Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 395 



rails as twenty years. This maybe, and is nndonljtedly true of oak and 

 some other kinds of rail timber, but good cedar and chestnut rails, if 

 barked in season, will last until they wear out with use, or from hfty 

 to 100 years or more. There is in our flat agricultural county at 

 least one-lifth of the land not well adapted to farming purposes, and 

 in hillj^ countries a much greater proportion, owing to various causes; 

 but it is much better adapted to the growth of valuable timber, and 

 would be more remunerative in the end at the present prices of lumber, 

 if properly planted with valuable forest trees, and cultivated a few 

 years where practicable, until the young timber can get a start and so 

 take care of itself. Our friend Lyman selects the locust, rock maple, 

 black walnut, Eui'opean larch, and, especially on rocky lands, the 

 locust and rough bark hickory as the best and most valuable. In 

 planting trees for timber especial regard should be had to thei*apidity 

 of growth of the tree, the value of the tree when grown for fencing, 

 building, and other purposes, and its durability when exposed to the 

 weather. Locust wood is heavy and ver}' durable, and the trees are 

 of rapid growth when young, but are liable to be attacked with borers 

 in the body and limbs, so that many of the young trees fail ; where 

 they do succeed it requires an age to grow to a size for building 

 purposes, and besides they never grow to make large timber. The 

 black walnut is healthy and grows to a large size, but not in an 

 ordinary lifetime ; is about as heavy as the chestnut, is porous, and 

 much more sappy, consequently that part is not durable when exposed 

 to the weather. I knew a tree that w^as cut down in 1S22, and the 

 heart of the stump remains perfectly sound yet ; being forty-six years. 

 The wood of the European larch may be very durable, and has been 

 highly recommended, especially by nurserymen having the young 

 trees for sale. The tree grows straight, tall, and very rapidly while 

 young, but will require an age to make timber of much size; and the 

 wood when grown is very light. The shellbark hickory will require 

 a much longer time to grow and the wood is very valuable for carriage 

 building and other purposes, and the nuts command a good price in 

 the market ; but the wood is not durable unless seasoned and kept dry. 

 I have no doubt but the profit of growing the best forest timber on 

 inditferent land will much more than equal that of any farm crops 

 grown on such land, if properly planted and taken care of a few years ; 

 but the length of time it will require to get returns for the loss of 

 land, cost of plantifig and cultivating, will deter some from embarking 

 in the enterprise, especially those with small means. Although our 



