278 



CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



EXPERIENCE WITH FOREST TREES. 



By a. D. Ferrier. Fergus, O.nt. 



I WILL give you a few lines relating 

 my experience regarding Forest 

 Trees. In the year 1835, when I fixed 

 on a site for my house close to Fergus, 

 I determined to save some of the trees 

 around the said site. As I was present 

 daily, I got my choppers to leave such 

 middle-sized trees as I fancied, and a 

 few young ones, and I took care that 

 no burning or logging was done to 

 injure them. All the trees so pre- 

 served did well except the Beeches, 

 which died out ; and the rest, except 

 two or three blown down by gales of 

 wind, consisting of Elms, Maples, Bass- 

 woods, and a few Iron-woods, can be 

 seen at this day. I did not plant any 

 trees till about twenty years after, and 

 since then, now and again, I have 

 planted out a good many. For shelter 

 I planted Norway spruce and Canadian 

 spruce, which seems almost identical 

 with the Norway spruce, and Balsam 

 Fir and white Pine, and these almost 

 never failed. For beauty I have 

 planted out Elms, Maples, Basswoods, 

 British Limes, Tamarac or Larch, and 

 Scarlet Cherry ; besides the various 

 kinds of Poplar. I generally planted 

 in April or May or October, and when 

 I planted I gave each tree some water 

 in the hole, and a watering on the sur- 

 face, and then a mulch of straw, and 

 left them to their chance. I kept the 

 ground close to the tree clear of grass 

 and weeds for three or four years, and 

 then they are safe, as a rule. One 

 thing, however, is absolutely neces- 



sary ; the ground must be well fenced, 

 as cattle take delight in destroying the 

 young trees. Of course, I got most of 

 my trees from the woods for the trouble 

 of digging and carrying them, but I 

 raised a good many elms in my garden 

 from seed dropped from the old trees 

 adjoining. I got Norway spruces and 

 Lime trees from various nurserymen, 

 and I raised some Austrian pines from 

 seed. The Poplars are all hardy, but 

 greedy of land, and throw out long 

 roots, which send up young trees far 

 and near, so I don't care much for 

 them. The Hemlock is very pretty, 

 but tender, and so is the Butternut, 

 although both grew in the bush when 

 clearing first began. The common 

 Cedar is pretty, and hardy too, and 

 both it and the Larch can be trimmed 

 with the shears into handsome shapes. 

 The common purple Lilac will grow in 

 any soil, and makes a nice hedge, but 

 is very greedy, and spreads fast. 

 The Cedar mates a nice garden hedge 

 and shelter. I never raised trees for 

 sale, but I pruned a small round clump 

 as high as 1 could reach with my saw, 

 and when they were about fifteen years 

 old I thinned them out, and got a lot 

 of good larch, oedar, and fir posts. I 

 always prune ofT the lower branches of 

 the young fir trees and larches for 

 about three years, and the hardwood 

 trees I prune close for about seven 

 feet above the ground. The borer 

 attacks Maples, Basswoods, and Limes, 

 but does not touch the elm. 



