I 3 6 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



March 



soft maples produce an inferior article 

 of sugar. There is another tree, an al- 

 lied species, the one known as the Ash- 

 leaved Maple, Box Elder, or Negundo, 

 from which sugar can be made, and 

 which has been planted to some ex- 

 tent in Canada on account of its rapid 

 growth; but it is inferior in both the 

 quantity and quality of its product. 

 Hence, in making a plantation the selec- 

 tion of trees should be confined to the 

 Hard Maple. 



By setting out the young plants 20 feet 

 apart there would be 550 trees on five 

 acres, or 1,100 trees on ten acres. The 

 trees would do well even if planted 

 closer, and there would still be ample 

 room for the driveways necessary for the 

 team and gathering tub. The saplings 

 having been set out, the underbrush 

 should be allowed to grow for a few 

 years, in order that the falling leaves 

 may enrich the soil and retain the 

 moisture needed for a rapid and thrifty 

 growth. 



In making a plantation for timber 

 trees, White Pine, for instance, the 



skillful forester sets his young seedlings 

 closer, beginning with spaces of four 

 feet, or 2,700 plants to the acre, and 

 making thinnings from time to time. 

 But, whatever thinnings may be made, 

 the forester always seeks to preserve a 

 somewhat crowded condition, so that 

 the trees will shed their lower limbs 

 and thereby make timber as free from 

 knots as possible; also to force the trees 

 to take on height at first instead of di- 

 ameter, and to secure a tall, slightly 

 tapering shaft with a small crown. 



But in starting a plantation of maples 

 for sugar-making a different object is to- 

 be obtained, and a different method 

 should be pursued. The trees must be 

 wider apart, and such crowded condi- 

 tions must be avoided. Thinning will 

 not be necessary. A large, leafy crown, 

 with wide-spreading branches, and a 

 shorter, thicker tree trunk is desirable. 

 The greater leaf surface will require a 

 larger flow of sap, and the greater diam- 

 eter of the tree trunk will permit more 

 sap spouts if needed. Right here some 

 scientist may suggest that leaves do not 



EVAPORATING MAPI.E SAP IN A SUGAR SHED. 



