11 



poor, has been enriched by the deposit of thousands of loads 

 of leaves upon it, and by the shade afforded, while the soil has 

 been lightened and lifted by the permeation of the roots of 

 the trees; and though no present profit has been yet realized, 

 (which already might have been by sales of the wood,) it 

 should be considered as an investment for future results. 

 Considering the position of my place, on a coast exposed to 

 violent sea winds permeated with salt spray, the vigorous 

 growth and promising appearance of my forest plantations are 

 very encouraging to those more favorably placed. Not only 

 may the destruction of our forests be partially remedied at a 

 cheap cost, but the waste and sterility of our land by long cul- 

 tivating be replaced with fertility by the simple process of 

 nature." 



The Scotch fir or pine, which Mr. Fay so highly commends, 

 is a native of the Highlands, a hardy tree, and the most rapid 

 grower of all the evergreens suited to our climate — the Euro- 

 pean larch, a still more rapid grower, being deciduous. It will 

 thrive in the most dissimilar soils and on poorest sands where 

 most other evergreens will not flourish, and makes an excel- 

 lent wind-break. Its timber is not duly appreciated in this 

 country. In England it is as highly prized as the best Baltic 

 pine, and regarded as superior to our white pine for general 

 purposes. While skeptical on this point, we must at least ad- 

 mit that it is harder, more durable, and more resinous than 

 the white pine. It is light, stiff, and strong, freer from knots 

 than any other fir, easily worked, and well adapted to all kinds 

 of house carpentry. It is extensively used for masts and in 

 naval architecture. In England it yields large quantities of 

 tar, turpentine, and resin. Next to the larch it is the tree 

 most commonly planted in Great Britain. It should be ex- 

 tensively used in Connecticut in reclaiming lands too poor for 

 the larch. It proved a great success in the sandy wastes of 

 Kincorth and Culbin in Scotland, which are now thriving 

 forests. 



Among the foresters of largest experience in Europe, I found 

 the planting out system growing in favor, in place of sowing 

 the seed, whether in furrows or broadcast in the fields where 



