60 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AVcrST 29, 1S38. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 



WOODLANDS. 

 That the woodlands of our country have de- 

 creased, and are decreasing to a most alarming ex- 

 tent, no one can doubt ; and when we remember 

 the great quantity of wood annually required for 

 fuel, fencing, and building, and see little or no ef- 

 fort made to supply the loss, we feel that the sub- 

 ject of planting trees for timber as well as for or- 

 nament, cannot be too earnestly pressed on the at- 

 tention of the owner or cultivator of the soil. The 

 great difficulty in any undertaking of this kind ap- 

 pears to lie in the time that will be required be- 

 fore any actual return can be realized from the 

 capital required to be invested. Men should, how- 

 ever, remember that all their thoughts and their 

 labors should not be for to-day, but that true great- 

 ness of mind takes in the future as well as the 

 present; contemplates the wants of posterity as 

 well our own ; and if money alone is the object of 

 exertion, finds by matter of fact calculation, that 

 lands planted with timber will in thirty years pay a 

 better interest, than the same amount expended in 

 state stocks. 



In any arrangements respecting woodlands, the 

 firstcare of the farmer or land owner should be to 

 save what he has, and place it in the best condi- 

 tion for increase. No matter v/hat the kind of tim- 

 ber may be ; experience shows that where wood- 

 lands are protected, young trees will rapidly spring 

 up to supply the place of those taken away, and 

 that either from seeds, or from suckers springing 

 from the stump or the ro.->ts, the drain will be more 

 than supplied so far as number is concerned. — 

 Where lands left for wmd are allowed to be a 

 thoroughfare for cattle and sheep, the growth of 

 young timber is impossible. The shoots are de- 

 stroyed as soon as produced, and all tiie efforts 

 of nature to supply the waste must be in vain. — 

 When it is desirable to produce a thick growth of 

 young timber in a grove or wood lot, let it be thor- 

 oughly enclosed, and there can be no doubt as to 

 the result ; in a few years thinning will be requir- 

 ed instead of planting, and it should too be remem- 

 bered that in this case, the timber grown is of the 

 kinds adapted to the soil, stands where it is 

 wanted, and can be multiplied to any desirable 

 extent 



But in many cases it is requisite to plant new 

 varieties, and where new woodlands are to be com- 

 menced, a knowledge of the kinds best adapted to 

 the soil, or the purposes intended, whether fuel, or 

 timber, should be obtained. In such cases recourse 

 must be had to seeds, unless nurseries of forest 

 trees are at hand, which can hardly be expected 

 where planting to any considerable extent is to Be 

 performed. The seeds of forest trees have been 

 divided into five varieties, the most of which re- 

 quire different soils, and different treatment in pre- 

 paring and planting. 1st. The farinaceous or nut 

 seeds ; such as the oak, chestnut, beech, walnut, 

 elm, maple, and basswood, sycamore and ash; with 

 many shru'bs, such as hazel, alder, &c. 2d. Hard 



In England, where for hundreds of years great 

 attention has been paid to planting and growing 

 timber, and where there are probably more artificial 

 woodlands dian in any other country of the same 



pean publications, as little attention has, as yet, 

 been paid to this method of propagation in this 

 country. 



Basswood, Tilia Americana. Seed to be sown 



extent, it has been found by experiment that the in Autumn, in moist, light soil ; but the usu 



fir, the beech and the birch, succeed best on sandy 

 moor soils, incumbent on shale, or siliceous sand 

 of great depth. The pine, larch, spruce and syca- 

 more will succeed on an inferior sandy soil, incum- 

 bent on shale or coarse gravel. The sycamore 

 will, however, flourish in almost any place not too 

 cold, for its presence on our richest intervals proves 

 that richness of soil is no obstruction to its growth. 

 The oak, chestnut, whitewood, &c. grow rapidly on 

 a soil light siliceous, if incumbent on a damp, 

 clayey subsoil ; but the soil that brings these trees 

 to the highest state of perfection, is a clayey loam, 

 incumbent on a clay subsoil. Some of the finest 

 oaks and chestnuts in England are growing on a 

 soil of which the analysis is as follows: — 

 Coarse gravel, partly calcareous, 40 



Fine Sand, 190 



Carbonate of lime. 



Decomposing vegetable fibre, 



Silex, 



Alumina, or pure clay. 



Vegetable extracts, oxides of iron, salts, &c. 



16 

 14 



90 

 30 

 20 



400 

 The soil best adapted to the elm, maple, ash and 

 horn-beam, is one damp, clayey, and incumbent on 

 clay, or composed mostly of coarse siliceous gravel, 

 silica, and alumine. The maple accommodates it- 

 self to a greater variety of soils than most other 

 trees, and is found in western New York, on al- 

 most all kinds, excepting the most light and sandy, 

 or those based on shallow covered calcareous 

 rock. 



By paying a little attention to the soils on which 

 any kinds of timber are growing naturally the qual- 

 ity of the soil on which the planting of any desired 

 variety of tree intended may be known at once ; 

 and if a soil is found on which most of our forest 

 trees, such as the oak, chestnut, whitewood, bass- 

 wood, white maple, walnut, black walnut, &c. are 

 growing or have grown together, it will be found 

 the best for almost any new variety of forest tree, 

 as such soils are usually deep, and made up of in- 

 gredients suitable, in the main, for all. In gener- 

 al it may be remarked that where the soil is good 

 for wheat, there the oak, chestnut, and tulip tree 

 will flourish ; where the soil is adapted to corn, 

 there the sycamore, locust, the walnuts, and some 

 of the elms will succeed; and that on all soils 

 where spring grains are found the most profitable, 

 the white elm, ash, maples, and the hardier ever- 

 greens will be the best. The pine, the locust, the 

 maple, and the oak, require diflerent soils, as die 

 slightest observation of their natural growth will 

 show ; and though trees will make great efforts to 

 accommodate themselves to any soil, yet where 

 planting is to be performed, those the most suita- 

 ble to the soil, and which will be of the most value 

 in the particular location should always be pre- 



seeds, or stones enclosed in pulpy fruit Of this 

 class are tlte cherry tree, pear, crab, thorn, moun- 

 tain ash, and others. 3d. Leguminous or bean 

 seeds, of which the Locust (yellow and honey) and 

 the laburnum, are the only varieties of forest trees 

 or shrubs. 4th. Light seeds, under which may be 

 enumerated the poplar, smooth elm, and the tree 

 willows. 5th. The resinous seeds, or those belong- 

 ing to the spruce, pine, and fir trees. 



ferred. X^\c surest guide in such matters is to fol- 



low nature. Where it is desired to timber low 

 lands, the cypress, black ash, swamp pines, and 

 trees of this class, will be always available, ac- 

 cording to circumstances. 



In selecting as trees for cultivation in woodlands, 

 a few which are valuable for fuel, timber, or me- 

 chanical purposes, our directions for the time of 

 sowing seed must be mostly derived from Euro- 



mode of propagation is by layers. Basswood, like 

 the chestnut, throws up abundance of suckers from 

 the stump, and where woodlands are protected no 

 other means of increase are required. 



W Ai.yx:T, Jugla lis ; including the common wal- 

 nut, hickories, black walnut butternut and pignut 

 ' Preserve the nuts till the latter part of winter in 

 their outer covering after which they may be sown.' 

 Slightly covered in the ground, and left to freeze 

 through tlie winter, these nuts usually vegetate 

 without difficulty. We have raised several hun- 

 dred plants of the Juglans cathartica simply by al- 

 lowing the nuts to lie in the grass where they fell 

 from the tree, and transplanted them after one year's 

 growth. 



Maple, Acer. — 'The seeds should be preserved 

 in dry sand till spring, and then sowed early ; but 

 should the soil be dry and free from the attacks of 

 vermin, it is advantageous to sow as soon as tlie 

 seeds are ripe.' In this country transplanting from 

 the forest will most probably be the easiest method 

 of obtaining this beautiful and valuable tree, which 

 deserves cultivation to a great extent 



Locust, Gliditschia and Rohinia. — The seeds of 

 the locust were formerly among the most difiScult 

 and uncertain of vegetation, sometimes lying in the 

 ground two years. But by gathering the seeds 

 when ripe, preser\'ing them till the spring, and then 

 pouring boiling water upon them, and allowing 

 them to remain till swelled, they will grow with 

 certainty. The soil for a locust nursery should be 

 warm and deep ; and the tree itself will flourish 

 best in a gravelly and moderately rich soil — cold, 

 wet, clayey grounds are unfit for the locust It is 

 a tree of rapid growth, and tlie excellence of its 

 timber is well known. 



Ash, Fraxinus. — The time of sowing the seeds 

 of the white or black ash, is in autumn, or as soon 

 as ripe, and the plants will frequently appear the 

 the same season. If the seeds are kept over the 

 winter, it should be in dry sand ; and they should 

 be sown as early as the ground can be prepared 

 for their reception. 



Whitewood, Liiiodendron, or tulip tree. — The 

 seed must be sown in the spring, in a light soil. 

 This tree grows quickly, has beautiful foliage, and 

 fine flowers, and its wood for many purposes is 

 is ranked next to pine. 



Poplar, Popidus. — All the varieties of poplar 

 may be propagated by cuttings, suckers, or layers ; 

 the first mode is generally preferred. The poplars 

 are of rapid growth but are unfit for fuel. Were 

 it not for this fact some of the varieties of the 

 poplar would be the most valuable trees for wood- 

 lands that could be selected. 



Birch, Betula. — The seed may be sown in au- 

 tumn or spring, but must be kept in dry cool sand 

 from the time it is ripe till sown. The black birch 

 is the most valuable of our varieties, being of quick 

 growth, excellent for fuel, and a valuable timber 

 tree. Russian leather owes its durability, and its 

 freedom from the attacks of insects, to an enipyreu- 

 niatic oil obtained by burning the bark of the 

 birch tree in kilns constructed for that purpose. 



Oak, Quercus. — Sow the acorns in November, 

 or if kept till spring, lay them on a cool dry floor. 

 We have this season seen hundreds of young oaks 

 sprung from acorns that lay where they fell last 



