204 



NEW E N GLAND FARMER, 



DEC. 30, i<!40. 



:>th- 

 half a 



for the New Krigland Farmer. 



TREES. 



Mr EniToa: — Tiie iinpoilanoe of raisini; u] 

 artificial forests to meet the wants of future gener: 

 tions, seems to be overlooked altogether by our 

 erwise thrifty countrymen. !n less 1 

 century our sea-coiisl will be denuded of its pre- 

 sent growth of wood, and be as naked as the Hamp- 

 shire barrens or the hills of Surrey. 



In ISii.'i, beinp then in Philadelidiia, I addressed 

 the following paper, with the initials "T. I. R.," 

 to the editor of the American Farmer, which elici- 

 ted from the ever-to-be-remembered Judge Buel, 

 through the same channel, the reply also sent you, 

 for re'publicalion, if you think proper. 1 must a- 

 gain repeat that the subject is of great, very great 

 fmportance. If as much had been done within 

 three or four years to grow forest trees as to grow 

 the mulberry, the nation would have fell the effects 

 of the substitution forever. 

 Yours, truly, 



I. 



FOREST AND ORN.\MENTAL TREES. 



Philadelphm, Oct. S.'), 1 838. 

 J. S. Skinnkr, Esq., — Sir, — There is one sub- 

 ject which I should be glad to see more frequently 

 discussed in your truly valuable paper, and that is, 

 the growing offo'xst and ornuiiitntal trees. Wojd, 

 both for firing and timber, is yet so plenty, ihnt 

 apprehensions of want on that score are not ad- 

 mitted into our bosoms, and the planting of trees 

 for ornamental purposes is but little attended to, 

 since our men of fortune have removed their fam- 

 ilies to town for the summer. This must not be, 

 sir; wood in the maritime districts of many of the 

 states is getting to be very scarce; half a century 

 will exhibit many continuous tracts of thousands of 

 a.;rcs, as bare of shrubbery as any part of England. 

 As the population of our country becomes dense, 

 our demand for wood will be proportionally in- 

 creased. A hundred millions of people will re- 

 quire more than ten times the quantity wanted for 

 present consumption. We have it in our power to 

 prepare ourselves with an artificial growth of wood, 

 to meet the eviuiescence of the natural forest. We 

 may surround our pastures with lofty trees ; we 

 may clothe the brows of our rocky hills, and the 

 areas of our " dismal swamps" with a growth of 

 wood which shall meet the wants of posterity, if 

 we but study adaptation and arborical philosophy. 

 You have done much for agriculture, sir : so much, 

 that when I obtain a seat in Congress! my first 

 motion shall be for a grant to you, as liberal as that 

 made by the British government to Forsyth for his 

 '• comnusition." You have it in your power to press 

 upon the attention of your readers, the subject in- 

 troduced in this letter, to the obtainment of a great 

 deal of useful information, and I doubt not very 

 much to the furtherance of arboriculture. 



The little attenti'-n given to the planting of 

 trees, I attribute to the ditSculties attending it. 

 We have no treatise, strictly practical, to enlight- 

 en us, and our ov n judgments, (as in the infancy 

 of every science,) unassisted by litlp, will carry us 

 to lame results. To grow trees is generally sup- 

 posed an easy task. We stand under the shade of 

 the horse chestnut and oak, and because they giil 

 some iilteen feet, and shade half a rood of earth, 

 we fancy it is as easy to raise them as to crack one 

 of their nuts. It is not so ; the most tender 

 species of the geranium, or the azalea, may be 



grown with fifty times more ease than many of the .') Heech masts are most successfully planted, 

 trees that shoot an hundred feet into the air. An when they naturally fall from the tree, in autumn,, 

 author, qucted by Deane, says, " Not one in a huii- and should be slightly covered, 

 dred of the acorns planted by me in the month of 0. 1 have planted ash keys in April. A few 

 October, came up." I planted fifty horse chestnuts ; came up the first summer, butninetynms hundredths 

 two of these only vegetated. of them did not vegetate until they had lain in the 



The great difficulty is to get the seeds of trees ground a twelvemonth. The white likes a kind 

 up ; some lie a year in the ground before they loam ; the black, wet and gravelly locations.— 

 sprout, some a few weeks only. Some should be Those which came up the first season, and which 

 sown in the fall, and some in the spring. Some , have grown two seasons, are from two to three feet 

 trees like a wet soil, some prefer the driest; some 

 will grow in an atmosphere highly impregnated 

 with saline qualities ; to some, such properties of 

 the air are instant death. Now, sir, in order to 

 bring out your friends and readers, I propose the 

 following queries : 



I. Jt'hat is the best manner of groioing — 



1. The maple, (acer.) 



2. Horse chestnut, (jEscuIus.) 



3. Birch tree, [Bttuln.) 



4. Common chestnut, (Castanea.) 



5. Beech tree, [Fagus.) 



6. Ash, (Fraxinus.) 



7. Walnut, (Inglans.) 



8. Tulip, [Liriodendron.) 



9. Mulberry, (Moms.) 



10. Pines and firs, [Pinus.) 



11. Buttonwood, (Planus,) 

 19. Oaks, (QufrcHS.) 



13. Locusts, [Robina.) 



14. Elm, {Ubnus.) 

 If they are best raised from seeds, at whrt time, 



with what preparation, and in what manner should 

 these seeds be sown, and what should be the after- 

 culture of the seedlings ? If there be a better 

 method than by sowing the seeds, what is it ? 



II. H'hat trees are best calculated for my residence ? 

 It is within a mile of the sea, upon an eminence, 

 where it receives the winds that sweep the whole 

 expanse of the Atlantic. The soil of a portion is 

 thin, sandy, but free ; another portion, loamy and 

 free ; a third swampy. 



An answer to these queries is respectfully re- 

 quested. Nothing can excel the importance of the 

 subject. It is in our "maritime frontier" where 

 the scarcity of wood will be first felt ; it is upon 

 that frontier where I intend, in the ensuing spring, 

 to put into operation the knowledge I may acquire 

 relating to arboriculture. I doubt not I shall be 

 able to furnish your readers with useful hints on 

 the subject. 



Reply of Judge Buel. 

 « # * * * 



1. The soft, or white maple, sheds its seeds in 

 May. On the SSth of May, 1827, I had a quantity 

 of the seeds gathered and immediately planted. — 

 They grew two feet the first summer, and many of 

 them, which were placed in nursery rows last 

 spring, are five and si.x feet high. This is one of 

 the quickest growing trees we have, particularly 

 on moist and wet soils, to which it is particularly 

 adapted. It is ornamental, and makes good fuel 

 after it has become partially dry. 



2. I have repeatedly planted horse chestnuts in 

 April, with unvarying success, and have nearly 

 four thousand growing, of diflTerent ages. The on- 

 ly precautions I would suggest, are, to take care 

 tint the nuts do not b(!come heated and rancid, and 



high. 



7. 1 have not planted any walnuts but the black 

 kind. They were put in the ground in autumn, 

 and vegetated freely, 'i heir growth is rapid since 

 the tw<i first years after planting. 



9. Seeds of the mulberry may be planted on a 

 bed of fine mould in May. I have hundreds, and 

 probably thmisamis, from ten to fifteen feet high, 

 the seeds of wliich were sown in the spring of 1806. 

 They will soon c<mstitute a fine hedge, where pro- 

 tection from winds is desired. 



11. The seed of the buttonwood may be gathered 

 any time during ths winter or spring, and sown in 

 April. I sowed in the spring of 1827, and some of 

 the plants are now four to five feet high. This 

 tree may also be propagated by cuttings. 



13. 'I he common locust (robinia pseudo-acacia,) 

 is propagated by seeds and succors. The seeds 

 are surrounded by a glutinous shell imper-'ious to 

 cold water. They should therefore be steeped in 

 water nearly, or quite at the boiling point, and 

 sown when you plant beans, as the plants are, 

 when young, very sensitive to frost. When once 

 established, it is difficult to eradicate them, as they 

 send up sprouts wherever the root is sundered or 

 bruised. They are of quick growth, and consti- 

 tute a valuable timber. 



The glutinous resembles the common in its ap- 

 pearance, habits and rapid growth, and is eiiually 

 prolific in succors. It flowers beautifully, but mine 

 have not produced seeds. 



The three-thorned or horny locust, as it is called, 

 (gtedischia,) grows freely from seeds, sown in the 

 s|>ring. I have planted some thousands of these 

 in hedge, with a strong confidence of their proving 

 an excellent plant for live fence. Their growth is 

 rapid, and the wood very hardy and compact. 



14. I gathered and sowed the seeds of the elm 

 on the same day (28th May,) that I did the white 

 maple. The best plants are now from two to four 

 feel high. 



I have had no experience with the birch, chest- 

 n.it tulip, pine or oak, and am only commencing 

 my experiments upon the firs; and shall therefore 

 say nothing of the manner of propagating them, e-^c- 

 cept to observe that nature is the best guide in 

 these matters. Follow her laws ; plant wlieii the 

 seed falls from its parent tree, and we shall seldom 

 fail of success. Michaux's North American Sylva, 

 maybe consulted by your correspondent with profit. 

 Your correspondent seems to be in the condition 

 of a political candidate for office, perched on an 

 eminence, a mark for every angry wind that blows. 

 I advise him to remove into the vale, out of the 

 reach of the envious elements; or if this cannot be 

 done, to encircle his villa with all the variety of 

 trees that will grow upon his grounds, and by no 

 means omitting fruit trees and evergreens. They 

 may be thinned and fashioned to his taste as they 

 advance in growth. The seeds of all he has enu- 



thal they are not covered with too much earth. — ; nierated, and many other.s, may be easily procured ; 

 From one to two inches is the proper depth to ' and the expense of nurturing the young plants will 

 plant. They are fond of a rich, tenacious soil. ' not be felt. J- B. 



