1 62 



Garden and Forest. 



[NtTMBER 374. 



Magnolia parviflora, of China, deciduous-leaved species 

 with beautiful, fragrant, cup-shaped flowers, are both 

 hardy here and delightful garden-plants ; and all the pre- 

 cocious-flowered Yulan race grow and flourish here with 

 as much freedom as in the gardens of China and Japan, 

 spreading, when all deciduous-leaved trees are still bare of 

 foliage, marvelous clouds of snowy white or purple bloom. 



The contributions to the Parkman memorial, of which we 

 spoke last week, have already been so liberal that the suc- 

 cess of the project is put beyond question. It is the desire 

 of the committee, however, that as large a number of peo- 

 ple as possible should be allowed to assist in this work. 

 Francis Parkman inspired his readers with feelings akin to 

 personal affection, and all who desire to manifest this sen- 

 timent of regard ought to be allowed to help in this com- 

 memorative work. Indeed, the committee have reached a 

 point where they would prefer to receive the contribution 

 of a single dollar, if it is given with enthusiasm and affec- 

 tion, rather than a much larger sum from one who sub- 

 scribes simply to be in the fashion. We repeat that contri- 

 butions of any amount can be sent to Mr. Henry L. 

 Higginson, 44 State Street, Boston. 



Forestry and the Abandoned Farm. 



IN the "Descriptive Catalogue of Farms in Massachu- 

 setts, abandoned or partially abandoned," issued by the 

 State Board of Agriculture, are descriptions of farms con- 

 tainmg considerable land growing up to forests. The 

 woodlands are referred to after this manner, in the list of 

 descriptions of farms : " It is estimated that there are si.xty 

 tons of hemlock bark on the place." " Estimated that there 

 are 200,000 feet of lumber on the place." "I think there 

 is $2,000 worth of wood and timber on the place, princi- 

 pally pine and hemlock." "It is estimated that there are 

 over 2,000 cords of wood on the place." 



Believing that in the future, perhaps in my own time, 

 these cheap lands of New England may be valuable as 

 timber preserves, if nothing more, I entered into corre- 

 spondence with a person who advertised in the catalogue 

 referred to, a property of 330 acres in Berkshire County, 

 on which were 195 acres of woodland. I had simply a 

 forestry investment in mind. Last November, therefore, 

 having occasion to go to New England on other business, 

 I took the opportunity to visit this farm, which is only 

 about twenty-five miles from my birthplace. 



The place was owned by a man who is now farming in 

 Kansas. Seven years ago he suddenly packed up his goods 

 and left his old home deserted, and went west. He was 

 prosperous in New England, and left his buildings in good 

 condition. Since then they have been untenanted. This 

 farm was first offered for sale at $1,200, and the price was 

 gradually reduced to $700, as no one would buy. There 

 are two houses on it and three barns, one house and two 

 barns being in fair condition. The buildings are located 

 on'the summit of a magnificent hill, with a very easy ap- 

 proach, from which is obtained a mountain view of great 

 beauty. The buildings stand in the midst of a large amount 

 of smooth meadow and pasture land. The many acres of 

 grass land are unusually free of stone, and a mowing-ma- 

 chine can be used to advantage over it all. 



Back from the pasture and tillable fields, surrounding the 

 entire property, is the forest of various stages of growth. 

 I spent the best part of a day tramping through the woodland 

 and looking into its possibilities. The trees are mainly 

 White Ash, Yellow Birch and Sugar Maple. There is also 

 some Spruce and Hemlock. White Ash predominates, and 

 many trees have a diameter of si.x inches. The latest clear- 

 ing on the farm is growmg up to Beech. Although not 

 specified in the description, there was an additional 

 wood lot of forty acres, and that was "thrown in" with- 

 out increasing the price. 



This farm of 361 acres, containing over 225 acres of 

 woodland, I bought for $700, about $1.90 per acre, in- 



cluding five buildings, three of which can be put in good 

 repair with a slight expenditure of money. The woodland, 

 however, was the main consideration. Though believing 

 that this property might at least pay four per cent, on the 

 investment, before buying I discussed the wisdom of such 

 a purchase with two men who ought to be capable advisers. 

 One of these is a well-known farmer in a Massachusetts 

 town, and an old friend of mine, who has had large expe- 

 rience in woodland property in New Hampshire and Mas- 

 sachusetts. He expressed it as his opinion that such wood- 

 land would prove a good investment, and stated that he 

 already had bought and was holding some 200 acres of just 

 such property. His advice was to buy by all means. The 

 other person with whom I consulted was the Chief of the 

 Forestry Division of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, Mr. B. E. Fernow, and his opinion was also favor- 

 able to the purchase of the land. There is certainly no 

 great risk involved, inasmuch as one can easily get nearly 

 1,000 cords of wood from the property now. 



Here is a farm, within four miles at its nearest point of 

 a station on the Boston and Albany Railroad, on a decent 

 highway, with a fair set of buildings, with plenty of good 

 arable land and excellent future timber resources, selling 

 at a lower price than land can be bought for anywhere in 

 the west to-day — and this in the very heart of civilization. 

 The scenery gives spacious views of the character well 

 known in Berkshire County. A beautiful mountain lake is 

 only half a mile away. Lenox and Stockbridge are each 

 less than fifteen miles distant. 



Why has such a place lain vacant so long.? So far as I 

 can ascertain there are only two serious objections against 

 this as a home. First, its isolation ; secondly, the snows 

 of winter. The post-office, church and railroad station are 

 four and a half miles away, and it is a mile to the nearest 

 neighbor and the school. In winter the snow accumu- 

 lates to a great depth, and sometimes it is difficult to travel 

 across country on account of the drifts. 



But land can be bought here cheap, and it seems to me 

 that this is a good time to buy these woodlands when so 

 little invested will buy so much. Our forestry problems 

 are receiving more and more attention. Schools of forestry 

 will be established soon, and we shall have trained foresters 

 in America. Notwithstanding the fact that cord wood is 

 cheap in New England to-day, and the demand is weak in 

 places, the value of American timber must increase rather 

 than decrease in future years. It is my purpose to attempt 

 a systematic handling of this woodland in order to ascer- 

 tain whether an annual source of revenue cannot be derived 

 from it. As New England was the part of our country first 

 denuded of its forests it would seem appropriate that in 

 this region the first attempt should be made to establish a 

 forestry system. It is true that some forest-planting has 

 been done on the sandy shores of Cape Cod, but the rocky 

 hills of western Massachusetts also offer a good field for 

 working out special forestry problems. The State Agricul- 

 tural College of Massachusetts is already giving increased 

 attention to forestry, and it is safe to assume that the time is 

 not far distant when, with greater facilities for education in 

 forestry, the woodlands of the state will be valued as a per- 

 ennial source of revenue. n o nj 



Purdue University. Ui Fayelte, Ind. C. O. Flumh. 



A Valuable Fruit-tree for the High North. 



XTAST territories of the North American continent, such 

 ' as Northern Canada, I^ritish Columbia and Alaska, 

 comprising tracts as extensive as several European 

 kingdoms, are outside of the geographical range of the 

 common fruit-trees. No practical method has yet been 

 proposed for the acclimatization of fruit-trees in the high 

 north, and hitherto there has not been much prospect of 

 the discovery of any new fruit-tree especially adapted for 

 these cold regions. 



Fortunately, we have a new fruit-tree now which is 

 suited to the gardens of the icy north, a tree that is abso- 

 lutely hardy and produces unfailing crops of delicious and 



