1900. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



169 



use them economically have probably 

 been made since earlier times and with 

 more consistency than in any other. Its 

 problem is not so much that of arousing 

 public opinion, for a large body of people 

 are already interested and ready to exert 

 themselves in improving the forest condi- 

 tions of the. Commonwealth. Forest work 

 can also be carried on more intensively 

 there than in other States, and it is possible 

 to give much more attention to aesthetic con- 

 siderations. Hence to educate those who 

 have charge of trees in the right ways of 

 taking care of them is one of the chief 

 objects of the Massachusetts Association. 

 It is the purpose of the pamphlet which 

 it has just issued, and which is described 



by its" title, "^Practical Suggestions for 

 Tree Wardens." This pamphlet contains 

 advice about carrying out the provisions 

 of the law of 1899 which determined the 

 powers and duties of the tree warden; 

 general directions for pruning and plant- 

 ing, with recommendations regarding lit- 

 erature, nurseries, etc. ; and finally ends 

 with some statements regarding insect 

 pests and their treatment. The hope is 

 expressed that the wardens will see the 

 value of cooperation with the Association, 

 and it is pointed out that "such sugges- 

 tions for changes in the present laws as 

 are dictated by the experience of the war- 

 dens will be of much value to the Associa- 

 tion Committee on Legislation." 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Planting White Pine Seedlings. 



To THE EDITOR OF THE FORESTER, 



SIR : I send the following description of 

 a plan for planting White Pine seedlings 

 which I have been using for some time, and 

 which has been a great success. My idea 

 was to find a method by which planting 

 could be carried on at any time in the year 

 when the ground was free from frost, and at 

 odd times when best suited to the planter. 

 In the spring I bought 4,000 White Pine 

 seedlings six inches high and potted them 

 in four-inch neponset paper pots, using 

 well-worked rich soil. They were then 

 placed in the shade, under apple trees on 

 the north side of a barn. They were well 

 watered from time to time, and when 

 rooted and started in the pots as many as 

 convenient were carried to the woodlot 

 and planted. As the paper pots are light 

 a large number can be carried with ease. 

 Their bottoms are made in such a way 

 that the roots soon protrude through unin- 

 jured, and pots and all can be placed 

 in the ground without disturbance to 

 the young trees. The manner in which 

 the pots are put together is such that they 

 soon become loosened and then rot apart. 

 I have planted in dense sprout growth and 

 pasture land under bushes in the shade. 



Thus have the seedlings been protected 

 from sun and drying winds. 



How far this method could be carried 

 in extensive plantations I do not know, 

 but it has solved the problem of planting 

 at odd times all through the summer at 

 small expense, without loss of seedlings. 

 With an ordinary trowel I have planted 

 one hundred pots in an hour, and thus far 

 no trees have died. Any number of pot- 

 ted trees can be carried to future planta- 

 tions and left in places near the field of 

 planting, to be placed in the soil when 

 convenient. The pots are so small that 

 even when wetted they weigh but little. 

 My trees cost me here potted about .8 cents, 

 we having done the work ourselves, which 

 may seem a large sum ; but the ease with 

 which they are transplanted and the small 

 number lost in the process well offsets this. 

 I trust that this will prove of enough in- 

 terest to your readers to have a notice 

 made in your paper. A neighbor of mine 

 who owns a woodlot of some thirteen 

 acres that has been cut is now planting 

 with Pine seedlings by this method, I hav- 

 ing proved to him that it was sure of suc- 

 cess. He is a man of small means and 

 can plant but one day a week. 



HENRY BROOKS. 

 LINCOLN, MASS., June 25. 



