Forest Trees for Waste Lands. 349 



sons who would like to purchase, can be accommodated by the in- 

 ventor, or David Lamdrcth and Sons, of Philadelphia, Pa. 



FOREST TEEES FOR WASTE LANDS. 



BY L. DURAND. 



Tee subject of growing forest trees for waste lands has been 

 talked of for some years past, while it has b(,'en put in practice 

 by some farmers. Still it is a subject that requires a good deal 

 of study and attention, and it needs and wants some go-ahead 

 farmer in every farming township, to lead off in this business of 

 improving waste, poor lands, by growing forest trees upon them. 

 Now almost exevy farmer in New England, will find that if he 

 has many acres, say from Qfty acres to three hundred on his farm, 

 that more or less acres will be found of poor, thin, gravelly knolls, 

 often rocky, with steep hill sides and low pastures capable of 

 growing, as they are, not much but five-finger vines, stramonium 

 and rattle-box weeds and plants. On most of such waste lands, 

 the situation is such that they cannot be plowed to any advan 

 tage, although many such soils have been " killed " in years 

 past, by this process of plowing, washing, bleaching and drench- 

 ing by the rains and atmosphere, with little or no grass growing 

 in the mean time, so that the soil is little better than a waste 

 moor. Then, again, but few farmers can get or spare manures to 

 put on such soils, so what is to be done, for it is certain that such 

 waste lands are an eye sore to any farmer who is favorable to im- 

 provement ? First, on many such soils young forest trees will 

 spring up naturally if the land is left undisturbed for a few years. 

 If this be the case, the plow should be kept out entirely, and the 

 young sprouts left to themselves, though sheep may have a range 

 in the old pasture, and young cattle, after the trees get to bo 

 four and five feet high. About all the attention such trees want, 

 will be to trim them up occasionallj^ and cut up the brush. 



If they should come up too scattering, the open spaces should 

 be filled up with transplanted trees from the forest. In the lines 



