OBSEEVATIONS OF MR. SEYMOUR. 455 



lake shore, but the top of a hill, in the low level region north of the 

 river, was covered with this timber when the country was new. The level 

 of the lake was much higher in recent geological times than at present, 

 as is shown by the beaches far up on the hill-sides, and it is probable 

 that this flat country was submerged at the time when this hill-top of 

 red cedar was an island in the lake. 



Lewis County. — Extensive tracts of white pine formerly occupied 

 the broken saufly soil in the eastern part of this county, but most of 

 this, valuable for lumber, has long since disappeared, and the region has 

 been overrun by fires, to the great injury of the soil. There are still ex- 

 tensive forests of hemlock and hard woods in the eastern part, but some 

 eight or ten extensive tanneries are using up the former quite rapidly. 

 The western part of the county is an elevated i^lateau region, in some 

 places swampy, and here also are extensive forests of birch, hemlock, 

 spruce, beech, maple, &c. The central part has been cleared many 

 years. A line of cedar swamp originally existed many miles along the 

 west side of the river, and a part of this remains. Thrifty groves of 

 young white and Norway pines occur in some places in the eastern part. 



A tract of white pine several hundred acres in extent, in the town 

 of Greig, was cut off about 1820. It is now a dense forest, the trees 

 being IL' to 18 inches in diameter, very tall and straight, and valuable 

 for spar-timbers, for which purpose it is being again cut. It is estimated 

 that the white pine in this soil and climate comes to full maturity in 

 eighty to one hundred years, and it is observed that when this period 

 is passed, the decline is rapid, and timber, if neglected, will soon per- 

 ish.— (^. B. H.) 



Letter from tlie Hon. Horatio Seiimour, of Utica, Oneida Coimty, N. Y., 

 giving his observations and experience in forest-tree planting. 



Utica, December 29, 1876. 



My Dear Sir : Absence from liome and ill-health have prevented me from writing to 

 yon before this about forest trees. I have been in the habit of cultivating them foi 

 many years, and I have watched their growth with interest. I have raised them both 

 for useful and ornamental purposes. 



Of course the kind of tree yon select must depend upon the object you have in view. 

 Of our native trees the best for ornamental purposes are the elm, the basswood, the 

 white pine, and the hemlock, and sometimes the maple. The last should never be put 

 in streets or places exposed to horses, &c. 



The bark of the young tree is thin, and if it receives any hurt or injury it will never 

 get over it. It may live for a number of years after it is hurt. But in the end the 

 inside wood will rot, and it will either break off from the winds or slowly perish. 

 It is also liable to be attacked by the borer and other enemies. I know that more 

 maple trees have been set out in the city of Utica than stood upon its site when it was 

 a wilderness. Yet I do not know of a healthy tree of the kind that has reached any 

 size. It is strange that people will continue to set out this tree in streets and exposed 

 places in the face of these results. 



The elm is a fine tree for ornamental purposes, but it sometimes sends its roots out 

 too far and becomes hurtful to yards and gardens. The basswood is a fine tree, with 

 clean, fresh foliage, and it will outlive almost any injury. As you know, it will grow 

 wben the inside is so hollow that they are sometimes cut down to be used for leach- 

 tubs. The ash grows slowly, puts out its leaves late in the spring, and loses them 

 early in the fall. 



The finest evergreens for ornament are our own white pine and hemlock. None of 

 the foreign varieties will compare with them. They are graceful in their forms and 

 foliage, and are more admired by Europeans than any of the trees of this country. 



The Norway spruces are miserable affairs, and can be rarely used with a good effect. 

 They grow rapidly when young, but become ragged and thin when they get to be any 

 size. Their effect in groups is bad, as their sharp tapering tops give them a weak, in- 

 effective aspect. We have a great variety of minor trees, such as the striped maple, 

 with its green and black bark. The mountain maple, with its great bunches of scar- 



