36 



The Forests of Maryland. 



larger communities. There are markets in ^Maryland which are avail- 

 able to all the forest products of the State. These markets have shown 

 consistent growth, though still susceptible of profitable development. 



FOREST PLANTING. 



The forest survey of the State has shown that, excluding salt marsh 

 land, which is practically irreclaimable, there is 11% of waste land — 

 land that is now producing no revenue and is an expense to tlie own- 

 ers, but which, for the most part, is suitable for forest planting. In ad- 

 dition there are on each of a large proportion of farms of the State a 

 few acres of swampy, rocky or gullied hillside laud that would be more 

 profitable in forest than in pasture or other uses, or lack of use, as the 

 ease may be. There, is, therefore, no lack of opportunity to practice 

 forest planting profitabh\ The chief difficulties have been that plant- 

 ing stock could not be easily obtained, that the cost was excessive and 

 the results uncertain, largely due to inexperience and lack of readily 

 secured information. Most land owners are natural planters; they 

 want to see things grow and are ready to plant trees if shown con- 

 vincingly the proper plan of procedure. In the first place it was 

 found that there was not a nursery in the State selling stock suitable 

 for forest planting. Anyone who wanted to make a forest plantation 

 must send to another State for his stock, and in most cases did not get 

 the -species best adapted to his needs. The results were often dis- 

 couraging, and forest planting was seriously handicapped. To remedy 

 these difficulties as far as possible, the Board of Forestry established 

 a State Forest Nursery in the spring of 1914 at College Park, on land 

 granted for the purpose by the State College of Agriculture. The 

 purpose of the nursery is to grow and distribute trees at cost to resi- 

 dents of the State for forest and roadside planting. During the first 

 year, after establishing the Nursery, no trees were available for plant- 

 ing, but during the next two years of 1915 and 1916, 130,000 trees 

 were distributed to 92 different applicants at a cost to them of $894.07." 

 This shows the value of a State Nursery as an agency for encouraging 

 forest and roadside planting. All who apply are given specific advice 

 as to what to plant and expert supervision is offered when the planter 

 desires it, and at a nominal cost. 



The objects of planting are so numerous and varied as to make this 

 field of forestry an important and rapidly extending one. Rocky, un- 

 tillable land is to be made productive, gullied hillsides are to be re- 

 claimed, steep slopes are to be protected, stream banks are to be held 

 against erosion, wet lands are to be made productive by basket willow 

 growing or other planting, woodlands depleted of young growing 

 stock by pasturing are to be thickened and brought up to full produc- 



