FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERN'S OF INDIANA. 57? 



under consideration. A large manufacturing firm at South Bend has 

 established near that city a walnut plantation of one hundred thousand 

 trees, and these trees are expected to be of marketable size within 

 thirty years. An inspection of the trees last summer, the plantation 

 having been under way for several years, confirms this opinion. The 

 plantation is on high land, in relatively thin soil which rests directly 

 upon sand and gravel, an apparently unfavorable condition, and yet 

 the trees were of good size and of thrifty appearance. 



If the black walnut is used for reforestration, the nuts should be 

 germinated before planting. As soon as the seedling makes its appear- 

 ance the nuts should be planted, preferably in rows, and just covered 

 with loose earth. Close planting will tend to develop long-trunked 

 forms, while greater spacing will give a low-branching, short-trunked 

 form. As seedlings appear they may be thinned out from time to time 

 as occasion demands, or vacant places may be reset, thus insuring the 

 desired trunk form. The seedling walnuts need shade during their 

 earlier years, as do the seedlings of most trees, and therefore the 

 planted area should be carefully protected against browsing animals 

 of all kinds for at least five years, in order that the protecting under- 

 growth may become established. Beyond an occasional clearing of the 

 n order to prevent crowding out by more rapidly growing forms, 

 and the care needed to secure the proper trunk form, no cultivation is 

 required. 



The sugar maple is another form that establishes itself quickly in 

 almost any soil of the State, and, although a somewhat slow grower, 

 seems able to maintain its own when given proper protection against 

 grazing animals. Other maples maintain themselves as well, but the 

 greater value of the sugar maple makes it the more desirable form. 



Upon rolling uplands, with a fairly good sand or clay soil, the 

 ordinary white or gray ash finds its most suitable conditions and would 

 doubtless prove itself a satisfactory form for the reforestration of such 

 areas. 



The oaks, also, by their record in the second growth timber, have 

 shown themselves adapted to the re-covering of wa^te lands. The valu- 

 able oaks grow as readily as those that are of less value, and care 

 should be taken to select only those of the first class. In the case of 

 the maples, ash, and oaks, the seeds may be planted in the prepared 

 ground without previous germination. All of the forms germinate 

 readily, and the seedlings are quite hardy. 



In almost any warm, dry soil the black cherry makes a good growth 

 and has numerous qualities to commend its use. The only objection 



