138 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[September, 



tured plants are safely hung in tbeir appro- 

 priate barns to undergo the process of curing. 

 But as the tobacco shed or barn has been 

 vastly improved during the last ten or fifteen 

 years, and as no really first class seed leaf can 

 regularly be cured and further manipulated 

 without a barn constructed purposely to this 

 end and on certain well recognized scientific 

 principles, there is a most important part of 

 the tobacco grower's art left untold. For the 

 present at least it must remain so, so far as 

 the writer is concerned, although the subject 

 of tobacco barns, curing the leaf and prepar- 

 ing it for tliQ market may at some future pe- 

 riod form the subject of several other chap- 

 ters on tlie great agricultural industry of to- 

 bacco growing. — New Era. ' " 



*FORESTRY. 



It may jjerhaps l)e worth while to call yoiu' 

 attention to the fact that although a great 

 deal has been said and written about forestry, 

 and we seem to know all aboiit it, very little 

 indeed is understood of its relations to the in- 

 dustries of the human race, and of our own 

 comforts and conveniences ; and nothing com- 

 paratively has yet been evolved to remedy 

 this wantonness that we feel exists in regard 

 to forestry destruction. It is really the fore- 

 most in importance of all our industries. We 

 can scarcely conceive of anything being done 

 without timber. Yet we find the State foster- 

 ing and protecting the iron interest in various 

 shapes and forms, and nothing done to foster 

 the basis of all industries. We cannot even 

 liuild a railroad without timber. We must 

 liave timber for sleepers— especially for ties— 

 and various other matters in connection with 

 the laying of the rails. We'must have timber 

 for the coaches, the freight cars, the trucks, 

 the cabs on the locomotives, the depots, the 

 elevators and there are a number of other 

 ways in which timber is required in order to 

 carry .on our railroad tratfic. We boast of 

 what we havedone with the telegraph, and 

 yet without timber for the poles we would be 

 sadly in want of the magnetic message-bearer, 

 We could scarcefy follow the simplest branch- 

 es of agriculture without timber. If the farm- 

 er were without timber, although he might be 

 able to drive his plow made altogether of iron, 

 and his harrow and his cultivator, yet it 

 would be impossible to go far without it. In 

 fact it would be impossible to do without 

 timber. It is absolutely essential to the exis- 

 tence of man on the globe ; and yet many 

 States have done comparatively nothing for 

 forestry, this great industiy the basis of other 

 iudustries. I think it is wrong, perhaps, to 

 say that our State has done nothing. We have 

 been for years talking about the necessity of 

 doing something. I remember Governor 

 Ilartrauft speaking to me on the subject sev- 

 eral years ago, and saying that he was beset 

 on all sides about forestry culture; "but," he 

 says, "no one tells me what to do. I have 

 asked again and again what to say, and what 

 should be done, and no one has apian." I 

 believe the only thing that lias been suggest- 

 ed and the only thing acted upon by the Leg- 

 islature was that those who planted trees on 

 the roadside should be relieved from the pay- 



*An address by Thomas MeeTian, delivered before the 

 Summer Meeting of the State lioard of Agriculture at 

 Williamsport, on Jung 8th, 1881. 



mcnt of road taxes, or heaping the dirt on a 

 pile, with two ridges alongside of it. Now, 

 in regard to the timber interests, the basis of 

 power for various industries, to relieve the 

 threatened famine by planting trees on the 

 roadside seems puerile beyond measure. It 

 seems to me if anything is done, it shoidd be 

 usefully done; and that appears to be the in- 

 tention of this Committee on Forestry. 

 What Has Been Done in the United States. 



The United States has clone perhaps more 

 for forestry than this State, or all the States 

 have dor e. But even there we find a want of 

 knowledge of what should be done. It has 

 resulted, as in Pennsylvania, in very little 

 good ; and what has been done has been done 

 in such a dead way, that its results are not at 

 all commensurate with the demands for 

 forestry culture. There are some States, for 

 instance, which granted rights to the owners 

 of farms and other people — rights to those 

 who plant timber trees on their sections of 

 land in the West. Though that may in course 

 of time meet the wants of part of the West, it 

 will apaount to nothing for those who are 

 here. It will not meet the wants of the 

 whole of the West. The common ailanthus 

 tree, voted a nuisance here, and of little value 

 anywhere, has been planted in the Western 

 States, on condition of giving people land who 

 plant timber there. Many such illustrations 

 might be given to show that what has been 

 done, has been done ignorantly or unwisely. 



Now, the time has arriyed when we can do 

 something more than has been done by the 

 United States, or any other State. In this 

 connection, I think it would be well to con- 

 sider what other nations, held to be much 

 less enlightened, than we are, are doing. 

 Germany has done more than we. The Em- 

 pire of Japan has done an immense amount 

 towards fostering the timber interests of that 

 country. I have here a book that shows 

 small sections of every species of timber which 

 is cultivated or grows wild in that country, 

 giving cross sections and longitudinal sections 

 cut from the actual wood, and all the infor- 

 mation about the wood that can be desired. 

 The books are furnished by the Japanese gov- 

 ernment free to those who ask for them, and 

 placed where those who desire them can get 

 them. This in the interest of thetimbergrowth 

 of thatcountry. I have also a work in my hands 

 from the Australian government, showing the 

 various kinds of trees that may be of value if 

 introduced into Australia. We have nothing 

 like this in this country. The English gov- 

 ernment considers this of great value, and 

 introduces and circulates the work among the 

 inhabitants of the British colonies. As illus- 

 trating what kind of information they give, 

 I will read a little of what this tells about 

 oaks ; and we can gather much ourselves in 

 regard to our own oaks and forest trees, 

 (issued at the expense of the British govern- 

 ment,) beyond anything that has been pub- 

 lished by our own State or our own people. 

 Here, for instance, is the information it gives 

 about " the pin oak or marsh oak (Quercus 

 palustris, DuRoi) of North America ; height, 

 80 feet ; of quick growth. The wood, though 

 fine-gi-ained, is strong and tough. It is orna- 

 mental for furniture on account of the strong 

 development of medullary rays. " '' 



Some Valuable Trees. 



These facts have been gathered about trees, 

 and select extra tropical fruits, by Baron 

 Ferd. Von Mueller, who is employed espe- 

 cially by the government to gather these to- 

 gether. He says of the willow oak : 



"The Willow Oak (Quercus Phellos Linne) 

 of the Eastern States of North America. The 

 acorns are available for faod, like those of 

 several other species — for instance, Q. glabra 

 (Thumb) of Japan. A variety of closely- 

 allied species is the single oak, Q. imbricaria, 

 Mich. The comparative value of the very 

 cis and trans- Atlantic oaks, but little as yet 

 understood for avenue purposes or timber 

 plantations, should be tested witli care in bo- 

 tanic gardens. The timber is valuable. Even 

 recently oaks have been discovered on the 

 mountains of New Guinea." 



Then he goes on to speak of our chestnut 

 oak, so abundant about Williamsport, and 

 other parts of Pennsylvania.' He says of it: 



"The North American swamp oak or 

 chestnut oak (Querous Prinus, Linne). A 

 tree 90 feet high, stem up to 1.5 feet in girth, 

 available for wet localities. Foliage decid- 

 uous. Wood strong and elastic, of fine grain; 

 according to Porcher it is easy to split and 

 not hard, used for building purposes, also 

 cooperage. A red dye is also produced from 

 the bark. The bark is one of the most impor- 

 tant among oak barks for tanning, fnrnishing 

 a very solid and durable leather. Querous 

 (Wild.) is closely allied to Quercus Prinus; 

 trunks have been measured 30 feet in circum- 

 ference," 



Then another question is— 



•' What Kinds are Best Grown ?" 

 As I have said, a great deal of that to take 

 its place naturally will not be that which we 

 want. But if we sliall make that inquiry, 

 and widely publish the answers, we will have 

 brought attention to the best kind that will 

 grow. But tliat will require a vast deal of in- 

 quiry, and also require experimental know- 

 ledge. There will be new kinds of trees to 

 be introduced; laws of pruning to be under- 

 stood; the whole art of Forestry to be intelli- 

 gently learned; and it will be a matter of ex- 

 pense to find out exactly what kind of trees 

 would do best here and there, and which ex- 

 pense the State governmout ought to bear. 



It has been found, as a general rule, that 

 plants induced to take the place of those ex- 

 hausted in one period do not thrive better 

 than others. Even with our common weeds, 

 we find those introduced from Europe are 

 crowding out the old, and becoming the most 

 luxuriant. So with various varieties of vege- 

 tation. The most of the common weeds we 

 have nov, which are so troublesome in our 

 agriculture, are nearly all foreigners, brought 

 to this country, and they have set themselves 

 to work so vigorously as to crowd some of the 

 natives almost entirely out of existence. The 

 common buttercup, the dandelion, the ox-eyed 

 daisy, the ma3'-weed, or wild chamomile, are 

 almost all foreign plants that have been in- 

 troduced here, and thrive better than any- 

 thing we have in our own native flora. And 

 so with trees. Trees of Asia and Europe 

 which could be introduced here might grow 

 far better than those that are already indi- 

 genous to the soil. So th^t is an important 

 question. Many members will know from 



