64 PRACTICAL fUGGESTIONS UPON TREE-PLANTING. 



jKJsit every autumn, create a deep, rich mold that benefits the earth much more than 

 useless shrubbery. 



Thus, trees planted on impoverished fields, \rill, as they grow, fnmish the earth an- 

 nually with a portion of vegetable nutriment, and the land, while it sustains a valua- 

 ble forest of wood, is continually growing richer, and fitted for cultivation v.heu the 

 wood shall be taken oil'. — Transaciiona of Hoc. for Promotion of Jg., Arts, and Alanufac, 

 2d ed., I, 321. 



PLA2v'Ti:>G OF OAK. 



As the oak is deemed tbe most valuable timber that is planted, the 

 methods of cultivation Lave been carefully studied, and diflerent sys- 

 tems prevail among foresters. It will be admitted that an oak started 

 from an acorn and left to grow on the spot, receives no check in its 

 growth as do transplanted trees, takes deep hold from having a good 

 tap-root, and seldom needs pruning. But the extreme liability to de- 

 struction of the acorn by squirrels and mice is the greatest obstacle to 

 success, and leaves the alternative of transplanting from nurseries as 

 the surest and, frequently, Ihe best method. 



We often see in a transplanted fruit tree the top die down and sprouts 

 appear from the root, one of which, if spared, may become a vigorous 

 tree. This is very liable to happen with the oak in ble-ik and exposed 

 situations, and foresters sometimes anticipate this by cutting them over 

 by the surface of the ground after they have been planted a year, so a^ 

 to develop new shoots, one of which is saved. 



In sheltered situations this becomes needless, and no time is lost in 

 bringing forward the shoot as soon as possible. 



The managers of government forests in England, where oak is being 

 raised for the royal navy, rear the trees from the acorn, and the trees 

 are found to grow for the first lew years more rapidly than if trans- 

 planted. 



Much difference of opinion has prevailed as to the distance at which 

 young oaks should be ])lanted ; in fact, as many views have been ex- 

 pressed as there are dilierences of circumstance, and each in its place 

 may be best. It is often of advantage to grow other timber witb the 

 oak, and for this the fir has been planted in Scotland with best results, 

 and this in exposed situations becomes essential as a shelter till the 

 oaks attain a size to take care of themselves. In such a case, a distance 

 10 to 12 feet apart for the oaks, and the same for the firs, making the 

 distance between trees of alternate kinds 3^ feet to 4 feet. The hrs are 

 cut out in a few years. It is thought that, besides the shelter thuji 

 gained, the oaks grow more rapidly with this mixture of young ever- 

 givens among them. {Broicn^s Forester, i). 304.) 



With the oak, its value depends rather on the quality than the length 

 of its wood, and for ship-building (its principal use) a straight trunk is 

 sometimes less prized than one of a proper curve, ix'ow this wood can- 

 not be grown of best quality unless free access of air is allowed, and 

 hence dense plantings are not economical. 



James Brown, a Scotch writer, mentions two lots of oak timber, one 

 one hundred years old, with 200 trees to the acre, that sold for £360, 

 and another of ninety years old, with 109 trees, that brought £868. 

 The latter had grown with free access of air, and had an abundance of 

 bends tit for ship-building. But such trees growing low, and with 

 spreading branches, do not yield so much bark for tanning, and for this 

 use a dense, tall coppice is best for quantitij^ although its quality is not 

 equal to that of wood grown in open places. 



Oak grown in free air weighs almost double that from a dense shade, 

 and its bark contains more tannin. 



