262 
9 
APRIL 23 
* 
was long since given up, as was Russell’s Pro¬ 
lific, for they hail nothing espeeiallj' to coni • 
mend them. Moore’s Early Concord is supe¬ 
rior in productiveness and quality to any be¬ 
fore it in this list, but is not so sweet and ten¬ 
der as the Black Mexican. 
The Egyptian, as a late variety, does not 
prove to be what was said in its praise, and is 
inferior, 1 think from a limited experience in 
cultivating it, to the old and well-known 
Stowell’s Evergreen. I have grown the latter 
for several years side by side with the Mam¬ 
moth, and have adopted the latter for my lat¬ 
est table variety. It is more productive than 
Stowell’s, of equally good quality and does not 
produce so much stover. When growing sweet 
com for fodder, uo variety will make so much 
fodder as Stowell’s. For ordinary family pur¬ 
poses, Early Minnesota, Black Mexican and 
Mammoth Sugar will make a constant succes¬ 
sion and are varieties enough. Cr. R. n. 
Pittsfield, N. H. 
-- 
Strawing Potatoes. 
1 read an inquiry some time ago by one 
of the Rural readers how to grow potatoes 
under straw, and not seeing a satisfactory an¬ 
swer I will tell him my way: Plant the pota¬ 
toes the same depth in the ground as though 
no straw was to be put over them, and when 
they are begiuing to come through the ground- 
run through with a big shovel plow and bill 
up, as flat culture will not do when one wauts 
to "straw” potatoes. Put the straw four or 
five inches deep on the ground. I have 
had some experience in raising potatoes and I 
do not think I could raise a good crop without 
straw. I exhibited IS kinds at our county fair 
last Fall, and took 17 firet premiums over the 
man that swept, everything at, the Ohio State 
Fair. I had White Elephants that weighed 
-'•* pounds aud Queens of the Valley of the 
same weight. These two varieties 1 consider 
preeminent both as to yield and quality. 
Marion, O. April T. Albert Oborn. 
The Faultless Potato—A Question of 
Priority. —In a late Rural a potato named 
the Faultless is mentioned. Unless it was so 
named prior to 1880, a variety of potato of 
my own raising received the name first, 
Mine was a very nice white sort, however, not 
red, like the new claimant of the name. I 
hope the originator of the latter will send me 
his address so that we may arrange matters so 
as not to mislead the public. I have published 
the name: but have not yet distributed the 
) otato. It is a selection from 1HU sorts raised 
from seed-balls. 
Fort Atkinson. Wis. Thomas Crane. 
-rliboiintUmnl. 
FORESTRY No. 36. 
Forest Nursery. Part IX. 
DR. JOHN A. WARDER. 
CHAP. CONIFERS. 
Seed beds; Sowing; Arthur Bryant's Descrip¬ 
tion of R. Douglas's Plans; A rbors; Dangers 
to the Young Plants; Weeding; Mildew; 
Damping Off: Frames and Seed-boxes; 
Shading; Thinning Out ami Bedding; 
Avoid Exposure of Boots; Mulchieg; Win- 
ferProtection; Lining Out; Width of Rme- 
spaces; Distance in the Hows; Planting; 
Puddling; Trimming and Hoot-pruning. 
Seed-beds. —These, whether boxes, frames, 
beds of moderate size or those of great extent, 
require to be especially prepared for the re¬ 
ception of coniferous and some other delicate 
species of seeds. 
The soil for the beds to grow this class of 
plants should be 1 .ose aud friable; it should be 
sandy rather than loamy from n preponder¬ 
ance of clay, aud humid rather than dry, but 
by no means boggy or wet. The ground should 
be very thoroughly prepared by plowing or 
digging and reduced to a fine tilth, perfectly 
mellow, but not too rich in humus, aud by no 
means chaffy. In the large beds it should be 
worked into long, rather flat ridges, sloping 
gently towards the paths between them, that 
may be six, eight or more feet apart, accord¬ 
ing to the plan of the shading arbor. This 
gentle slope will give outlet for auj' super¬ 
abundant moisture that should be free to flow 
from these inclined surfaces, aud be carried 
off at intervals or at the ends of the paths, ac¬ 
cording to the length of the Inals and the lay 
of the land. In the large beds, where leafy or 
brush booths are used as shades, the posts to 
support the. shades should be set at convenient 
distances; if sufficiently high the plowing aud 
preparation can be done after erecting the 
sheds. 
When the beds are made up they are sur¬ 
faced by using a fine garden rake, the seeds 
should then be sowed rather thickly aud broad¬ 
cast ou the freshly-stirred soil, adroitly raked 
iu and firmed or pressed into the soil by using 
a light roller or by batting with a piece of 
board with an inclined handle. Some will 
prefer to cover the seeds by strew ing over 
them some well-prepared soil or fine wood 
earth, using more or less according to the size 
of the seeds. If the ground should be dry the 
beds may be watered moderately, using a fine 
rose ou the watering-can. (t. is not best to 
sow the seeds too thickly, but this is a difficult, 
point and requires great judgment aud experi¬ 
ence. Mr. Bryant, cites Douglas’s practice of 
putting one pound of Norway Spruce on a bed 
twenty-five feet by four feet wide. Other 
seeds may be sowed in the same proportion. 
Seeds vary in their vitality, which should have 
been tested in every separate sample or lot, be¬ 
fore sowiug. Accidents from late frosts, from 
birds, insects and other vermin, such as mice 
and moles, as well as the attacks of mildew 
and damping-off, will sometimes cause a ter¬ 
rible thinning out of the plants, even where 
the seeds have been sowed thickly enough. 
The sowing is usually done as early in the 
Spring as the land is in a proper condition to 
work well, and while it yet retains its natural 
humidity. 
In his admirable treatise on the Propaga¬ 
tion and Culture of Forest Trees, Mr. Arthur 
Bryant. Sr., of Princeton, Illinois, gives con¬ 
cise description of the screens used by Mr. 
Douglas, to which the reader would gladly be 
referred, but as the book is unfortunately out 
of print, the paragraph will now be repro¬ 
duced. After speaking of the common lath 
screens, he says: "Another sort of screen is 
used by Mr, Douglas: rows of posts, seven feet 
high, are set ten feet apart and eight foet dis¬ 
tant in the rows. Fencing boards, six inches 
wide and sixteen feet long arc nailed to these 
at the top. Blender poles are laid across, and 
on these are placed leafy bushes and branches. 
This is done in the Summer previous to solv¬ 
ing the seeds. The beds are laid out so that 
each row' of posts is in the middle line of a 
bed or double bed, wutb a path betw'een them 
iu the middle of the interval.” 
Next follows a period for great watchfulness 
and no little anxiety while awaiting the ap¬ 
pearance of the precious seedlings that require 
w'eeks to soften and germinate in the soil. We 
must guard against intruders, especially the 
birds that came in flocks at the migrating 
period, they must be heartlessly banished even 
by shooting them. If very dry and windy 
weather sets in it may become necessary to 
supply water, but this is somewhat, injurious 
and always difficult to manage satisfactorily— 
a light mulching may be applied to the beds. 
If the screens become thin they w'ill require to 
be thickened where the leaves have been 
blown away, more brush must be added to in¬ 
sure the needful shading. 
After the plants have made their appear¬ 
ance it will be necessary to eradicate all weeds 
by hand, and this must be very carefully done, 
so as not to disturb the tender young tree- 
plants; this should not lie done when they are 
wet with dew or a shower, Watch now closely 
for the first appearance of mildew and apply 
dry dust or sand, or preparations of sulphur 
so soon as its invasion has been observed or 
suspected. Damping-off. the Dinble terrible 
of horticulturists, may be a result of drought, 
sudden changes of temperature, or some form 
of mildew-patches are seen of greater or less 
extent where the seedlings seem to rot at the 
surface of the ground aud succumb. When 
this occurs in close frames it is attributed to 
a want, of sufficient ventilation, in which case, 
if glasses were used, t hey must be raised, or the 
side boards, if movable, may be taken away. 
Frames or beds are sometimes made without 
permanent boards, so as to insure ventilation 
beneath t he glass and shades. Posts or stakes 
are set at the comers; these are connected by 
strips at the top, on which the sasli or shades 
are supported above the plants; the side 
boards can then be put in place when needed 
for shelter, as in Winter or during wind¬ 
storms. These, frames and the seed boxes may 
l>e shaded from the sun by leafy brush, or by 
screens of convenient size made from plaster¬ 
ing lath nailed to strips. The laths should have 
interspaces of 1}^' inch between them, aud if 
carefully handled they may be raised for 
several years. 
Thinning the Seedlings and Bedding- 
out Plants. —After the seedlings have stood 
one or two vears they will need thinning, and 
must be transplanted. In Germany the Scotch 
Pines and the Larches are often planted out 
in the forestnt. this age. Many of these young 
conifers, however, are at first very slow grow¬ 
ers, and must be left longer in the seed-beds; 
while others are large enough at one or two 
years from the seed. When taken from the 
seed-beds they are first bedded-out . These boils 
being well prepared, may be four feet wide, 
and separated by narrow paths to give access 
to work them 
This transplanting may be done in the Spring 
just as the buds are ready to swell and grow, 
or again about mid-summer, when the termi¬ 
nal bud has been perfected and the plants are 
at rest. 
Plant in rows across the beds and six iriches 
wide, setting them but a few' inches apart, 
more or less, according to the character of the 
species; from three to six inches usually suf¬ 
fice. Pines may be set five or six inches 
apart, cuttings from the boxes and slow- 
growing kinds may be put closer in the rows, 
say from three to four inches. 
Iu handling them the plants must not be 
exposed to the sun and air: when moved the 
roots should be kept covered, and it is well to 
have them puddled in thin mud as they are 
taken up. In die planting take pains to com¬ 
press the earth very closely to the fibrous 
roots, firming them well and give them water 
if needed, then shade them with leafy brush 
for a day or two. These beds may be cultiva¬ 
ted with the weeding-fork, carefully loosening 
the soil, aud they must be kept clean by hand- 
weeding for one or two years, or even longer, 
according to their growth, but do not permit 
the evergreens to become too much crowded, 
so as to injure their side blanches; do not, 
allow the plants to become leggy and bare. 
Mulching. —The seed-beds in some cases in 
heavy soils, will need protection in the Winter 
to prevent their heaving out by the effects of 
successive freezing and thawing : a light 
mulching with litter, a covering of leaves or 
leafy' brush, or evergreen spray will answer 
this indication; when they are in close frames 
the seedlings may be sufficiently protected by 
the lath shades, but if iu the skeleton frames, 
it will be well to set up the boards on edge 
around the outside of the plants. They must 
also lx? guarded against the inroads of vermin 
when thus coddled from the storms of Winter; 
traps and eats are useful here, or poison may 
be necessary to destroy those trespassers. 
Avoid too heavy a mulching, os the object is 
to shade and prevent thawing rather than to 
keep them warm; an excess of mulch may 
collect and retain too much moisture, aud 
prove injurious in that way. Iu their native 
mountain homes these little plants are gener¬ 
ally covered with snow during the Winter aud 
come out bright and fresh on the return of 
Spring. The plants usually remain iu those 
beds two years, some may stay longer, while 
the fast-growers, like the Scotch Pines and 
Larch, are often transplanted and lined-out at 
the end of one year from their introduction to 
these nurse-beds. 
Lining Out, or setting in nursery rows, is 
the next step in the journey of those plants on 
their alow progress from the gathering of the 
cones until their final destination in the park, 
the shelter-belt or the grand forest. They 
have, so far, made little progress toward the 
majestic proportions they are destined to ac¬ 
quire, but now we may expect them to grow 
apace. Many a commercial nurseyraen, who 
has looked with pride upon the lieautiful re¬ 
sult of his long-continued labors, has also had 
his regrets on finding that his overgrown 
stock of trees must be destroyed in the bonfire 
and he suffer serious loss, caused by the back¬ 
wardness of the customers for whom he has thus 
anxiously toiled, but in vain. Such is not the 
case, however, with the well-regulated Forest- 
Nursery, whose successive crops of trees have 
long since been placed iu their woodland 
homes, nnd are rapidly growing into valuable 
timber, for the director will prefer to make 
his plantations with smaller trees. 
But to return to the nursing beds: when the 
transplanted seedlings or cuttings have occu¬ 
pied the lieds for a couple of years or longer 
and liegin to crowd one another, it. becomes 
necessary to remove them to the nursery rows 
that they may have more space to expand anil 
display their best proportions and develop 
their natural habit, so different from that <>l 
most deciduous trees. They are now able to 
endure more Fall exposure and rougher treat 
ment. Where space is an object these rows 
may l»e pretty close, say from 18 to ’30 inches 
to thre*o or four feet, according to the habit of 
the species. When the rows are set so closely 
as the first-named distances, it is expected that 
every alternate line will Ik* removed at the 
end of one or two years, which will give room 
for the others, or that all will be planted out 
in the forest by that time. 
The trees are set in the lines at 13 to 18 inch¬ 
es apart for most evergreens, so as to give 
space for the development of the lateral 
branches, which should never be allowed to in¬ 
jure one another by crowding. The trans¬ 
planting into the nursery rows requires care 
—it is best done in the Spring, just ns the ter¬ 
minal buds begin to swell, or to show signs of 
life: Fall and Winter planting may answer 
very well for deciduous species, but our cli¬ 
mate is too dry for the removal of evergreen* 
at those seasons. A small trench is opened 
along the line, sufficiently wide and deep to 
receive the roots without crowding. This 
may be made with the spade, or more expedi¬ 
tiously with a light plow, and with small 
stock a sufficient excavation can be made for 
each plant, with a trowel or even with the 
dibble. As each plant is set the earth is well 
firmed and compressed about its roots. In 
transplanting, the roots should lx' dipped into 
a puddle hole so that t hey shall be well cov¬ 
ered with the mixture of loam and water of 
creamy consistency to protect them from ex¬ 
posure to the air: they should also be welj 
protected from the sun, the wind and frost. 
-- 
CALIFORNIA AND HER FORESTS. 
The necessity of planting trees for fuel and 
timber is each year more evident in some poi" 
tions of California, and owing to a too rapid 
denudation of the forests it is even feared that 
parts of the State may suffer from this lack 
even more than at present. Indeed, the pros¬ 
perity of the agricultural interests over large 
areas seems to be seriously threatened, and the 
subject iu its economic aspects is oue of na¬ 
tional importance. No apology, therefore, 
need be offered for a rapid presentation of 
the ease. The greatness of the resources of the 
Pacific Slope is everywhere acknowledged and 
the presentation of a local and not remediless 
drawback is entirely compatible with cordial 
friendship aud faith in the certain prosperity 
of that region. 
California, the second largest State in the 
Union, contains over 100,000,000 acres of laud. 
Although its population is but 800,000, the an¬ 
nual product of the farms, mines, pastures 
and manufactures of the State is worth $150,- 
000 ,000, one-sixth of which must be credited 
to the wheat fields, and another sixth to the 
orchards, vineyards aud gardens. In wheat 
wool, barley, wine, raisins, fruit, gold and 
quicksilver, it is the leading State iu the LTuiou. 
Two-fifths of its surface, or 40,000,000 acres, 
are capable of cultivation, but only 3,500,000 
are as yet under the plow. Another two-fifths 
consists of mountain lands, fine for pasturage, 
aud fit iu many instances for the growth of 
vines, fruits, nuts aud timber-trees, watered 
as it may r lie, from ever-living streams aud 
springs. One-fifth Is desert laud and seems to 
be worthless for agricultural purposes. 
The northern and central portions of the 
Coast Range, especially on their western slopes, 
are clothed with valuable forests of Red-wood 
and other conifers, Oaks, Mudrona and lesser 
trees. The Sierra foothill region is one of rare 
beauty' and great extent, well timbered aud 
watered, extending across old mining countries 
and offering many inducements to hortieul- 
turalists. The upper Sacramento Valley is 
well furnished with White-Oak and Live-Oak. 
The southern portion of the State, both ou 
the coast and inland, has much more timber 
than is usually supposed, but certainly not 
enough to warrant any reckless waste. 
Irrigation offers the only' mode of utilizing 
large areas of rich land. The report of Prof. 
Davidson, Gen, Alexander aud Col. Mendel 
in 1874, stated that 7,050,000 acres could be ir¬ 
rigated with ease in the San Joaquin-Sacra- 
rnento basin. The. low foothills bring tbis 
total up to 11,000,000 acres, all capable of 
cheap irrigation, with the water supply within 
reach. The fairly immense orchard, Alfalfa 
and vineyard interests of Fresno, Tulare and 
Kern have chiefly developed in the past teu 
years. The possibility of irrigation depends 
largely on tlie character of the soil, which in 
this valley is adobe, loam or saudy, sometimes 
rendered heavily alkali by an excess of soluble 
salts. The last are relieved by drainage and 
culture when it is only salt; if carbonates of 
soda and potash make the difficulty, appliea 
tions of gypsum are required. The main 
Sierra axis is granite, overlaid with clays, 
shales, etc. The soil is yellow or red loam, 
with clays or sands. The tnle soils of the 
marshes are composed of .sediment from the 
mines and peaty soil from decayed tide roots. 
The adobe soils are typical wheat lands and 
also good for pears and grapes. 
The driest part of California, except the 
Mojave Desert, is the t reeless plain of the San 
Joaquin, embracing 7.000,000 acres. It is 
being reclaimed by water reservtfired iu the 
western portions of tlie Sierra aud the fann¬ 
ers, with enormous but profitable toil, are 
leading such mountain rivers us Kern, King’s, 
Chowehilla ami Stanislaus, over the broad, 
wind-swept plain and orchards, avenues of 
trees, wind-breaks and beautiful copses nre 
springing up like magic. This means less 
drought, lower temperature in Summer, more 
moisture, better crops, a high degree of pros¬ 
perity, homes, schools, towns and many inter¬ 
linked industries. If the natural growth of 
t imber and shrubbery is swept by fire and axe 
from the Sierra's western slopes, the agrieul 
turnl development of this immense valley will 
be delayed indefinitely or rendered Impossible. 
In the Coast Range though the present amount 
of timber is great it is being cut at a rapid 
rate. About 100,000 acres are annually cleared' 
The Fir,Chestnut and Oak will soou bo as nearly 
extinct as the Sugar Pine threatens to become 
in the Sierra. 
The Legislature of California has consider¬ 
ed, but with little effect, various plans for 
lessening the waste of these forests. Much of 
the timlier is cut ou public lands anil this can 
lie stopped by the proper authorities. A great 
deal of the choice timber land of the State 
has gone into the hands of private owners, 
who will preserve it until it is more profitable 
