From the Genesee Farmer. 



TREE PLANTING. 



A correspondent in Hannibal asks for some in- 

 formation on the subject of planting forest trees ; 

 the inot^t valuable kinds ; the best methods of grow- 

 ing them, &c. &c. Mr R. will find in l\\e former 

 volumes of the Farmer several papers on the rear- 

 ing of forest trees ; but as the subject is one of 

 great interest, and very many of our present sub- 

 scribers have not seen theforiner volumes, we shall 

 giva some general principles in as condensed a 

 form as possible, confident tJiat a large proportion 

 of our readers will find it for their interest to culti- 

 vate and plant trees to a greater or less extent. 



The objects in planting trees are various, and the 

 end to be gained should be kept steadily in view 

 in all the operations. Trees are wanted for timber, 

 fruit, fence, fuel, and for ornament ; and the plant- 

 ing must be conducted with reference to these 

 things. For timber, the oak and the elm are the 

 most valuable ; for fences, if rails are wanted, the 

 chestnut will give the quickest and most durable 

 growth ; if wood for posts is desired, the locust or 

 mulberry are probably as good as can be found ; 

 the several kinds of maple or walnut make good 

 fuel ; and for oi'nament there are none superior to 

 the locust or maple, both of which are valuable in 

 other respects. Evergreens have not as yet been 

 grown in this country to any extent ; but it is pro- 

 bable the planting of pines, larches, spruce, and fir 

 trees, in locations suitable for their growth, would 

 be advisable. 



Observation shows that different trees demand 

 soils of different and peculiar qualities ; some flour- 

 ishing best on dry and some on wot land ; some on 

 clayey and some on gravelly soils ; and others on 

 soils in which the component parts are so mixed as 

 to give a good farming soil or loam. The oak and 

 the chestnut will grow well on tlie same soil, 

 though e.'camination shows that the soil in which 

 the latter comes to the greatest perfection is more 

 sandy, or contains more siliceous matter, than that 

 in which the oak reaches a similar state. So the 

 pine will grow W^th the chestnut or oak ; but to at- 

 tain its greatest size, requires a soil a little differ- 

 ent from either. It is remarkable, tliat some trees 

 that flourish in the very lightest soils, will also 

 grow in the densest swamps. Thus, the pine is 

 not unfrequently found by the side of the cypress, 

 ■while it cannot be made to grow on lands that are 

 hard and clayey, though dry and elevated. Soils 

 the most suitable for the oak and chestnut, are not 

 the best for the maple or eltn, the last of which, 

 ■with the ash, flourish well together, the black ash 

 excepted, which will grow nowhere ■ except in 

 swamps, or rather swales. It is only by ascertain- 

 ing the nature of the soil we wish to plant, thatw-e 

 can determine the kind of tree most suitable for 

 propagation, and this any farmer, who is an ob- 

 server of the soils on which the several kinds of 

 trees naturally and vigorously crrow, can decide, 

 without the aid of any chemical or mechanical ana- 

 lysis whatever. It would be absurd to plant the 

 white oak in a morass by tiie side of the cypress, or 

 the chestnut in a stiff clay, or hard-pan bottom, 

 with the maple or elm ; and the locust and mul- 

 berry require a loose gravelly soil, or the trees will 

 be weak and the wood inferior. 



The preparation of any soil for planting trees is 

 simple and plain. It must be made deep, and loose, 

 and rich. If the nursery ground on which the 

 seeds are to be sown is unlike that in which the 



trees are to stand, or which is proper for them, it 

 should be brought by artificial means as near that 

 state as possible. Thus, if too heavy, it must be 

 trenched or drained ; if not friable, deep ploughing 

 or spading must be resorted to ; if containing too 

 much clay, gravel or sand may be added ; and if 

 not rich enough, or deficient in vegetable matter, 

 manure or mould must be added till it is of the qua- 

 lity desired. If the plants are to be raised from 

 seeds, no matter what the kind may be, the earth 

 must be made fine previously to sowing, and the 

 plants must be regularly hoed free from weeds. 

 Top dressings of compost forked in between the 

 rows will keep the land in good heart, and greatly 

 accelerate their gTo\vth. In these respects, the 

 treatment of fruit and forest trees does not essen- 

 tially differ. 



'Ihe time of planting the seeds from which the 

 trees are to be grown, is usually the spring of the 

 year, and always as early as the ground can be 

 prepared for their reception. There can be no 

 doubt, that in most cases, if the seeds could be pre- 

 served against worms, mice, &c. during the winter, 

 it would be better to plant them in the fall of the 

 year, as they are greatly aided in germinating by 

 the action of the frost. The seeds of trees require 

 but a shallow covering, merely enough to keep 

 them from the air ; as those that fall upon the 

 -earth, and are scarcely buried, if not otherwise dis- 

 turbed, rarely fail of growing. The oak, walnut, 

 chestnut, &c. are examples of this. Three years 

 since we allowed the butternuts that fell from a 

 tree growing in a grass plat, to lie where they fell. 

 They ■were undisturbed through the winter, and 

 when the grass was fit for mowing, the young trees 

 occupied the whole ground. They were allowed 

 to stand ; and the next year, ive transplanted from 

 that spot to a nursery, more than five hundred trees, 

 nearly all of which are now living and vigorous. 

 All seeds, nuts, acorns, &c. intended for planting, 

 should be carefully kept from heating, by being 

 spread after gathering, and kept cool and dry until 

 wanted for putting into the earth. Some have ad- 

 vised putting seeds in sand and preserving them 

 dry and from tlie air in this way ; and if the sand is 

 pure and dry, it may answer, but if there is any 

 dampness, the seeds will sprout or mould, and be 

 rendered unfit for planting. 



The maple, elm, and ash, are usually grown in 

 this country from plants transplanted from the 

 woods, as they can generally be found in sufficient 

 numbers, particularly where lands have been par- 

 tially cleared, and then by being enclosed, suffered 

 to grow up again to timber. They may, all of 

 them, however, be grown from the seed, sown in 

 beds, and then transplanted to nurseries for culti- 

 vation, till their final transplantation. Where oak 

 or chestnut lands are found, there is no difficulty in 

 perpetuating these trees, as they spring up from the 

 roots of the trees that are cut down, or from seeds 

 already in the earth. Nothing more is required 

 than to keep such lands fenced, until the young 

 timber is beyond the reach of cattle or sheep. On 

 what are called beach, and maple, and ehn timbered 

 lands, we frequently hear complaints that no young 

 timber grows up : and the naked state of such 

 woodlands proves the necessity of devising some 

 way of growing young timber to take the place of 

 that which decays by age, or is cut out for timber, 

 fuel, or other purposes. Nothing is wanted for 

 this but to keep the woodlands enclosed, so that no 

 animals shall be allowed to feed in them. If the 

 seeds that vegetate are allowed to grow, there will 



> SEPT. II, 1839 



be no want of young trees in any of our woodlands ; 

 if cattle or sheep can have access to them, they 

 will certainly be browsed down and destroyed. 

 Let those who wish to grow young timber in their 

 woodlands, (and all who have not a large supply 

 should do this,) pay attention to this, and they will 

 in a few years find their grounds fully occupied. 



There is some difliculty in • taking trees from 

 woodlands, and putting them in cleared lands; but 

 if proper precautions are adopted in the removal, 

 such as taking as many of the fine roots, and as 

 much earth as can be made to adhere, they will 

 generally succeed. Trees may be transplanted in 

 the spring or fall, as best suits the convenience of 

 the farmer. They will succeed any time after the 

 year's growth of wood is completed, and before the 

 next summer's growth begins. Evergreens ■will 

 best boar transplanting later in the season. A va- 

 riety of experiments seem to prove, that they will 

 do better as late as June than earlier in the season. 

 As such trees, growing in woodlands, have usually 

 but few fine roots, the custom has been adopted in 

 Europe, and tried with success here, of cutting 

 around the young tree at the distance of two or 

 three feet, a year or two before removal, in such a 

 way as to divide all the principal surface roots, and 

 thus cause the formation of a great quantity of fine 

 and vigorous roots near the body. The tree is 

 then lifted from the earth, without disturbing the 

 earth on the roots, and is transplanted in perfect 

 safety and certainty of growing. 



As in the propagation of the atones producing 

 fruit trees, such as the cherry, plum, and peach, the 

 seeds germinate with more certainty after freezing, 

 particularly in our latitudes ; the stones should be 

 planted in the fall of the year, and but slightly co- 

 vered with earth, that this preliminary process may 

 be ensured. In some instances where it was not 

 convenient to plant in the fall, the benefits of freez- 

 ing have been gained, by mixing them up with wet 

 earth in a proper vessel, and having them frozen 

 through the winter in that state. The danger of 

 being destroyed by vermin may be thus avoided, 

 and if put into properly prepared ground in the 

 spring before germination commences, they vege- 

 tate with about equal certainty. 



MILK SICKNESS. 



A gentleman at tlie west has announced, that he 

 has discovered the cause and the cure of this formi- 

 dable disease, which has been so destructive in 

 some parts of the western states, at)d has, in some 

 few instances, destroyed or driven the inhahitants 

 from some of the most fertile sections of the coun- 

 try. He is claiming considerable sums from the 

 state legislatures for the promulgation of hia sper 

 cific, and should there be no hurabuggery about it, 

 he will certainly be entitled to a handsome reward, 

 in those states where the losses from this cause 

 have already been so great. 



There are no traces of a similar disease in any 

 other part of the world ; and in the United States 

 it has been principally confined to Tennessee, Ken- 

 tucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, though it is be- 

 lieved some few instances have occurred in Wis- 

 consin, and west of the Mississippi. A multitude of 

 speculations have been made as to the probable 

 cause of this fatal complaint, both among medical 

 men and others ; and there is scarcely a poisonous 

 mineral or plant to which it has not in turn been 

 attributed. Public opinion at the west seems to 

 have settled on tJie opinion, that it was produced by 



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