754 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



during the summer of 1910. Since that time the area 

 has received no cultivation of any kind. The time re- 

 quired to cultivate the area once over was about 2j/^ 

 hours for one man with single horse. 



Thinnings were first made along the south and west 

 sides where the soil, being much deej^er and of better 

 tilth, enabled the trees to grow more rapidly. The two 

 outside rows along these sides were thinned to about 

 every other tree in 1913. The largest trees were taken 

 out and consequently the removal was not entirely uni- 

 form. In 1914 further thinning was made generally over 

 the area. Wherever a large tree appeared to be crowd- 

 ing the ones around it, it was removed. About 350 trees 

 were removed in 1913 and 100 in 1914. In 1915 three 

 hundred trees were taken out. All of these trees taken 

 out in thinnings were trees that could be disposed of to 

 good advantage. ... 



THE CHRISTMAS TREE PLANTATION. 



The trees grew rapidly for the first three years, until 

 the roots reached the clay subsoil, when a decided falling 

 ofT in growth took place. This falling off in height 

 growth at such an early age is not characteristic of the 

 Norway spruce which is one of the fast growing trees. 

 Norway spruce in nearby locations where the surface soil 

 is deeper have maintained a uniform height growth of 

 about one foot per year. It may safely be said that the 

 slackening in growth in this plantation was due to the 

 clay subsoil near the surface. . . . 



For Christmas tree purposes too rapid growth is not 

 desirable. If the trees grow faster than one foot a year 

 they become spindly. The best Christmas trees are those 

 which have grown rather slowly. They are bushier and 

 better shai)ed than very rapidly grown trees. 



For a land owner who is located near a good market, 

 the growing of Christmas trees promises to be a profit- 

 able industry. There is a steady although limited de- 

 mand for such trees. Christmas trees are now obtained 



principally from the forests, usually at a considerable 

 distance from the cities. They are shipped by the car- 

 load from the spruce and fir forests of Michigan, New 

 York and Vermont, and with the depletion of the forests 

 of the country the supply of small trees for this purpose 

 will probably decrease. 



Christmas trees can be grown on any farm in Michigan. 

 Norway spruce is the best tree to plant for this purpose. 

 It will do well on almost any soil of good tilth. It grows 

 rapidly, the branches stand out well from the main stem 

 and it makes a beautiful tree. The best size for Christ- 

 mas trees, the size for which there is the greatest de- 

 mand, is from four to eight feet tall. Such trees can be 

 grown in five to six years if good strong transplants are 

 used. . 



In setting out a Christmas tree plantation it is best to 

 use good strong transplants, such as may be obtained 

 from forest nurseries. There is considerable difficulty 

 attached to raising the trees from seed, but if transplants 

 are used this difficulty is avoided. The seedlings grow 

 very slowly for the first two or three years and need 

 considerable attention, but after they have been once or 

 twice transplanted, as would be the case in good nursery 

 stock, they grow rapidly. 



Four or five year old transplants are best. Such stock 

 should be from ten to eighteen inches tall. The trees 

 should be planted with a triangular spacing of three feet 

 each way, requiring 5,584 trees to the acre. . 



The best time for planting is in the spring as soon as 

 the snow is i;one and the frost is out of the ground. A 

 regular spacing should be used as it makes cultivation 

 easier and the trees will have uniform growing space and 

 will be more shaijely. In planting, two men work to- 

 gether to best advantage, one man to dig the holes and 

 the other to carry the trees and plant them. The holes 

 should be slightly deeper than is necessary to take the 

 roots when spread in a natural position. Fine moist 

 earth should be sprinkled over the roots and the coarser 

 soil drawn in next and packed firmly with the foot. A 

 layer of loose soil should be scraped around the tree in 

 order to retain the moisture. Great care must be taken 

 in handling the stock in the field to see that the roots do 

 not dry out. They should not be exposed to the sun or 

 wind. It is a good plan to keep a piece of wet burlap 

 over the roots when moving the plants. The roots should be 

 thoroughly puddled just before planting, that is, dipped in a 

 thick mud of such consistency as will stick to the roots. 

 The plantation should be cultivated occasionally for the 

 first two years, to keep down the weeds and prevent early 

 surface rotting and evaporation. Such cultivation will 

 pay for itself in increased growth. After the first year 

 the trees should grow about one foot a year. When the 

 trees are about four feet high, which, if four-year trans- 

 plants are used, will be in four years, they may be thinned 

 out in order to prevent their crowding each other. By 

 thinning them out the remaining trees will have more 

 room to develop side branches and intermediate returns 

 may be obtained from the trees taken out. This thinning 

 is not necessary, however, as the trees will not crowd 

 badly for some years. 



