Vol. LVI. No. 2466. 
NEW YORK, MAY 1, 1897. 
$1.00 PER YEAR 
EVERGREENS FOR A WIND-BREAK IN OHIO. 
EXPERTS RECOMMEND VARIETIES. 
How to Plant and Care for the Trees. 
One of our readers in Paulding County, Ohio, wishes to set a 
double row of evergreen trees on the west and north sides of his 
farm, which consists of CO acres. He also wishes a double row of 
evergreen trees on the west, north and east sides of his barnyard. 
He says that he will plant the trees both for ornament and to 
provide shelter for the farm and farm buildings. The ground is 
somewhat elevated, five or six feet higher than most of the sur¬ 
rounding country. The soil Is a strong, loamy clay with a stiff 
clay subsoil. Will you tell us what you would do, if you were in 
this man’s place ? What variety of trees would you plant ? How 
would you prepare the ground, and set the trees ? What sized trees 
would you buy, and how would you care for them the first year ? 
How to Handle the Trees. 
I would prefer the Norway spruce for an evergreen 
wind-break. The ground should be plowed and other¬ 
wise worked into first-class condition for any crop, 
and that without delay. Order small trees from six 
to twelve inches high, that have been at least once 
transplanted in the nursery (twice is better), so that 
all will be quite sure to grow. It is quite important 
and decidedly economical to have a stand the first 
year, as replantirg is troublesome and unsatisfactory 
in most cases. Keep the ground in a fine state of 
cultivation, just as though a crop was on it, up to 
the time of planting. This can be done most 
cheaply by running a harrow or other pulverizer 
over the surface at least once a week and as soon 
after each rain as it is safe to do so. Have the 
trees taken up from the nursery rows just as they 
are starting to grow, which will vary in date with 
the season and climate in which they are grown. 
I have found, in my experience, that this is bet¬ 
ter than to have them entirely dormant. Never 
expose the roots a minute to the open air on a dry 
day, and never on any kind of day, longer than is 
absolutely necessary. Dip them in a puddle of 
thin mud prepared handy to the place of planting, 
and set fresh from this in a furrow made with a 
plow, or, set with a spade used dibber fashion. I 
would have the rows 10 or 12 feet apart, and 
“break joints” in setting the trees. The closer 
the trees the more they will crowd and disfigure 
each other’s lower branches as they grow old. I 
would put them 10 feet in the row, which will 
make about a solid wind-break in 10 years if well 
cared for. Plant the intervening space to beans 
or some such crop, and cultivate like a garden 
throughout the season. It doesn’t pay to put 
good money into trees of any kind, and then 
neglect them either in fertilizers or cultivation. 
Virginia. h. e. van deman. 
Norway Spruce for Little Money. 
I would recommend the Norway spruce as the best 
evergreen for the purpose. The 
pines, such as White, Scotch and 
Austrian, come lower in price 
and would do well on the soil 
described, but they are not so 
ornamental as the spruces; 
neither are they so durable, ex¬ 
cept the White pine, which is 
well-known as a long-lived tree. 
The land on which the trees are 
to be planted should be prepared 
the same as for a corn or potato 
patch, and the trees, planted 10 
feet apart each way breaking 
joints thus 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 and 
should be well cultivated dur¬ 
ing the growing season—May, 
June and July—after which they 
should have a good mulch with 
partly rotted straw or hay ; never use green manure. 
The trees should be planted just as near as possible 
to the depth they stood in nursery, not deeper. In 
planting, however, great care should be taken to firm 
church Christmas trees, such are always in good de¬ 
mand, and at a good price—from $2 to 85 each, in any 
city. By planting the above sized trees, one has some¬ 
thing for immediate effect. If, however, your reader 
is compelled to economize in this respect, smaller 
trees could be used ; and even pines for the outer rows 
around the farm, and the spruce for the home lot or 
barnyard belt. d. hill. 
Illinois. 
Norway and Hemlock Spruce. 
All things considered, no evergreen is better adapted 
to the purpose named than the Norway spruce. For 
a double row on the west and north sides of the farm 
I would plant one rod apart in the row, with rows six 
feet apart, planting the second row so that the trees 
would be opposite the openings in the other row. 
This distance gives the trees sufficient space for sym¬ 
metrical development. For protection for farm build¬ 
ings, I would plant about eight feet apart in a single 
row and for diversity, would prefer Hemlock spruce 
for this, as it is of finer foliage and much more grace¬ 
ful. I would plow the ground and harrow as thor¬ 
oughly as for planting corn, and dig holes of sufficient 
size to receive the roots of the trees in their natural 
position, fill in with well-pulverized earth, and pack 
it very firmly, about as much so as if planting a fence 
post, leaving an inch or two on the surface as a 
mulch to prevent evaporation. The space in the 
rows between the trees could be planted to pota¬ 
toes, beans or some other low-growing plant I 
would not think it desirable to use trees larger 
than 2 to 2% feet, and would not use that size un¬ 
less I was anxious for immediate results ; other¬ 
wise 12 to 15 inch trees with lower limbs well 
developed and that had been transplanted in the 
nursery, would in time, produce just as good re¬ 
sults. The ground should have thorough cultiva¬ 
tion during the summer, or the trees should be 
thoroughly mulched with some coarse material 
that would keep the moisture about the roots. 
Ohio. J. J. HARRISON. 
Do Not Plant a Double Row. 
Charge the correspondent specially not to plant 
a double row of evergreens for a wind-break ! I 
have been contending against this practice for 
over 40 years, yet every now and then we see rec¬ 
ommendations in agricultural and horticultural 
papers, saying, “ Plant a double row of ever¬ 
greens four feet apart, the trees in one row op¬ 
posite the spaces in the other.” I planted my 
first shelter belt very early in the fifties. I bought 
the Norway spruce from Andr6 LeRoy in France (no 
foreign evergreens had been grown in America from 
seeds then); they were four feet high. A number of 
them were injured on the way, not to hurt their 
vitality, but the foliage on one 
side. I was building a frost¬ 
proof house for our men to count 
and assort seedlings in during 
winter, so we made a single belt 
on the north and west sides of 
the building, and extending be¬ 
yond, we planted the trees over 
100 of them, so close as to press 
against each other. The belt 
stood 12 feet west of the oblong 
building, the roof of which ran 
down to within two feet of the 
ground. The trees extended 
their branches until they 
reached far up the roof, and 
rotted the shingles, but as a 
wind-break, it was a perfect 
success The belt extended over 
25 feet in width, and you could not see light through 
it anywhere. Three years ago, city improvements re¬ 
quired the removal of the hedge, and it was a surprise 
to many to see the trees when cut down. The stumps 
the earth well around the roots, working the soil be¬ 
tween, among and around the fibrous roots with the 
hand. The best size to plant must depend largely 
upon the size of the planter’s pocketbook. A five to 
SEVEN TREES WITH CHICKEN COOP. Fia. 122. 
six-foot tree is just as safe to transplant as smaller, 
providing the roots have been kept in a good state of 
cultivation and often transplanted in the nursery. I 
have Norway spruce five to seven feet that have been 
three times transplanted, which are loaded on cars in 
HOW THE FRUIT PACKS ON THE LIMB. Fig. 123. 
bulk, using plenty of wet moss about roots, for 825 
per 100. During the hard times, we have not sold 
anything like our usual amount of evergreens, there¬ 
fore they have increased on our hands, for it has been 
more a matter of bread and butter with the Western 
Fig. 124. 
For Description of Illustrations 6ee Page 290. 
farmers than trees during the past few years. Such 
trees, as an investment to plant for Christmas trees, 
would pay to plant, say five feet apart each way, and 
in a few years cut out every alternate tree. For 
A SPECIMEN SINGLE TREE. Fig. 125. 
