27 



trees can be grown in the poorer soil of the knolls, and some 

 varieties, notably the ash and aspen, seem to flourish there. 



GROWTH FROM SEEDS. 



The work with tree seeds has been very unsatisfactory the 

 past two years owing to drouth at the critical time of germina- 

 tion, and to the pest of cut worms, which destroy the young 

 seedlings. Last fall seeds of choke cherry (Prunus Virginians.) 

 were planted in all the blanks of the even numbered plats from 

 2 to 16 inclusive The seed germinated well in the spring, but 

 while the little plants were less than two inches high they were 

 all destroyed by cut worms. The choke cherry is a slow grower, 

 and succeeds in partial shade, arid it was thought it would make 

 a more complete leaf canopy with the larger forms, besides at- 

 tracting birds with its fruit. 



Early in the spring a large quantity of box elder and green 

 ash seed, which had been frozen over winter, were sown in drills, 

 and germinated well, but all were destroyed while in the seed 

 leaf by cut worms. 



In districts where the cut worms are numerous, it would seem 

 inadvisable to plant seeds, as there is no known way in which to 

 prevent the distruction of the seedlings by the worms, especially 

 if they are planted in drills or where the trees are to stand in 

 the forest plat. It is probable that in the course of a few years 

 the pest will pass away, when it will be again advisable to sow 

 seeds. Meanwhile the planter will find it more economical to 

 buy seedlings. 



Conifer seed planted early, failed to germinate. Shortly after 

 the seed were sown dry weather came on, and this was doubtless 

 the reason. 



.b'or the purpose of comparison, a table of average growths of 

 varieties in plats, 1 to 10 inclusive, for the years 1889, 90 and 

 91 is here given. All the figures are averages, determined by 

 measuring a number of leading branches 011 the trees showing 

 the greatest, least and average growth, and working from these 

 data. They will not therefore correspond to the figures in the 

 notes. 



