NEW ENGLAND FAKMEK. 



OL. V 



PublUhed by JoiiN B. Rissf.ol at No. :,> North Market «Uv. t, (opi>o»ite Fanueil Uall).-THO'«AS <- 



* ""^BOSTON, FlllDAY7jA^iUAKY 26, 1827. 



'"1S^27. 



I tl 1 (J 1 N A L t*Al^iJtiJ^j„, 



~~forT:st trees. 



AR Sill— The other queries, rcmniuing to bo 

 d, relate to the cultivation of the I'itch 

 , oJar, Cherry, and European Walnut, 

 he cones of the Pitch Pine, (Pinus Rigida} 

 1 j ho coUecteJ at the same ticne, and the seed 

 ncd and sown in the same manner, as drrected 

 lioso of ilie White Pine, in the numbers of the ! 

 ICnaland Farmer,* allnried to in my note of 

 itli inst. ; but instead of usinjt pots or ho:iCs 

 emini.rics, beds of light loamy mould are quite 

 >od. and may bo prepared as for the seeds of 

 lock Maple : hut those of the Pines should not 



red more than half an inch deep, 

 chaux states that, "whenever the Pitch Pine 

 .)W in masses, the cones are disposed singly 

 tho branches, and, as I have learned by cwi- 

 . observaiion, they release the seeds the first 

 mil after their maturity ; but on solitary stocks 

 sed to the buffeting of the winds, the cones 

 :oll.?cted in groups of four, five, or even a lar- 

 nu:nber, and remain closed for several years." 

 ii latter assertion I have in part verifiedjdur- 

 M>.' last autumn and present winter, and have 

 istpr of cones, consisting of'twelve on the end 

 le stem, which was cut from a tree in this 

 . in November. Being placed on a table in tny 

 ry, in which tliere was a fire;, the scales in:% 

 hours began to open, making a snappinsr re- 

 as each was disengaged, like timt of burning 

 lock or chestnut wood. In a few days all tlie 

 were disclosed, and readily released by a 

 ._ shake of the inverted cones, 

 rom tne peculiar form and disposition of the 

 ibr lueous wing, attached to the see. is of this, 

 of nearly all the cone bearing trees, they ac- 

 e a ra|)id rotary motion on their axis, as they 

 end to th« ground, which can be readily per- 

 ed by letting one drop from the hand, held a- 

 : the head. 



n cxamiLing, last week, the cones of the scat- 

 d and exposed trees, from which I collected 

 3 in November, I found that the scales of a 

 e portion of them had opened and the seed es- 

 but still enough remain sealed up to satis- 

 ._, that a Sufficient quantity can yet be collect- 

 in any part of the country, where the trees 

 md for forming seminaries the coming spring, 

 nd you a few gathered on the 12th insl. which 

 lowed to remain in a warm room, you will 

 }dily both hear and see open, and be able to 

 nine the symmetrical and beautiful conforma- 

 of the receptacles for these curious and deli- 

 dy constructed sesds, which those of all the 

 ■iVs of Pines, and of the other resinous or co- 

 rous trees of this country resemble, except the 

 roas, Ciipressus Diglicha, the Red and the 

 thorn White Cedar, — differing cheifly in the 

 , and but slightly in the form of their membra- 

 ■is wings. 



he Pitch Pine is chiefly used as fuel ; some tar 

 .ever is made from it on the shores of Lake 

 implain, in New .Tcrsey, and a few of the west- 



, . .i .sliites ; but that imporliiiit article is chieily 

 obtained from the southern Loug-Lcavcd Pine,— 

 Pinus Aiistridis. 



See New England Farmer, pages 57 and (15 ot 

 current volume. 



CET>Ar,S. 



The trees bearing this name in the United States 

 re the following: tiie Red C^MxT, Junij/cius Vir- 

 ,;ini(ina,—lhe \Vhite Cedar, tv.pressuif Thjnil'-s, 

 and the American Arbor Vitie or northern White 

 Cedar, Thuya QrxidtntaHs. The first and lust are 

 the only species indigenous to the New En-hnd 

 slates. 



According to Michaux, the Red Cedar is spread 

 along the sea coast of the United States from 

 M.iine to Mexico, but rarely extending further in- 

 land tlian the tide ceases to flow ; that, " the male 

 and fcnialo flowers are small, iiotcouspicuous, und 

 borne separately on the saR\e or on different stocks. 

 The seeds are small, ovate berries, blueish wlien 

 ripe, and covered with a white exudation. They 

 arrive at maturity about tlie beginning of the fall, 

 and if sown immediately, the greater part of them 

 shoot the following spring, but not befo/e the sec- 

 ond year, if they are kept several months." 



Not having raised this tree from the seed, I can 

 only give you the methods generally pursued by 

 the most approved writers on arboriculture. 



Mr Mahon, a celebrated practical gardener for 

 nearly thirty ye\irs, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, 

 *ives the following directions for preparing the 

 seeds of the Red Cedar, as well as those of the 

 ha wtliorn, me/ereon, juniper, and holly. 



" When you collect these seeds in aiitum.n, mix 

 tbcm with "e.pjal quantities of liglit sanclf okrtii, 

 ■und lay them in that slate on the surface oT a dry 

 spot of ground where they cannot be disturbed by 

 bogs, &c. ; form this mixture into a narrow, slop- 

 ing rit'se, tapering to the lop, and cover it wit!, 

 light, loose earth, two inches thick all over ; the 

 April following, turn this ridge, mixing the whole 

 together, and form it again in the same way ; re- 

 peat this again in the nonths of Jidy and August,! 

 by which the seeds in everj part will be equally 

 prepaied for vegetation. A trench must be cut 

 round this rid^fe to prevent any water from lodging 

 about the seed ; for this would rot many and in- 

 jure others, especially in the second winter, when 

 the stones would be losing their cementing quality 

 and begin to open ; for until this is effected, the 

 kernfds cannot vegetate." 



Early in the second spring prepare beds in the 

 manner recommended for the seeds of the Rock 

 Maple, and sow the berries, with the earth i« 

 which they had been prepared, but covering them 

 less than half an inch deep. If the top of the beds 

 should become dry and stiff, about the time the 

 plant,? begin to appear above the ground, they 

 should bewatered often, but gently. As tlie young 

 plants are very tender and cannot bear much heal, 

 they should be' shaded during the day in the man- 

 ner recommenilcd for young Plane, trees. The 

 Hieds must be kept clear from weeds throughout 

 the summer, and in the autumn, some rich loam, 

 nii.xed with asjies, scattered over them, and then it 

 is best to spread decoyed leaves, or tanners' bark, 

 between the plants to protect their roots from the 

 severe frosts of winter. The following April, or 

 early in May, the plants should be pricked out in- 



to beds, eigiit inches asi.ndrr i acli w»y, where 

 they must a'maiii two years nn'. then be planted 

 tout, eighteen inches apart, in rows three feet asun- 

 der ; or thi^' plants may remain in the seminary 

 tjyo years, \ind then be removed directly to the 

 nunnery ; bijl in either way they should be taken 

 up with a trowel, or. some like instrument, being 

 careful to preserve as much earth as possible about 

 the roots, ^\'hc•n planted out they should bo im- 

 mediately walened, and if it should prove very dry 

 weather, this must be occasionally repeated. 



I liave seen hedges made of the Red Cedar, in 

 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and some of the more 

 Southern States; and the Rev. Henry Colman of 

 Salem, having informed me, a few ye^ars since, of 

 a new mode of preparing the berries to facilitate 

 tiicir germination, for this purpose, which was 

 communicated to him by the lion. B. Washington, 

 I recently requested him to transmit me an ac- 

 count of it, which he has done, and is as follows : 

 " I liave no written account of Judge Washing- 

 ton's cultivation of liis hedge. When at Mount 

 Vernon, some years since, he showed me a hedge 

 which enclosed his garden, composed of the com- 

 mon Red Cedar— as well as I can remember, of 

 about eight years old, neatly trimmed, forming a 

 beautiful fence, and a sufficient protection against 

 cattle. The great difficulty in the cultivation of 

 nursery plants of the cedar, with a view to their 

 use as a live fencf«, lu^s consisted in the very slow 

 and uncertdin germination of the seed. The 

 ...eds, as you-wcdl know, are enclosed in a gelatin- 

 ous covering, Which when deposited in the ground, 

 i« liable to .Secome so hard as to prevent the 

 sprouling of the seed, so that it may be in the 

 ground for half a century without starting. He 

 informed me that his gardener had a method, 

 whicdi obviated this difficulty. He first soaked the 

 seeds in warm soap suds, and then rubbed them 

 AMth a stone like a painter's, so as to disengage 

 them from their covering ; and then planting them 

 they came up, the first year, as readily and cer- 

 tainly as any other seed." 



" I admired the appearance of his fence. He 

 informed me that it bore trimming and clipping 

 well ; its growth was vigorous and healthy ; and 

 in many par's of our country a handsomer fence, 

 since it is an evergreen, or a cheaper and more 

 •lurable fence could not be made. It has a rusty 

 appearance in winter, but in its best season, es- 

 pecially when due pains were taken in training it, 

 1 should deem it a beautiful plant." 



The Cupressiis Tliyoides is known by the name 

 of ffhite Cedar in New York, New Jersey, and 

 Pennsylvania, but in the more southern states, by 

 that of Juniper.. It is rare north of the mouth of 

 Connecticut river, but abounds in the swamps and 

 xtensive marshes of th-- Middle States, Virginia, 

 and North Carolina. It obtains a greater size 

 than the Arbor Vita?, or Northern White Cedar, 

 reaching 70 or 80 feet in height, with a diameter 

 of three feet. 



" The foliage is evergreen: each leaf is a little 

 branch numerously subdivided, and composed of 

 small, acute, imbricated scales, on the back of 

 which a minute gland is discerned with the lens, 

 lu the angle of thesn ramifications grow the <^ 

 ers, which arc scarcely visible, and which R 



