JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Vol. XL. 1914. 

 Part I. 



NORTH AMERICAN FORESTRY. 

 By Professor W. Somerville, D.Sc. 



[Abstract of lecture read January 27, 19 14 ; the Hon. J. H. Turner in the 



Chair.] 



The various aspects of American Forestry form much too large 

 a subject to be even cursorily glanced at within the limits of an hour, 

 so that it is proposed to discuss briefly the more important individual 

 trees of the United States and Canada. 



The White Pine (Pinus Sirobus) was at one time the most important 

 single timber tree in North America, but it has been so extensively 

 exploited that now it only takes the third place in the list of United 

 States timber exports. It has a very wide distribution east of the 

 Rocky Mountains, extending from northern Ontario through the 

 St. Lawrence basin, and southwards through the Alleghany and 

 Appalachian Mountains to Tennessee and Georgia, where, in fact, 

 some of the largest White Pines still standing are to be found. In 

 Europe this species has been fairly extensively grown during the 

 past century, but unfortunately its continued existence is seriously 

 threatened by the fungus Peridevmium Strobi, which causes the 

 Blister Rust of the stem of this tree. Until 1909 this disease was 

 unknown in North America, but on account of the large import of 

 young Pines that was taking place from European nurseries the 

 disease got across the Atlantic, and showed itself in several districts 

 in the United States, necessitating very drastic methods for its 

 eradication. Whether these will be successful or not is extremely 

 doubtful, but if the Americans and Canadians had rested satisfied 

 with raising nursery stock from their own seed, the probabiHty is 

 that the North American continent would have remained free from 



VOL. XL. B 



