1876 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
In the Experiment Station circular referred to, 
occurs the following : 
WIIAT HAVE THE FARMERS OF CONNECTICUT TO DO 
ABOUT THIS MATTER ? * 
The answer to this question is simple. 
1st. Let them buy only those fertilizers whose chemi¬ 
cal composition is distinctly stated and guaranteed by 
the seller. 
2nd. Of these, let them select the ones which furnish 
the fertilizing ingredients their land and crops need, in 
the best form and at the lowest price per pound. 
If they are not certain that the articles they purchase 
are equal to the guarantee, let them send carefully and 
fairly chosen samples to the Station for analysis. 
In brief, let buyers and sellers know what is the com¬ 
position of their fertilizers, and give preference to those 
in which, not the whole bagfull or ton, but the valuable 
materials contained therein, are the cheapest. In this 
way, poor and fraudulent articles will be driven from the 
market, honest dealers will be encouraged to sell, and 
progressive farmers to use good articles, and tens of 
thousands of dollars will be saved every year to them 
and to the State. By this means and this means alone, 
can the much needed regulation of the trade in commer¬ 
cial fertilizers be brought about. 
Eor some descriptions of other fertilizers, see 
“Correspondence,” page 154. 
Forest Tree Planting. 
THIRD ARTICLE. 
-O- 
When a farmer has decided to plant trees, and 
has made up his mind as to the kinds he will plant, 
he is met by the question “ How shall I get them?” 
and it is to this that we shall devote the present 
article. Trees are to be procured in two ways. 1st. 
They may be obtained as seed or cuttings, and raised 
from those ; or 2nd. They may be had as young 
trees, either taken from the forest, or raised by the 
nurserymen who make it a business. The question 
whether one snail raise his own trees, answers it¬ 
self in the affirmative, in the case of a very few ; all 
those raised from cuttings, most prominent of 
which are the Willow and Poplar, or Cottonwood, 
grow so readily that there is every reason why the 
farmer should procure cuttings, as their cost and 
transportation is greatly less than that of trees; 
they are much more easily and cheaply planted, and 
are almost as certain to grow as cuttings, as they 
would be if they had roots. Then .there are certain 
trees that are so difficult to transplant, that they 
rarely succeed unless the seeds are planted where 
the trees are to stand; prominent among these are 
the Hickories, Black Walnut, Butternut, and per¬ 
haps the Oaks, though many assert that these 
may as well be transplanted. The remaining trees, 
including Evergreens, are raised from seeds in beds, 
transplanted usually at the end of two years, either 
into rows, where they grow one, two, or more 
years, before setting in place, or are set directly in 
the plantation, the treatment depending upon the 
kind of tree. There are but few subjects upon 
which we have more inquiries, than this of raising 
forest trees from seed ; since the article which ap¬ 
peared last month, several have written to request 
us to be sure and tell about raising them this 
month. We are aware of the great interest felt in 
this matter, but first let us consider whether a farm¬ 
er had better raise his trees from seed at all ? Should 
one come to us with this question, we should an¬ 
swer in what is called the “ Yankee fashion,” some¬ 
thing thus: Have you heretofore worked in the 
garden ? Do you work in the kitchen garden, as a 
matter of choice, or do you manage as a wealthy 
old farmer we once knew in Michigan did ? He 
would hire a man to cut wood, but take the axe him¬ 
self, and send the hired man into the garden—he 
would not be known as a man who hired a gar¬ 
dener. If the wife’s or daughter’s house plants are 
weakly, do you interest yourself in them, trying to 
find out if the trouble is poor soil, worms in the 
pot, “bugs” on the leaves, or what not, and then 
try to learn and apply the proper remedy ? Have 
you force enough on the farm to allow you to leave 
the field at any time, and spend half a day, more or 
less, in the garden ? In short, have you the time, 
knowledge, skill, patience, and more than all, the 
taste, which would .allow you to give the tree seed¬ 
lings the care they need ? If so, then raise your 
own trees, for with these, it is not difficult. If you 
have not these, buy the young trees, and do some¬ 
thing else to earn the money to pay for them. Tree 
seeds, on the whole, require more care than vege¬ 
table seeds, and it is often more difficult to manage 
a bed of the hardiest forest trees, than one of the 
most delicate flowering plants. We would not dis¬ 
courage any one who would grow trees from seed, 
but it is well that all should know at the outset 
what to expect. One who is familiar with farm 
crops only, is no more qualified to raise a lot of 
tree seedlings, than one who has only taken care of 
cattle is to assume charge of an apiary ; in either 
case the intelligent person will wish to learn what 
is necessary to be done. To show that we have not 
overestimated the difficulties, we will give an in¬ 
stance in which those who have the largest experi¬ 
ence, and who make it their sole business, often 
meet with great losses. Last fall we were at the 
nursery of Robert Douglas & Sons, at Waukegan, 
Ill., where forest tree seedlings are raised more ex¬ 
tensively than elsewhere—literally by the million, 
and where acres upon acres are under screens'of 
brush. Mr. Douglas took us to his seed beds, say¬ 
ing that from absence and illness they had not had 
their usual attention, but he was not prepared for 
the sight which awaited him. There had been rains 
and damp weather for a week or two, and in this 
time the weeds had made fearful havoc in his beds ; 
a nut-grass, ( Cyperus ), had taken possession of 
some, while a Marchantia ., or liverwort, that green, 
flat growth often seen in damp places, and on the 
surface of the earth in flower pots, had spread it¬ 
self in sheets over the beds, choking and destroy¬ 
ing the young seedlings. Here were thousands 
upon thousands of young trees, from an inch to 
three inches high, swept off at once, and, as many 
of the beds were of the rarer California Evergreens, 
the loss in the cost of seed must have been large. 
The farmer who raises his own trees, has to con¬ 
tend with losses from excessive moisture, and 
from other causes. Hence we say that in the 
majority of cases it is better to buy the trees 
from those who raise them as a business. It 
may happen that there will be in a neighborhood 
some one who can give the requisite care to them ; 
and he may arrange with the others to raise young 
trees for them, to the benefit of all concerned, for 
we wish it to be distinctly understood that there is 
nothin" that need prevent the farmer from raising 
trees from seed, if he can afford to do it. 
To return to trees from cuttings. In localities 
absolutely tree-less, and exposed to 6trong winds, 
it is advisable to plant a shelter to break the force 
of prevailing winds, as it will be difficult to get 
many forest trees to grow unless they have this at 
first. Cuttings of White Willow or Poplar may be 
set at once. The cuttings should not be less than 
8 inches long and 1 / 3 inch in diameter, and better 
if a foot long and an inch thick. Some prefer 
truncheons 4 feet long and as large as one’s arm, 
but these are difficult to get. A strip 3 feet wide 
should bo well plowed, and the cuttings set a foot 
apart in a single row, or two feet apart in two rows 
two feet from one another. Set well down, with 
the upper bud just at the surface. In two years 
these will afford some protection to other trees, and 
in five years it will be ample. N. B.—Unless the 
plants can be kept as clean as a corn-crop all 
through the summer, don’t set any. 
As to seeds that must be sown in place : Hicko¬ 
ries, Black Walnut, and Butternut. It must be 
recollected that these, though the most robust of 
trees, are in their infant state more bothersome 
than a Geranium, and unless they are partly shel¬ 
tered from the hot sun and cutting winds, will 
suddenly “miff.” If a tree is wanted here and 
there, two or three seeds may be put near together 
in a sheltered place, taking out all but one the sec¬ 
ond year. A profitable way is to plant Hickories 
thickly, allowing for thinning for hoop-poles and 
other uses. Here the ground must be devoted to 
the plants. The nuts may be planted in rows 6 feet 
apart, and a foot apart in the row; a sufficient 
number of rows of Indian corn must be sown 
through the plantation to afford abundant shade 
and protection against the wind—in every third or 
fourth row, according to the hight of stalk; this 
181 
should be continued the second year, changing the 
row, and of course providing manure for the corn. 
Unless these above named seeds have been well 
preserved through the winter, it is better to wait 
until next fall, then get the seeds and pack them 
in boxes with sand, or put them in heaps out of 
doors and cover well with turf. 
Seeds to be raised in a seed-bed, in some cases 
come up as readily as beans, and in others lay 
two and three years before they start. Among the 
slow ones are the Thorns and Red Cedar. Having 
prepared a good seed-bed, of fine, rich, open soil, 
the larger seeds, like Locust, may be sown in rows, 
and the smaller, like the majority of Evergreens, 
Birches, Larch, etc., may be sown broadcast, 
raked in, and rolled. All seed-beds are better, and 
those of Evergreens must be, provided with shade. 
On a sma'll scale a lattice of laths, made with the 
laths as far apart as wide, and supported a foot 
above the bed will answer. On the large scale, the 
labor of removing the screens would be enormous, 
hence a shelter high enough to work under is im¬ 
portant. We have alluded to the screened acres of 
R. Douglas & Sons ; these screens are 7 feet high, 
and arc made by setting posts in the ground, nail¬ 
ing strips from one to the Other at the top, and lay¬ 
ing on brush or limbs of any kind. An absolute 
shade is not so much needed as a partial one, and 
there must be an abundant circulation of air among 
the plants, and they must have light enough for a 
healthy growth. Sow as early as the beds are ready. 
Some seeds need preparation before sowing. The 
common or black Locust should be scalded. But¬ 
ton Ball, which grows readily from cuttings, needs 
soaking. Osage Orange should be sprouted by 
scalding, pouring off the water, and keeping moist 
and warm until the germ shows. The Ailanthus 
and Pawlonia grow readily from pieces of the roots, 
and so do many of our ornamental shrubs, but it 
needs further experiment before we know the ex¬ 
tent to which this mode of propagation may be ap¬ 
plied ; in Europe it is used for the Locust and some 
Elms. The root-cuttings should be taken up in the 
fall, cut into pieces 4 to 6 inches long, mixed with 
earth in a box, and buried where water will not 
stand. These are to be set in the spring. Nearly 
all large seed-dealers keep the tree seeds most in 
demand ; those who make a specialty of them are 
Arthur Bryant, Jr., Princeton, Ill.; R. Douglas & 
Sons, Waukegan, Ill. ; Thomas Meehan, German¬ 
town, Pa., and J. M. Thorburn & Co., N. Y. City. 
- — ><*< — - • 
A Country or Village House Costing 
$2,900.—For Physicians, Lawyers, Cler¬ 
gymen, Justices, Notaries, Editors, Etc. 
BY S. B. REED, ARCHITECT, CORONA, LONd ISLAND, N. T. 
This plan is designed to meet the wants of a 
large class residing iu the country, or smaller vil¬ 
lages, who are not only directly interested in agri¬ 
cultural pursuits, but who have also some profes¬ 
sional or official vocation, such as: Physicians, 
Lawyers, Justices, Notaries, Clergymen, etc. They 
require in connection with their residences, an 
apartment adapted to their special callings, that 
shall in no way interfere with their domestic ar¬ 
rangements, where all persons making business 
calls may enter without feeling that they are in¬ 
truding on the privacy of the household_Ule- 
ration (fig. 1).—The exterior outlines and dress 
of this plan arc a fair representation of the prevail¬ 
ing styles of American rural house architecture, in 
its most genteel and practical forms. There is a 
manifest propriety in the strong and decided fea¬ 
tures of the exterior finish of this example, wherein 
each part has its distinctive characteristics of util¬ 
ity, harmony, and truthfulness — a combination 
that never fails to please even the most tasteful, 
and it may therefore be regarded as the real basis 
of beauty. We frequently meet with oddly pro¬ 
portioned country houses, evidently constructed 
solely with regard to utility, that present a stunted 
and cadaverous appearance, having been shorn of 
their beauty through a mistaken idea that economy 
precludes the least indulgence in taste. Good 
