FOREST CULTURE IN ILLINOIS. 505 



War Department, we have given this matter close attention, in its con- 

 nection with the horticultural interests. — (J. Coclirane^ Havana, Mason 

 County, Illinois.) 



A committee of the Northern Illinois Horticultural Society, at a ses- 

 sion held in December, 1SG7, recommended the following list of ever- 

 greens as suitable for cultivation in that region : 



For timher-helts : White piue, Norway pine and spruce, Scotcli pine, Austrian pine, 

 and American arbor vita;. 



For high screens : Norway spruce and American arbor vita?. 



For screens of moderate height: Siberian arbor vitse, Norway spruce, American arbor 

 vit:ie, hemlock, and red cedar. 



Oniamenfal specimen trees : All the foregoing, and the white, black, and red spruce, 

 Ficea pichta, Cimbrian pine, Finns mitis, Irish and Swedish jui^ipers. 



Shrubs: American yew, tamarix-leaved aud Waukegau trailing juniper, savin, 

 Finns magnus, Finns jinmilis, aud Andromida floribundi. 



An experimental station, begun at the Illinois Industrial University, 

 reported, February 29, 1872, 7 acres as planted with 36,749 trees, at a 

 cost of $433.48 for trees, $106.72 for planting, and $42.83 for cultivation ; 

 total, $583.03. The kinds planted were the white and green ash, catalpa, 

 chestnut, white elm, European larch, white maple, Osage orange, Aus- 

 trian and Scotch pines, white walnut, and white willow. The land 

 lilanted with each kind was generally a quarter of an acre, but more 

 with white ash and larch. Distance apart, 2 by 4 inches, except the 

 pines, which were 4 by 4. The catalpas and white elms were all living, 

 and but 2 per cent, of the green ash, white maple, Osage orange, and 

 white willow died. But 1 per cent, of white walnuts and 5 per cent, of 

 white ash were lost. Half the chestnut and three-fourths of the 

 larch perished, aud but 2 per cent, of the pines lived. The white grub 

 (the larva of the May beetle) did great injury, especially to the larch 

 and white ash, girdling the roots below the surface. The loss of the 

 pines was attributed to dry weather.^ 



In 1872, 10,083 trees were planted ; the larches and pines from E. 

 Douglas & Sous, Waukegan, 111., and the others grown on the premises 

 at Champaign. The percentages living from both years' planting, at 

 the end of 1872, were as follows: Catalpa and white elm, 100; white 

 walnut, 99; green ash, while maple, white willow, Osage orange, and 

 !N^orway spruce, 98; white ash, 93; European larch, Austrian pine, and 

 white pine, 30; Scotch pine, 20; chestnut, 4. The white grub had 

 again done much injury, especially to the larch. It was found to be 

 less affected on high land. The chestnuts mostly winter killed. The 

 Osage orange was promising to become one of the most valuable trees 

 for that latitude, and both this and the catalpa, when cut close to the 

 ground in order to get a good straight growth, had succeeded well. 



N'otes on the cultivation of some of the more valuable deciduous forest trees 

 of Illinois, hy Arthur Bryant, of Princeton, Illinois.^ 



It is remarked by Mr. Bryant that deciduous trees make up the na- 

 tive forests of Illinois, the few pines and cedars that occur not being worth 

 taking into account. To produce tall, straight, clean timber, it must be 

 grown thickly while young, and lands designed for timber-planting 

 should be plowed, harrowed, and marked out in rows four leet apart. 



The most important class of deciduous trees in the country was that 

 of the Cupuliferce, including the oaks, chestnut, and beech. The most 

 valuable species are the white oak, burr oak, swamp white oak, post oak, 



^ Fifth Report of Trustees of Illinois Industrial University, p. 95. 

 ^ Transactions of Illinois State Horticultural Society, 1870, p. 124. 



