring planting is preferable to plant- 

 ing at any other season. As compared with fall planting, 

 it has at least two distinct advantages the stock has an 

 entire growing season in which to become established 

 before it is subjected to the rigors of winter, and it is 

 not in immediate danger of being heaved out of the 

 ground by alternate freezing and thawing. 



