62 FARM rORESTRY 



wood for lumber for one purpose or another — chestnut, white 

 ash, yellow poplar, red oak, black walnut, American elm, and 

 sugar maple are hardy trees and can be planted generally. 



For fence posts a tree that furnishes a durable wood should 

 be selected. Red cedar, white oak, black locust and chestnut 

 have been valuable fence post trees. Red cedar and white oak 

 are of too slow growth to grow for this purpose and the black 

 locust and chestnut cannot be recommended for general plant- 

 ing because of the insects and diseases that attack them. 

 Catalpa has been planted generally, but has seldom been suc- 

 cessful. It succeeds only on the best of soil and moisture 

 conditions. European larch is subject to the saw fly. There 

 are but few other trees of durable woods that can be recom- 

 mended. Honey locust, coffeetree and osage orange have 

 durable woods and can be widely planted throughout the 

 region. Almost any tree could be grown for fence posts if 

 the wood were durable. Cottonwood is probably the fastest 

 growing tree that could be planted, but as fence posts the 

 wood will last but 2 or 3 years in the ground. Such wood 

 can, however, be given a preservative treatment, as explained 

 in a subsequent chapter. When so treated a perishable wood 

 will last much longer usually than the most durable of woods. 



FOREST PLANTING IN E.\STERN REGIONS 



The Spruce Region. — This region comprises the northern 

 part of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and the Adiron- 

 dack and Catskill Mountains of New York and the surround- 

 ing hilly lands. Red spruce is the predominant tree, growing 

 pure and in mixture with hardwoods and other conifers. 

 Beech, birch and maple are the chief hardwoods, and besides 

 the red spruce are found white and black spruce, hemlock 

 and balsam fir. The topography is rugged. In the northern 

 portion, because of the excellent natural reproduction of the 

 spruce, it will be relied on to reforest cutover areas. Where 



