1881. 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



139 



cultivation the trees they have, which arc 

 growing, doing well and thriving, and which 

 will prove to be important kinds of trees for 

 forestry puvpo.ses. Such facts could be frathcrud 

 from members of the Board all over the State, 

 and the gathered facts circulated freely an\ong 

 those who are experimenting, particularly in 

 tree culture, could not fail to be immensely 

 valuable. 



Then again, ""Wliat kinds are most in de- 

 -mandV" That would be a question which 

 would require a great amount of inquiry all 

 over the .Stale. There arc some localities 

 where the tanning interest prevails, wliere 

 they would want varieties of trees suited to 

 their needs. There are other localities wliere 

 coach-making is carried on extensively, and 

 the demand would be for hickory and ash. In 

 other places oak would be preferable at the 

 industrial eslablishmonts. Then some furni- 

 ture esLabli.shments prefer the walnut and the 

 ash, and other industries other khids of wood. 

 The special uses of each species is certainly 

 an important question. 



Then "What soil is best adapted to certain 

 kinds?" This is also an important point. 

 The chestnut oak is adapted to rocky places; 

 the pin oak to marshes, and the white oak to 

 rich soils. So with other trees. Then trees 

 have not only eweh their soils in which they 

 thrive best, but their altitudes. Some trees 

 grow better high above the sea than on low 

 levels. All these facts would be required of 

 those who intended to pursue the timber 

 question, not only as an art but as a science. 



Then on the cultivation of timber — 

 " Can the Cultivation of Timber be Made Pro- 

 fitable ? 

 and please give your experience and opinion 

 on forest culture " in your vicinity. Tliat is 

 one of the most important of all the ques- 

 tions, for unless it can be made profitable 

 there if no use in advocating it. Some say it 

 is almost impossible to make timber profit- 

 able, for it has so loiig to grow. I think the 

 reputation that trees heve for growing slowly 

 isdreived from the experience of their growing 

 on poor soil or in thick forests. But if we are 

 going to cultivate timber different results will 

 be reached, and we shall find that timber will 

 pay in.s much shorter time than we have the 

 least idea of. I myself saw, during the last 

 five or six years, oaks not cultivated and put 

 in soil where they have been too much crowd- 

 ed by other trees gi'ow slow; but with fair 

 soil and a little attention they will grow four 

 or five feet in a season. I know of one case 

 where an oak made twelve good posts in 

 twelve good years. That was in timber 

 culture well cared for. If raised in this way, 

 in a reasonable time timber can be grown 

 ready for use. It seems to me that railroad 

 companiesjwho are interested in the growth 

 of good timber, if tliey would undertake its 

 cultivation, would find it certainly profitable 

 to them, or the timber companies here in Wil- 

 liamsport,if they would take up the cultivation 

 of timber on a sufficient area, might have trees 

 large enough to be of use in 15 or 20 years, 

 and if left for thirty or forty years, have trees 

 as large as they have now in their ponds to 

 be worked up. But of course trees must be 

 cultivated with some intelligence to be ready 

 in that short time. They would have to be 

 planted pretty much as corn is, and kept clear 



of weeds and vegetation, and of other trees. 

 Th.;n it is amaxing how fast they will grow. 

 But while they do well with good cultivation 

 in good soil, where they have rocks and hills 

 to fight and have to struggle for life— that 

 kind of timber culture never will be profitable. 

 But with the care I have indicated, the growth 

 of the trees will be so rapid that the time sup- 

 posed to be ncsessary for timber to grow to 

 proper size for market will be very ]much 

 shortened. 



There are other points to be considered on 

 the subject of profitable timber culture. There 

 are niauy [ilaces in Pennsylvania and in other 

 States where timber;will scarcely bo profitable; 

 for instance, near the large cities ; because 

 it is so much easier to bring in timber by rail 

 or water from where timber laud is not so 

 high priced or dear, with a comparatively 

 large forest within iJO to 50 minutes ride of a 

 large city, the investment, with interest add- 

 ed, would not bring as much, with the laud 

 worth now what it was forty or fifty years 

 ago— say $40 or 850 an acre- for we have lost 

 the interest on that money during that length 

 of time. But if the forest had been grown 

 upon land worth now forty or fifty dollars an 

 acre, that was worth at the time of starting 

 it, forty or fifty years ago, but four or five dol- 

 lars an acre, there would be profit in timber 

 culture. There is no interest, lost. So in 

 large tracts, where we shall be able to reach 

 them by water or by rail at no distant period, 

 timber culture would have a far better chance 

 to be profjtable; but it would have to be cul- 

 tivated as corn is cultivated, with care, and 

 the trees watched as any other crop. 



Is Timber Growing Profitable ? 



That is the kind of information the com- 

 mittee seem to bo anxious to obtain. They 

 wish to find out or determine whether timber 

 growing can be made profitable. 1 really think 

 if such facts are collected we would be accom- 

 plishing much towards the ultimate relief of 

 our people from prospective timber famine. 



There are other topics suggested by the 

 Question Committee and the Board. (Jne is 

 the objection to the cultivation of timber. 

 People say, " What are we going to do 

 against forest fires?" "What is the use of 

 attempting to raise timber in this way, if 

 we have to run the risk of having it burned 

 up ?" I think there is no way of having 

 forests protected against fires, when there is 

 much dead wood, dead leaves and dense un- 

 derbrush. When that gets under headway, 

 with all this material under the trees, there 

 is nothing to prevent utter destruqtion. But 

 those fires can be prevented by not allowing 

 the underbru.<«h to accumulate. When there 

 are only a few inches of leaves, a fire fails 

 to have any serious eiTect. I have seen forests 

 where the trees were little injured by fire, 

 though the leaves had burned up, When the 

 trees are alive as a general thing in a woods, 

 and the underbrush is kept out, there is very 

 little risk of fire from the dead leaves that 

 fall under such circumstances. With the un- 

 derbiush out, there is nothing to set fire to 

 that will do serious damage, though there 

 may be a fire nearby. Wheat timber culture 

 becomes profitable, as I hope it will be, when 

 we will cultivate as corn, and all kinds of un- 

 derbrush are prevented from growing, there 

 will be no more danger of trees taking fire 



than an ordinary field cro\). When we enter 

 into it in an intelligent way, we shall have no 

 danger from fire then. 



The question then remaining is, taking the 

 ground of timber culture being profitable at 

 pla(;es indicated. Wliat kind of trees are best 

 to |)laut ? and then we have to follow that 

 with the best mctnods of cultivation, and how 

 tocultivate them cheaply and profitably. That 

 would involve, of course, questions of prun- 

 ing, of thinning out, etc., all of which could 

 be gathered by study iu tjie way 1 have out- 

 lined. Then I have no doubt that we .should 

 have our wants very readily and generally 

 supplied. 



I really think the time will come when we 

 shall have to do something of this kind and 

 when there will have to be forest cultivation 

 in this country; that the time will soon come 

 wlien the information we ask will have to be 

 spread before the people to this end. When 

 that time comes, I have no doubt we shall 

 have all the timber we need, speedily and 

 cheaply. As tiiat time will, however, not 

 cornc within the next fifty years, we shall 

 have all the tiniber we need in a State like 

 this probably as long as any one present shall 

 live. But it is time to begin gathering these 

 facts. It takes time to digest them. 



Our Local Organizations. 



LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTURAL 

 AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The Lancaster County Ac;rieullural Society met 

 statedly ou Monday afternoon, September 5th. The 

 meetinc was called to order by the President. The 

 reading of the minutes of the last meeting was, on 

 motion, dispensed with. 



The following members were present : Joseph F. 

 Witmcr, Paradise; Henry M. Enirle, Marietta; Nf. 

 D. Kendig, Manor ; Casper Hlllcr, Conestoga ; Henry 

 Kurtz, Mt.Joy; Johnson Miller, Warwick; James 

 Wood, Little Britain; W. U. Hensel, city; W. W. 

 Griest, city ; J. C. Llnville, SadBbury ; F. R. Dlffcn- 

 derfer, city ; Calvin Cooper, Bii-d-lu-Hand ; Samacl 

 Miller, Missouri; Daniel Smeych, city; John H. 

 Landls, Manor; David W. Graybill, Petersburg; 

 Ephralm S. Hoover, Manheim ; J. Frank Landls, 

 East Lampeter; Dr. M.J.Tracy, Lancaster; C. L. 

 Hunseeker, Manheim; Washington L. Hershcy, 

 Chlckics ; Simon P. Ehy, city ; John Huber, LItltz ; 

 Peter S. Heist, LItltz ; Levi S. K«let, Manheim ; Ell- 

 wood driest city ; Israel L. Landls, city ; George D. 

 Krlder, Litltz ; Jonas Buckwalter, East Lampeter. 



The usual routine of proceedings was on motion 

 suspended iu order to listen to Mr. Samuel Miller, a 

 former resldcut of this State, but now a resident of 

 Missouri. He said of late years the fnilt crops had 

 failed in .Missouri, but they are trying it again. 

 Crop Reports. 



Henry Kurtz reported ixx>r wheat ; corn will be 

 half a crop ; clover is tolerably good ; tobacco la as 

 good as last yeai ; better In some particulars and 

 worse in others. There have been some sales ; one 

 sale was made at 25, 12, 7 and .'!. 



Johnson Miller said there was no rain during 

 August, and corn will be half a crop; wheat was 

 three-fourths of a crop ; tobacco, which was flrst- 

 class, has nearly all been sold at from 20 to 80 cents. 



Mr. Landls said corn was about two-thirds of a 

 crop; It has sulTered In consequence of the dry 

 weather ; pears and grapes are a good crop ; tobacco 

 is irregular ; the rainfall for August was only ^ of 

 an inch. 



H. M. Engle, of Donegal, reported the crops as al- 

 ready reported ; there are few late potatoes, but the 

 early crop was never better; the quite late may yet 

 be good ; young clover has died down— not killed, 



