Nov., 1912.] ANNUAL REPORTS. 33 



REPORT OF DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY. 



J. H. FOSTER. 



The Department of Forestry at New Hampshire College was established 

 September 1, 1911. The appropriation by the Legislature for this depart- 

 ment for the two ensuing years was $7,000. The department afterwards 

 became a part of the Experiment Station and has taken part in the correspond- 

 ence and extension work during the past year. 



All expenses of establishing the department and of maintaining it until 

 July 1, 1913, are paid from the state appropriation. No Experiment Station 

 funds have been used during the past year, and the work of the department 

 has necessarily at first been largely confined to the development of forestry 

 teaching at the college. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1912, an allot- 

 ment of $100 was made from the Hatch Fund for experimental work in forestry 

 and this will be used during the present year. 



Experiments in the raising and planting of forest tree seedlings were begun 

 last spring. The object of such experiments is to determine what species of 

 trees either native or introduced are most adaptable to New Hampshire con- 

 ditions; to determine the cost of raising the seedlings in nursery beds and the 

 cheapest and most satisfactory methods of reproduction of these species in the 

 field by transplanting the nursery stock and by various methods of direct 

 seeding; also to study the growth and yield of second growth woodlots of 

 important economic species. 



The work was begun by planting the seed of white pine, western yellow 

 pine, Scotch pine, Douglas fir, European larch, long leaf pine, Norway spruce, 

 white spruce, Arizona cypress, catalpa, black locust, honey locust, red 

 oak, and black walnut in prepared beds and by planting 5,000 two-year-old 

 seedlings of white pine, European larch, Douglas fir, and Norway spruce in 

 nursery rows for larger stock to plant out another year. The seed planted 

 in beds is now one year old and will remain in the beds another year. The 

 two-year seedlings are now three years old and most of them will be planted out 

 next spring. Next spring additional beds will be si arted and experiments in 

 planting out will be definitely begun. 



The results of the nursery work are extremely favorable for Douglas fir, 

 European larch, white pine, Norway spruce and Scotch pine. Douglas fir, 

 Scotch pine and European larch appear to be more vigorous and more easily 

 raised from seed than any of the other species used this year. It will be inter- 

 esting to note the condition of their giowth as compared with white pine, 

 Norway spruce, and other commonly planted trees when permanently es- 

 tablished in the field. 



The only field planting carried on last spring was in Davis Park in Lee 

 where 500 three-year-old white pine transplants, 100 two-year-old black 

 locust, 100 Russian mulberry, and 100 American linden seedlings were set 

 out in rows six by six feet. The results on this thin, rocky soil were not satis- 

 factory owing to an extremely dry period of six weeks following the planting 

 and to the fact that cattle have done some damage by trampling and brows- 



