ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New York State Colleges OF Agriculture and Home Economics AT Cornell University The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924084807076 ^ Vf^^i^^^i^*-:^^^^ TREES AND TREE-PLANTING BY GEN, JAMES S. BRISBIN,U.S.A. NEW YORK HAEPEK & BKOTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 1888 28078 Copyright, 1888, by Harper & Bkoihees. All rights reeervei. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. FOKEST DESTIIUCTION. Effect of Forest Destruction upon a Country. — Effects Produced in Europe and Asia. — The Ancient Habitableness of those Regions Contrasted with Modern Barrenness and Unproductiveness. — For- ests as an Essential to Industry and Comfort. — Dependence of Man- kind on Wood. — A Consideration for Future Wants.— Telling Re- sults of the Wilful Waste of the Atlantic States Forests. — Manner of Meeting the Question of Wholesale Destruction. — System of Forest Management in France and Germany. -^The Unprotected State of American Forests generally. — The Forest Regions of the Northwest, and a Suggestion for their Preservation Page 1 CHAPTER II. CONSEQUENCES OF POEEST DESTRUCTION. The Wasteful Havoc of Forest-lands, and its Serious Consequences. — The Indifference Manifested towards Remedying the Evil. — The Action of Public Corporations on Forest-lands. — The Efforts of Dr. Drake to Protect Forests. — The Evil Consequences of Non-atten- tion. — Probable Date of a Timber Famine in the United States. — The Inherited Duties of Americans. — The Destined Uses of Nat- ure's Growth. — Fencing and Railroad Interests as a Means of For- est Destruction. — Annual Destruction and Replacement Contrasted. — Convincing Necessaries 6 CHAPTER III. EPPECT OP POEESTS ON A COUNTBT. The Effect of Trees on Humidity, Evaporation, Rainfall, and Prevail- ing Winds. — Nebraska's Generous Labor in Behalf of the Repro- duction of Trees, and her Reward. — Humidifying Influence of the Pacific Winds on Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. — The Humidity of Phoresis, to What Due. — The Theory of Condensation in Connection VI CONTENTS. with Trees. — Evil Results of Forest Destruction in Santa Cruz. — The Serious Results of Forest Destruction to Manufacturing Indus- tries. — The Tree-planting of Lower Egypt and Consequent Rain- fall.— Moisture Distribution of Kansas and Nebraska, to What Due. — The Agricultural Benefits Derived from Tree-planting in Aus- tralia. —The Australian Desert's Reclamatiou Possible. — The De- struction of Forest-lands for Agricultural Purposes in the United States. — Decrease of Lumber Supply and its Increasing Value. — Precautionary Measures Discussed Page 11 CHAPTER IV. DANGER OF TIMBER FAMINE. Convincing Proofs of the Approach of a Timber Famine. — Manufac- ture of Charcoal in New England, and Quantities of Wood An- nually Consumed thereby. — The Destruction of Forests on the Tittabawassee and Cass Rivers Illustrated.— The Immensity of For- est Destruction in Nevada.— A Prediction of Nevada's Future. . 17 CHAPTER V. DESTKOYING THE KEDWOOD. A Description of the Redwood Forests. — Lumbering Operations in the Redwood Forests in Detail. — The Advantages of Skilled Axemen in Lumbering Operations. — The Axeman's EfiBciency in Time of War. — The Mill Machinery, of What Consisting. — Process of Pre- paring the Timber. — Immense - sized Trees. — Average Yield of Sawed Stuff per Acre. — The Forest Soil Described. — Depth of Root of the Redwood-tree, to What Due. — A Reasonable Expla- nation. — Great Age of the Redwood-tree. — Manner of Growth and General Appearance. — Experiences of the Log Camp. — Redwood Logging in California 20 CHAPTER VI. FAMOUS TEEES OF THE WORLD. The Forest World and Human Life Compared. — Remarkable-sized Trees, Where Found. — The Largest and Oldest Specimens in the World. — Adanson's Experience of the Age of Trees. — " The Afri- can Baobab," " Californian Pine," "American Cypress," "The Tree Shelter of Cortez, " '" The Chestnut-tree of Mount Etna, " ' ' The Babylonian Tree," " The Wilrtemberg Linden- tree," " The Ancient Oaks of England," " The Old Walnut-tree of the Balkans," "The Banyan-tree of Ceylon," "The Ancient Cedar Forest of Lebanon," "The Feathery Cocoanut and Fan-like Palmyra of India," "The Date-tree," "American Trees of Historic Fame," "The Walnut- tree," "The Soap Plant of California," "The Mulberry-tree," "The Jonesia Asika" and "The Tamala of India," "The Shakespearian Mulberry," " The Wadsworth Oak of New York," " The Live-oaks CONTENTS. VU of Florida,'' and the Grand Oaks of Europe variously and separate- ly Described.— The Oriental Mulberry Proverb.— A Quotation from Genesis Page 27 CHAPTER VII. THE OLDEST TIMBER IN THE WOULD. Where Found, and Uses to which Put. — Its Present Preserved Condi- tion and Sacred History. — The Ancient Trees of America, Where Pound. — Petrified Relics. — Evidences of Ancient Tree-growth in Nevada. — Indian Tradition on the Tree-gi'owth of Nevada. — Car- bonized Tree-trunks 35 CHAPTER VIII. THE BEAUTY OF TREES. Their Varieties of Feature and Form and Diversity of Character. — The Attributes of Trees. — The Essential Condition of Beauty in Trees. — Beauty of Forest Retreats. — The Forest Enjoyments and Joyous Inhabitants. — Individ>ial and Collective Beautifying of Trees, How Realized 37 CHAPTER IX. INFLUENCE OF TREES ON CLIMATE. Forest Resources of India. — Formation and Development of the For- est Service of India. — Utility of Indian Forests, of What Con- sisting. — Traces of Flooded Areas. — Decrease of Stream in Pun- jab Rivers, to What Due. — The Temperature of Russia, How Af- fected by Forest Destruction. — Difficulty of Replanting Trees in Russia. — ^A Striking Illustration of a Forest-denuded Country. — Khanate of Bokhara. — Its Fertility Now and Thirty Years ago Contrasted. — Bavarian Observations. — Ascertained Influence of Forests on Climate, Relative Moisture, Fertility, and Healthful- ness, with Illustrations. — The Distribution of Rainfall and For- ests of the United States. — Serious Discoveries in the United States in Connection with Forest Destruction. — An Unpleasant Future Prospect. — Industrious Prosperity of the United States, How Threat- ened. — Saying of Dr. Hayes and How it Concerns the United States 41 CHAPTER X. WARMTH OF TREES IN VTINTBE AND COOLNESS IN SUMMER. Temperature of Trees. — Their Winter Warmth and Summer Cool- ness. — Differences ef Temperature of Different Trees Illustrated. — Heat-producing Property of Trees Exemplified. — Local Heating Influence of Forests. — The Additional Property of Evergreens. — Their Twofold Office 45 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. THE BLOOD OF TUBES. Experiments in Connection with tlie Circulation of Sap in Trees. — Variety of Sap-exuding Trees.— Non Sap-yielding Species. — Tlie Influence of Climate on Flow of Sap.— Composition of Sap, to What Due. — Distinctive Characteristics of Sap-yielding Trees Demon- strated. — Effect of the Temperature of Soil and Atmosphere on Sap- flow. — Principal Ingredients of Sap. — Daily Meteorological Obser- vations and What they Prove. — Explanations on the Alternations of Sap-flow. — The Observations of Biot and Nevins, and What they Determine. — The Opinion of Mr. Hubbard Confirmed by Experi- ments. — The Absorbent Power of Roots. — Development of Leaf and Flower, How Influenced, and Origin of their Vitality. .Page 47 CHAPTER XII. SHELTBH-BBLTS. Vegetable Need of Protection Illustrated. — Observed Fallacies and Reasonable Contradictions. — Laws of Heat Radiation Demonstrated. — Nightly Atmospheric Heating.' — Condition and Elevation of Air Favorable to Vegetable Life. — Atmospheric Vapor, How Supplied. — The Benefits of Transpiration of Forests. — Observations in Europe, and What they Prove. — A Conclusion Established. — Ad- duced Facts. — Motion of the Atmosphere. — Liquid and Aerial Mo- tion Contrasted. — Aerial Motion Illustrated. — Protective Systems and their Controlling Influences. — Experienced Facts versus Theo- ry. — A Study for the Orchardist and Farmer. — Experienced Testi- mony on the Influence of Shelter-Belts 54 CHAPTER XIII. KINDS OF TEBES TO PLANT. The White, Blue, Black, Green, Red, and European Ashes.— Their Growth, Usefulness, and Manner of Culture. — Climate and Soil best Suited to their Growth.— Distinguishing Traits and Proper- ties of Varieties.— The Mountain Ash.— Its Deportment, Uses, and Manner of Propagating.— Its Enemies.— The American Flowering Ash Described gg CHAPTER XIV. THE WALNUT. Its Culture, Usefulness, and Productiveness.— Value of the Walnut as a Crop.— Seed per Acre.— Its Nativity.— Traces of its Antiquity and Introduction into Europe.— Recognized Roman Varieties and their Names. -Its Modern Cultivation and Increased Varieties. — The Black Walnut. — Where Found, Attainable Size, and At- tendant Features. — The Butternut. — Climate best Suited to its CONTENTS. IX Growth.— General Qualities. — Its Medicinal Properties. — The Eng- lish Walnut. — ^Its Cultivation, Distinguishing Properties, and Fruit- fulness Page 70 CHAPTER XV. THE MAPLES. The Sugar Maple: its Productiveness, Peculiarities of Growth, Foli- age, and Manner of Culture. — A Proposition Worthy of Note. — Placing Maple-groves with Respect to Shelter. — The Advantages of Regular Planting. — Thrift of Trees when Transplanted from Dense Thickets. — Preferable Transplants. — Timber and Fuel Qual- ities of Maple. — ^Its Ornamental Standard. — The Chief Uses of Ma- ple. — Peculiarity of its Seed. — Soil best Adapted to its Growth. — The Soft Maple: its Wild and Cultivated Thrift, Manner of Planting, and Uses. — The Red Maple : Range of Growth, Na- tive Home and Standard Timber, and other Qualities. — The Ash- leaved Maple: its Uses, Growth, and Ornamental Advantages. — The Striped Maple: Where Found, Growth, and Ornament. — The Norway Maple : its Advantages. — The Large and Round-leaved Maples generally Described 74 CHAPTER XVI. THE ELMS. The White Elm. — Its Usefulness and Demand. — Growth and Attain- ment. — Elms, How Planted. — Additional Cropping of Area. — Re- sistance against Insects. — Its Use as a Shade-tree. — The Elm as De- scribed by Michaux. — Its Ancient and Modern Popularity. — Soil Suited to its Growth. — Effect of Crowded Planting on its Appear- ance. — Its Ornamental Usefulness. — The Corky White Elm. — Its Distinguishing Features. — Its Additional Name. — The Wa- hoo, or Winged Elm. — Its Distinguishing Growth and Scarcity. — Uses to which Put. — Its Medicinal Properties. — The Red Elm. — Its Relative Kindred. — Elevated Home. — Its Growth and Useful- ness.— Soil Suited to its Growth. — Durability of its Wood.— The Uses of Small Specimens. — Its Enemies and Objections 83 CHAPTER XVII. THE LOCUST. The Honey-Locust. — Where Found and Convenient Usefulness. — Its Growth and Value. — Locust- wood as Pavement— An Exceptional Specimen. — Uses of the Thorny and Thornless Varieties, and their Characteristics. — Distinguishing Variety Features. — Its Resisting Properties to Destructive Agencies. — Experience of Mr. Helme on Locust-planting. — Manner of Sowing its Seed for Hedge.— Manner of Transplanting Explained. — Its Usefulness as a Wind-break. — X CONTENTS. Successful Hedge-growing Experiments. — The Water-Locust. — Its Growth.— General Characteristics Compared with the Honey- Locust.— Where Found and Soil Suitable to its Growth.— The Yel- low and Common Locust variously Described. — The Rose-flowered Locust Described Page 85 CHAPTER XVin. THE CHESTNUT. A Favorable Notice. —Its Remunerative Returns. — Manner of Setting Out and Caring For. — Benefits of Cutting Back. — Ground Suited to its Growth. — A DiflSculty of its Raising. — Manner of Sowing its Seed. — Winter Preservation of Plants. — Time to Transplant. — A Release from a Difficulty. — Chestnut-planting in Nevada, and Pro- ductiveness. — Growth of the Chestnut in North Carolina, and its Great Growth in Europe. — An Old Tree and its Productive Bear- ing. — Uses of Chestnut Wood. — Its Durability. — The Chincapin. — Where Found.— Quality of its Fruit. — Durability of Wood. — Its Growth Influenced by Climate 90 CHAPTER XIX. THE BOX-ELDEK. Its Nativity.— Range of Growth and Soil Suited to its Growth. — Gen- eral Appearance and Duration of Life. — Description of its Wood, Bark, and Leaf. — Large Specimens, Where Found. — Manner of Sowing its Seed.— A Suggestion by Michaux. — Date of Introduc- tion into Europe. — Attained Height 93 CHAPTER "XX. THE BIKCU. The Canoe-Birch. — Its Romantic and Legendary Connections. — Youth- ful Reminiscences. — Its Native Home and Attainable Dimensions. — Color and Use of its Bark. — European and American Birch. — Their Growth. — Advantages of Dense Sowing. — Its Value as Fuel. — Characteristics. — Seed, Where Obtained. — Soil Suited to its Pro- duction. — Black Birch. — Its Usual Height. — Its Wood Described. — Where Found. — Seed, when Ripe. — Yellow Birch. — Where it Thrives.— Height and General Characteristics. — The Red Birch. — Its Proportions. — Its Climate. — Seed, when Ripe. — The White Birch. — Its Insignificance. — Its Only Virtue 95 CHAPTER XXI. THE HICKOET. Its Favored Emblematic Character.— Productive Qualities. — Manner of Planting for Fruit and for Wood. — The Shellbark Hickory. — Its Features, Form, and Character. — Its Twofold Merits. — The CONTENTS. XI Thick Shellbark Hickory.— General Cliaracteristics. — Quality of its Fruit. — Composition of Leaf. — Pignut Hickory. — Its Size, At- tainable Heiglit, and Particular Qualities. — Quality of its Fruit, and for What Used.— The Mocker Nut. — Attainable Height and Size. — Manner of Growth. — Its Fruit Described. — Distinguishing Characteristics. — Probable Reason of its Kame. — The Pecan Nut. — Its Attainable Height. — Quality of its Wood and Fruit. — Gen- eral Appearance and Productiveness. — The Bitter-Nut Hickory. — Its Associate Trees. — ^Where Found and Progressive Decrease. — Its Liability to Destruction Page 97 CHAPTER XXII. THE PINES. Their Rank among Trees. — Uses to Wliich Put. — Produce of the Pine. — Places Famous for its Growth. — Its Ornamental Advan- tages. — The White Pine. — Its Attainable Height and Size. — Scar- city of the Pine in New England and Other States, and Cause. — Present Supply, from Where Procured. — Future Prospects of Pineries. — Its Accommodating Growth. — Soil Suited to its Growth. — Effect of Varied Soils on Quality of its Wood. — An Objection to its Ornamental Qualities. — Properties of its Wood as Fuel. — A Suggestion on Planting the Pine. — The Red Pine. — Its Nativ- ity. — Attainable Height. — Soil Suited to its Growth. — General Ap pearance. — Durability and Quality of its Wood. — Its Beautify- ing Advantages. — Experienced Difficulties of Raising. — Practised Roguery in Selling Seed. — Gray and Scrub Pine. — Its Diffused Range of Growth and Attainable Size. —For What Used and for What Recommended. — Its Advantages for Ornamental Purposes. — Its Easy Culture. — The Yellow Pine: Where Found.— Its Sub- stituted Name. — Peculiarities of its Growth. — Soil Suited to its Abundant Growth. — Its Good Qualities and Chief Uses. — Pitch Pine. — Its Confined Range of Growth. — Soil Suited to its Growth, and its Attainable Height. — Its Particular Properties. — Its Chief Uses. — Its Undesirable Peculiarities. — Stone Pine. — Where Found. — Chief Uses and Adaptability. — Pi'operties of its Seed and Durability of its Wood. — Reason of its Non-extensive Cultivation. — Loblolly Pine: Its Disadvantages and General Uselessness. — Scotch Pine. — Its Relative Merits Compared with the White Pine. — Its Usefulness and Recommended Culture. — Austrian Pine: as Recommended by Bryant, Loudon, and Bayreuth. — Where Found — Purpose for which Cultivated. — Its Durability and Other Advantages. — Scrub Pine. — Where Found and its Uselessness. — Corsican Pine. — Its Nativity, Valuableness, Attained Height, and Manner of Growth. — Its Ornamental Advantages. — Table-Moun- tain Pine. — Its Height and Appearance. — Where Found and Gene- ral Worthlessness 101 XU CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIII. CBDAKS. White Cedar. — Where Found and Soil Suited to its Growth. — Its Chief Uses.— Its Ornamental Value.— The Hed Cedar. — Its At- tainable Growth, Usefulness, and General Appearance. — Its Vege- tating Properties. — Reasons for its Non-extensive Culture. — Com- mon Juniper. — Its Nativity.— The Attainable Growth of Varie- ties. — Its Medicinal and other Properties. — How Propagated. — Care Necessary for the Protection of Young Plants. — The Cedran- tree. — Where Indigenous. — Its Antidotary Properties Page 108 CHAPTER XXIV. LINDENS. Where Found. — Their Classification. — Quality and Durability of their Wood. — Their Ornamental and other Uses. — European Linden. — Its Principal Uses and Growth. — White Linden. — Description of Leaf. — Range of Growth. — A Specified Variety. — Buffalo Berry. — Its Attainable Height and Deportment. — How Propagated. — Its Es- teemed Quality and Relative Resemblance. — Quality and Useful- ness of its Fruit. — Manner of Planting for Fruit Production. — Ja- pan Sophora. — Its Nativity.— How best Propagated. — Quality of its Wood and for What Used.— Soil Favorable to its Thrift.— Sas- safras. — Its Domestic Uses. — Properties and Uses of its Wood. — How Propagated. — Its Ornamental Advantages 112 CHAPTER XXV. LAKCHES. The Black Larch, or Tamarack. —Its Singular Beauty^ Attainable Height, and Appearance. — Its Range of Growth. — Soil Suited to its Growth, with Difference of Opinion. — Its Durability and Usefulness.— A Practised Fraud Unearthed. — The European Larch. — Its Attainable Height, Range, Rate of Growth, and General Con- tour. — Its Ornamental and Timber Excellence. — Durability and Uses of its Wood.— Larch-growing in England and Scotland.— Ages of Maturity. —Foreign Testimony on its Durability. — Its Adapted Uses. — Places Favorable to its Propagation.— Where to Select and Obtain Seed. — Mr. Tliomas Lake's Experience in Grow- ing Larch 114 CHAPTER XXVI. THE MAGNOLIAS. The Cucumber-tree. — Its Range and Manner of Growth. Its At- tainable Height and Ornamental Character. — How Propagated. Yellow Cucumber-tree. — Where Found. — Its Beauty and Or- CONTENTS. XUl namental Character. — Quality and Durability of its 'Wood. — A Reason for its Scarcity. — Small Magnolia, Sweet Bay. — Its At- tainable Height. — Its Limited Kange and Exceptional Ornament. — A Perfect Specimen Described. — How to Preserve its Seed and Young Plants.— Great-leaved Magnolia — Its Rarity and Remark- able Characteristics. — Umbrella-tree. — Its Resemblance to the Great- leaved Magnolia. — Its Range of Growth and Favorable Soil. — Its Usual Height. — Its Artistic Beauty, Odoriferous Qualities, and Peculiar Tendency. — Ear -leaved Magnolia, or Ear -leaved Um- brella-tree. — Where Found. — Its Height.— Its Pleasing and Distin- guishing Features. — Yulan Magnolia. — Its Foreign Nativity and Recent Introduction into the United States. — Its Distinctive Char- acter and Odoriferous Production. — The Foliage of Young Trees De- scribed. — Recommended Specimens. — The Conspicuous-flowered Magnolia. — Its Distinguishing Difference. — The Empress Alex- andrina's Conspicuous-flowered Magnolia. — ^Date of Introduction into England. — Its Parallel of Thrift and its Floral Productiveness! Manner of Planting. — Magnolia Purpurea. — Its Nativity. — Color of Bloom. — ^How Grown, and Medicinal Properties Page 118 CHAPTER XXVII. YELLOW WOOD. Its Rarity and Limited Height. — Where Found and General Char- acteristics. — Manner of Preserving and Sowing its Seed. — The Dogwood. — Cornel Dogwood. — Its Singularity of Species and Diffused Growth. — Its Ornamental and Useful Advantages. — Method of Preparing and Sowing its Seed. — The Jamaica Dog- wood. — Description and Medicinal Properties. — The Date Plum. — Persimmon. — Its Usual Height and Size. — Peculiarities of its Foliage and Bark. — Effect of Frost on its Fruit. — Description and Uses of its Wood. — Preserving its Seed. — The Mulberry. — Red Mulberry. — Where Found, Attainable Height, and Manner of Growth. — Durability and Uses of its Wood. — Its Ornamental Value. — How to Obtain its Seed. — The Black Mulberry. — Its For- eign Origin. — Its Comparative Growth and Productiveness. — Its Dedication. — ^Weight of its Wood per Cubic Foot. — Effect of Age on its Fruitfulness. — The White Mulberry-tree. -^ Its Main Dis- tinguishing Feature. — Its Growth. — Countries to which Indige- nous. — Purpose for which Introduced into the United States, and Results 133 CHAPTER XXVIIL THE BOW-WOOD, OK OSAGE OKANGE. Range of Growth, and Soil Favorable to its Growth. — Its Attainable Height. — The Incorruptible Property of its Wood. — Color of its Wood, Uses for which Fit, and Advantages.— Its Productiveness XIV CONTENTS. and Famed Elasticity. — ^Its Foliage and Fruit Described.— States best Suited to its Thrift. — Difference of Bearing of the Male and the Female Tree.— A Fruitful Yield Page 129 CHAPTER XXIX. THE AILANTUS, OR TKEE OF HEAVEN. Its Height, Size, and Nativity. — Its Adaptability to Arid Places, -with Recommendation. — Manner of Growth, Description and Uses of its Wood. — ^Description of its Leaf and Flower. — When First Intro- duced into the United States and by Whom. — Successful Propaga- tion Instanced. — How Propagated 131 CHAPTER XXX. THE BUCKEYE. Similarity of Species and General Characteristics to Horse-chestnuts. — Horse-chestnut Buckeye. — Its Elevation and Nativity. — Its Manner of Growth and Soil Suited to its Growth. — Its Foliage and Fruit Described. — Its Ornamental Value. — Specified Vari- eties. — When Introduced into the United States. — Repulsiveness of its Leaves to Insect Ravages. — Description of its Wood.— Use to which Put in Europe. — Use as Recommended by Du Hamel. — Produce of its Bark. — Bleaching Properties of its Nut. — Its Artistic Beauty. — Ohio Buckeye. — Height. — For what Recom- mended. — Its Uselessness as a Timber Tree. — The Sweet Buck- eye. — Its Attainable Height. — Origin of its Name. — Uses of its Wood. — How Propagated. — Popularity of its Nut-husks. — The Red Buckeye. — Its Stunted Growth. — Its Floral and Odorous Proper- ties. — Where Found. — Effect of its Bark on Fish. — Another Use of its Bark. — Its Largest Specimen. — Its Supposed Nativity. — Its In- troduction into Britain, and Ornamental Use. — Results of Grafting. — An Opinion. — The Edible Buckeye Described 133 CHAPTER XXXI. THE TUPELO. The Tupelo, Black Gum, or Pepperidge. — Its Variety and Allied Characteristics. — Their Floral Fragrance. — How Raised, Size, and Range of Growth.— Texture of its Wood and for What Esteemed. — Its Twofold Property. — Its Variety of Name. — Description of its Berries and their Sustaining Usefulness. — Its Attainable Height and Places Favorable to its Growth. — Its Uses in Virginia. — The Wild Lime-tree. — Its Resemblance to the Black Gum-tree, and Exception.— Description and Uses of its Wood.— Buoyant Prop- erty of its Roots. -The Esteemed Delicacy of its Fruit. — Its Height and Size 137 CONTEHTS. XV CHAPTER XXXII. THE JTJNEBEKEY. Its Noticeable Beauty. — Its Attainable Height. — Its Floral and Fruit Productiveness. — Its Foliage Described. — The Non-distinctive Dif- ference of European and American Varieties. — Its Range of Growth. — Soil and Situation Suitable to its Thrift. — Use of its Fruit. — The Papaw. — Its Stunted Growth.— Its Floral and Fruit-bearing Properties. — Its Limited Latitude of Growth. — Properties of its Wood and Fruit Page 139 CHAPTER XXXIII. THE CATALPA. Its Scattered Range, Height, and Growth. — Its Flower and Foliage Described. — Occurrence of its Bud and Fall of Leaf. — Its Climate and Thrift. — Its Self-propagating Properties.— Durability and other Properties of its Wood. — Its Seed Described. — Manner of Culture. — A New-England Specimen Described. — The Medicinal Properties of its Bark. — The Poisonous and Medicinal Property of its Flower. — Its Annual Beautifying Productiveness 141 CHAPTER XXXIV. THE HACKBEKET. Its Attainable Height and Size. — Its Appearance and Characteristics. — Description and Uses of its Wood. — Its Odorous Production. — Its Range of Growth. — The Largest of its Species, Where Grow- ing. — How Propagated.— Its Enemies. — The Red-bud. — Its Stunted Growth. — Its Floral and Seed Productiveness. — How Propagated. — Similarities of its Species, and Distinguishing Features. — Use of its Bark. — Culinary Usefulness of its Flower, Bud, and Pod . . . 143 CHAPTER XXXV. THE FKINGE-TKEE. Its Limited Height.— Its Native Range and Ornamental Value.— Its Floral Productiveness. — Its Variety of Name. — Its Classified Be- longings.'-Its Medicinal and other Properties— Its Possible Perfect- nessby Grafting.— The Iron- Wood.— Where Belonging. —Height of Tree, Uses and Durability of its Wood.— Manner of Growth. — Its Disadvantages as a Timber Tree 145 CHAPTER XXXVI. THE BUTTONWOOD, ASPEN, AKD POPLAR. The Buttonwood or Plane-tree. — Its Extensive Range and Abundant Growth. — Its General Appearance and Elevation. — Its Peculiar Dis- advantages. — Description of its Seed and Manner of Sowing. — The XVI CONTENTS. Aspen.— Its jSTumerous Species and Resemblances.— Value of its Wood.— Disagreeable Character of its Seed.— The American Aspen. —Where Found and Limited Height.— Description and Uses of its Wood.— Its Common Characteristics.— Large Aspen.— Its Advaa- tages.— Uses and Properties of its Wood.— Downy-leaved Poplar. —Its Southern Nativity.— Attainable Height and Size.— Peculiari- ties of its Foliage.- Its Uselessness as Lumber.— The Balsam Pop- lar.— Where Found and its Uselessness.— The White Poplar.— Its Ornamental Value.— Its other Advantages.— Its Superior Qualities and Chief Uses.— How Propagated and Attainable Height.Page 147 CHAPTER XXXVII. CHERRV-TKEES. Wild Black Cherry.— Its Native Range.— Preferred Use of its Wood. — Its Ornamental Character. — Its Productiveness. — Manner of Preserving and Sowing its Seed. —The Wild Red Cherry. — Its Attainable Height and Size.— Its Qualities Contrasted with the Black Cherry.— Description and Qualities of its Wood.— Its Spon- taneous Growth.— Its. Special Property.- The Wild Cherry.— Its Medicinal Properties 150 CHAPTER XXXVIIL THE WILLOWS. The White Willow. — Its Ornamental Value and Elevated Growth. — Manner of Growth and Usefulness. — Its Supposed Worthlessness the Result of Fraud. — Description of its Wood. — The Brittle Wil- low. — Its Height, Growth, Rarity, and Uses. — Weeping Willow. — Its Ornamental Advantages. — Places Favorable to its Growth. — Largest Specimens, Where Produced. — Grafting of the Kilmarnock and American Willow. — Shining Willow. — Its Exceeding Orna- ment.— Its Growth on Careful Culture. — Its Favorite Places of Growth.— How Recognized. — Peculiar Feature of its Leaves. . 153 CHAPTER XXXIX. THE SPRUCES. White Spruce.— Its Attainable Height and Size.— Its Northern Nativ- ity. — Principal Uses of its Wood. — The Oil Extracted from its Branches. — The Black Spruce. — Atmosphere Favorable to its De- velopment.— Its Wild Luxuriance.— Description of its Cones.— Man- ner of Securing its Seed.— The Red and Blue Spruces.— Their Re- semblance to the White Spruce.— The Norway Spruce.— Its Height. —Peculiarities of its Growth.— Its Age of Maturity and Where Indig- enous. —Its Resinous Extract.— Uses of its Bark.— Importation of Young Trees to England and Uses to Which Put.— Durability of its Wood.— Effect of Soil on the Qualities of its Wood.— Its General CONTENTS. XVU Appearance and Persistent Growth. — Its Usefulness as Shelter. — Its Properties Preferable to those of the Black Spruce. — Manner of Saving and Sowing its Seed. — Hemlock Spruce. — Where Indige- nous. — Elevation Favorable to its Thrift. — Texture and Character- istics of its Wood. — Peculiarities of Grain. — Its Beautifying Charac- ter. — Its "Value Compared with other Timber Trees.— Balsam Fir. — Its Nativity. — Its Height and Size.— Medicinal Properties and Or- namental Advantages. — Fraser's Fir. — Where Found and General Characteristics Page 154 CHAPTER XL. THE DECIDUODS CYPRESS. Its Ornamental Character, Southern Home, and Dispersed Growth. — Soil Suited to its Growth, and Attainable Height. — Peculiarities of its Growth. — Its Associate Tree. — Description and Properties of its Wood. — Its Usefulness and Indifference to Climatic Influences. — White and Black Cypresses. — Value of the Cypress.— Its Seed. — Manner of Sowing and Cultivating 158 CHAPTER XLI. THE AMERICAN ARBOR- VIT^. Its Northern Home. — Its Favorite Soil. — Its Attainable Height and Size. — Uses and Properties of its Wood. — Its Ornamental Advan- tages. — Manner of Planting Explained. — Its Varieties. — Important Varieties. — Its Medicinal Properties 160 CHAPTER XLII. THE YEW. The English Yew. — Its Foreign Origin. — Its Famed Longevity. — Its Symbolic Uses. — The Immensity of its Foliage. — Properties and Uses of its Wood. — Its Latitude of Thrift. — American Yew, or Ground Hemlock. — Its Stunted Growth, and Semi-evergreen Prop- erties. — Effect of Cultivation on its Growth. — Its Artistic Advan- tages 162 CHAPTER XLIII. THE BOX-TREE AND HOLLY. The Box-tree. — Its Foreign Origin. — Its Western Attainments. — Its Usual Height. — Quality, Property, and Uses of its Wood. — Adapta- bility of its Foliage to Fantastic Designings. — How Propagated. — Winter Preservation of the Dwarf Species. — The Holly. — Its Va- rieties. — The American Variety Considered. — Its Range of Growth and Favorite Soil. — Its Ornamental Perfection 164 A* XVIH CONTENTS. CHAPTER XLIV. THE LAUREL. The American Laurel. — Density of its Growth. — Its Resemblance to the Box. — A Name Derived from its Uses. — Description and Prop- erties of its Wood. — Soil and Climate of Thrift. — Its Seed and Flow- er Described. — Care Necessary to its Raising. — Sheep Laurel.— A Contrasted Difference. — Properties of its Leaves. — The Great Lau- rel. — Region of its Abundance. — Climate and Situation Congenial to its Growth. — Its Attained Height. — Its Floral Productiveness. — The Rose Bay.^Its Elevated Home. — Its Diminutive Height. — Its Beautifying Advantages. — Soil Unfavorable to its Thrift. — The Carolina Laurel Described and Qualified Page 166 CHAPTER XLV. TIMBER TREES. List of the most Valuable Timber Trees in the United States, and their Suitable Climate. — Coniferous Trees. — Number of Seeds to the Pound of Each Species 169 CHAPTER XLVI. THE EUCALYPTUS, OR THE FETER-TREE. Its Nativity. — When Discovered, and by Whom. — When Introduced into France. — Its Medicinal Qualities, and by Whom Discovered. — Its Antiseptic Properties. — The Healthful Results of its Planting in Malarial Districts. — Its Tour of Travel and Introduction into America. — Eucalyptus - planting by the Trappist ]\Ionks, and Ex- pected Results. — Record of the Eucalyptus as a Disinfectant. — In- stanced Results of its Antiseptic and Disinfecting Properties. — Eu- calyptus-planting in New Orleans, and Healthful Results. — The Eucalyptus as a Preventive against Yellow and Jungle Fever, and Efforts for its Introduction into India. — Experience of English Ti'ee- growers in Raising the Eucalyptus. — Its Destined Future. — Climate Best Suited to its Growth. — Its Successful Raising on the Pacific Coast. — Experiments on the Virtues of the Eucalyptus and Results in Detail. — Its Odorous Properties. — Its Other Uses. — Eucalyptus- planting in California, and Probable Returns. — An Opinion in Re- gard to the Southern and Southwestern States 171 CHAPTER XLVII. THE OAK. Its Rank among Trees. — Procuring and Sowing its Seed. — The Burr Oak. — Its Attainable Growth. — Description of the Burr Oak as given by Dr. P. R. Hoy.— Its General Appearance and Beautify- ing Character. — Durability of its Wood. — Manner of Growth. CONTENTS. XIX Its Utility and Ornament. — Its Abundance and Distribution. — Its Zone of Thrift. — Characteristics of its Foliage. — Conditions by which to Distinguish Species. — Opinions on Transplanting. — The White Oak, the Post Oak, the Swamp Chestnut Oak, the Black Oak, the Scarlet Oak, the Bed Oak, the Pin Oak, the Willow Oak, the Laurel Oak, the Black-jack Oak, the Spanish Oak, and the Live- Oak Separately and Variously Described Page 179 CHAPTER XLVIII. THE BERBERKT. Its Attainable Growth under Culture.— The Common Berberry. — Its Ornamental Value and Manner of Training. — Its Thrift and General Appearance. — Where Indigenous. — Soil Suitable to its Thrift. — Its Ploral and Fruit Productiveness. — Uses of its Fruit and Leaves. — Medicinal and other Properties of its Bark.— A Prejudice against it. — Varieties and Original Species, How Raised. — Berberis aquifoUum. — Its Beauty. — Its Range of Growth and High Altitude of Thrift. — Quality and Color of its Fruit. — Its Botanical Description. — Medic- inal Properties of its Root. — Its Medicinal Extracts, and Complaints for which Prescribed. — Medicinal Properties of its Berries. . . . 184 CHAPTER XLIX. THE BUCKTHORN. Its Growth and General Appearance.— Its Floral and Fruit Productive- ness. — Medicinal and other Uses of its Berries. — Its Ornamental Value. — Its Suitability as a Hedge-plant.— How Propagated, and Manner of Culture and Training. — Its other Characteristics. . . 187 CHAPTER L. THE GORDONIA. The Woolly-flowered Gordonia.— Its Attainable Height. — Its Southern Nativity. — Its General Appearance Described. — Description and Uses of its Bark and Wood. — Its Botanical Description. — Its Agree- able Floral Production. — Soil Suited to its Thrift. — Its Artificial Raising. — How Propagated. — The Pubescent-leaved Gordonia. — Where Indigenous. — Its Ornamental Value and Extensive Culture. — Its Floral Bearing. — Its Foliage Described 189 CHAPTER LI. THE PRIDE OP INDIA. Its Climate of Thrift, and Attainable Growth.— Its Beautifying and Ornamental Elegance. — Its Diffused Existence. ^Opinions as to its Nativity.— How Propagated and Manner of Culture.— Its Favorite Soil.— Description of its Leaf, Flower, and Fruit.— Medicinal Prop- erties of its Berries. — Description and Uses of its Wood,— Its Seed, How Obtained , . , , : 191 XX CONTENTS. CHAPTER LII. THE MAHOGANY-TKEE. Where Indigenous.— Its Primitive Nativity.— Its General Pliysique De- scribed.— Its Floral Productiveness.— Peculiarity of its Seed.— A Reason for its Dispersed Existence.— Season for Felling.— Varieties, and Renowned Uses of its Wood.— Unseasonable Felling, and Pre- cautionary Measures to Prevent Imperfectness. — Date when Intro- duced into England. — An Interesting Account of its Introduction. -Effect of Soil and Climate on the Texture of its Wood.— Its Du- rability. — Its Present Uses. — Dimensions of Exported Logs and their Value.— Method of Test for Soundness in Logs.— How the Mahog- any became Naturalized to the Eastern Hemisphere. — A Species of the Burman Forests. — Its Characteristics Compared with those of its American Cousin Page 193 CHAPTER LIII. GRAPE-VINES. The American Wild Vine.— Attention Paid to its Classification.— Dis- tinctive Characteristics of Species. — Delicacy of their Habit. — Traits of Good Quality of the Grape-vine. — Where Indigenous. — Its General Bearing. — The Celebrated Varieties of North America. — Their Favored Qualities. — Collective Sketches of the Qualities and Properties of the most Hardy Varieties. — Manner of Planting the Grape-vine, and After-Management 197 CHAPTER LIV. THE COMMON APPLE-TREE. Diffusion of the Common Apple-tree.— Period of Cultivation in the United States.— Its Original Nativity.— Its Wild Thrift and Gen- eral Deportment. — The Many Varieties of its Parentage. — Hinder- ances to its Longevity.— Exceptional Trees, Where Grown. — Soil and Situation Necessary to Perfect its Productiveness. — How Propagated. — Management Necessary when Propagating from Seed 202 CHAPTER LV. THE GOLDEN ORANGE-TREE. Doubts of the Nativity of the Golden Orange-tree. — Its Believed Ori- gin.— Where Abounding in the United States, and by Whom Intro- duced.— Record of its Early Notice,— Its Attainable Height under Culture. — Its Majestic Bearing and Floral and Fruit Productiveness. —Its Many Varieties Variously Described and Qualified.— Soil and Climate Suited to its Thrift.— How Propagated.— Manner of Rais- ing from Cuttings.— Uses for which Principally Cultivated.— De- scription and Usefulness of its Wood.— Its Greatest Enemy. . . 205 CONTEXTS. XXI CHAPTER LVI. PEOPAGATION OP TKEE3. Propagating. — Contrast of Theory and Practical Knowledge. — Meth- ods of Propagating. — Varieties from Original Species, How Pro- duced. — Seeding. — Time and Manner of Sowing, with Xecessary Considerations. — Preparation of the Soil. — Cuttings. — "What they Are. — ^When, Where, and What to Select. — Period of Longevity, How Ascertained. — Cause of Decay in Cuttings. — Characteristics of their Growth. — How Set Out. — Evergreens. — When Propagated from Cuttings. — Xecessary Precautions. — Layering. — Origin of Method. — Governing Laws of Growth in Layers. — Methods of Layering Described. — Budding. — Inserted and Annular Budding, How Performed. — Object of the Methods. — Seasonable Time for Operating. — Grafting. — The Splice, Saddle, and Cleft Modes Sepa- rately Explained. — Pruning. — The Object of Pruning and the Ben- efits Effected thereby Page 210 CHAPTER LVII. ON PLAUTISG. Wtat to Plant. — Preparation of the Soil. — Influence of Soil, Situa- tion, and Climate on Certain Species. — Dr. John A. Warden's Facts in Connection with Tree-planting. — Congenial Soil of Spe- cies. — On Natural and Artificial Grouping. — Dispersion of Spe- cies, to What Due. — ^Base of Successful Forestry. — Combined Spe- cies and Obnoxious Exceptions. — On Planting for Shelter-hedge or Screen. — Species Adapted to each Purpose. — On Planting Hill- sides. — A Philosophical Suggestion. — The Notching or Pitting Process for the Production of Stock Plants. — Separated Existence of Certain Species, and Care Necessary to their Successful Produc- tion. — Nurses. — What they Are. — Uses for which Designed. — Spe- cies most Easily Produced or Obtained. — ^Jlanner of Planting, and their Utility. — Nurses in Use for Specified Species. — Nurses as a Source of Profit. — On Close Planting and its Resulting Economy. — Rapidity of Growth of Hardy Trees. — Transplanting Seedlings. — Transplanting Trees of Large Size 226 CHAPTER LVIII. medicrnal pbopekties op the teees of the united states. . 343 Index 253 INTRODUCTION. I BELIEVE in God and my country. And if, after an implicit faith in an All-wise Providence, there is any one thing more than another on which I rely, it is the wis- dom and prudence of the American people. The seed from the rude sowing of the colonies which hewed out the magnificent states of the East, and established a free and independent government, wiU never be found want- ing in anything which goes to make up a truly great na- tion. From my earliest youth my voice has ever been raised against the destruction of the forests of America ; but, lost amid the whir of saws and the resounding stroke of axes, it was too weak to be heard, until now, the day of reckoning having come, we must dispassionately con- sider the evil done, and take measures to remedy it in the future. It is the disposition of our people not to take heed of the future, but only to enjoy the present. While the forests of America lasted they could not and would not believe the day would ever come when they would have need of them. But now they see more clear- ly, and look with dismay on the ruin which their own hands have wrought. To aU I would say, be not dis- couraged, for it is stUl possible to undo in a great meas- ure the evils of the past, but it will require all of our pa- tience and wisdom, and much more than was ever ex- hibited by our fathers. xxiv INTEODIJCTION. To destroy the forests of America has been a brief work ; to replant and reproduce them will be the labor of forty generations, but it can be done. I have written many books and submitted them to my countrymen for their approval, but never have I approached a subject with such diiBdence and consciousness of my inability to cope with it as the one treated of in the following pages. When I learned to love the trees I cannot remember, but I was born under the spurs of the AUeghanies, and passed my infancy in the umbrageous shade of their wide -spreading pines. I fished and hunted along the streams, and she who is the mother of my children often accompanied me in my rambles through the grand old mountain forests of Pennsylvania. How beautiful these mountains were, with their coats of pine, green as the sea ! Shade so deep and dark it seemed like night on the brightest day ; babbling brooks with sly little nooks by bits of grass, and deep, cool pools where the hermit trout lay. Here was a mossy glen and there a waterfall, yon- der a clambering vine in many a wild festoon, and at our feet a bed of moss softer than down. If we turned over a rock in the mountain's side we found ice beneath it even in the hottest days of August. Then there were caves, deep, dark, and cool, filled with ice on the sides dripping with cold water, and stalactites shining over- head. How I remember stealing away and hiding in one of these caves, years and years ago, while the boys brought our brave mountain girls to see it ; and when I roared like a bear how they ran like frightened fawns a Avhite dress ghnting here and there through the forest, until all were lost to view in the distance, and Annie Berry sprained her foot so terribly on that day she was mTKODUCnON. XXV laid up for weeks, and the old doctor shook his cane and threatened what he would do if ever we frightened An- nie again — aH of which we knew was talk, for the doctor loved us too weU to harm a hair on our young heads. It was rude, wild sport, and my mind goes back lovingly on a hot August day to the Bear Meadows, Galbraith's Gap, Snowshoe, Pleasant Gap, and the big mountains with their coats of pine. There are no prettier spots on earth than those near BeUefonte, Pennsylvania, where I was born. Accustomed from infancy to look upon these wild mountains and grand old woods, they became common in my eyes, and, as naturally might be expected, were not appreciated. Much as I loved the trees and mountains, I never fully realized what beautiful things they were until after I came to the plains. For days and days I travelled over the level, arid, treeless prairie, often looking back at night to the place where we had started out in the morning, and which seemed scarcely ten miles distant, but was in reality over thirty. Every traveller has experienced the wonderfully deceptive distances of the plains. Often you would wager you could ride or walk to some dis- tant mountain in a few hours, but you journey on for days and days, and stiU its barren sides and bald peaks loom up apparently as far off as when you started out. To the man who has been raised in the mountains the absence of trees on vast level fiats becomes most pain- ful, and his eyes are constantly unconsciously seeking for a rock, a vine, a tree, a green mountain, or a shady glen where he can lie down and rest. Land ; land every- where, and the sky shut down in great circles upon the level, burning plain. I never could get used to stretch- ing my little piece of canvas to make a shade ; it seemed B XXVI INTEODUCTION. SO unnatural, so useless, and, indeed, was no shade at all if compared with the cool depths of the forest. A blaz- ing sun overhead, a hot sand on the earth, and only a narrow strip of cloth between — that is not what the mountain man calls shelter. How often in those hot days did I long for the green mountains, mossy glens, and cool streams of the grand old woods where I was born. For four years I had lived on the plains surrounded by sage-brush and sand, never once seeing a mountain or forest. Then I was ordered east with troops, to Ken- tucky. "We had been running very fast all night in the cars, and in the morning, just as I was washing in the sleeping-car, I heard the soldiers in the forward coaches cheering. I asked the conductor what was the matter, and he replied, " The soldiers are cheering the trees." We all hastened to the doors and windows, and there, sure enough, found we were running through a grand old Kentucky forest, and it was indeed a most beautiful sight. It had rained the night before, and the dripping trees shone like silver in the newly-risen sun. Grape vines hung in heavy festoons from the arms of giant oaks, woodbines wound about their trunks ; the grass on the earth was green as an emerald, and so clean I longed to jump from the cars, lie down on it, and roU over and over and shout for very joy. " Thank God for noble trees, How stately, strong, and grand These bannered giants lift their crests O'er all this beauteous land." The sight of a forest in the early morning, when the dew is on the grass and leaves, is at all times beai^tiful. Even those who have been used aU their lives to such INTEODTTCTION. XXVll magnificent scenes are startled occasionally into an ap- preciation of their beauty ; how then to us who had not seen for years a great tree seemed the forest ! It was beautiful beyond description, and even the children clapped their little hands and cried out, " Oh, mamma, see the pretty trees !" I saw a squirrel leap from the grass and run up the trunk of a gnarled oak that peT- haps kept silent watch over the grave of some sav- age warrior, who in his day had been a mighty man. There were great gothic forest aisles, and through the grained and graceful roof of leaves millions of sunbeams shimmered down, lighting up the dark recesses of the woods until the whole resembled some vast cathedral pile. I compared this scene with those which I had wit- nessed a thousand times in my boyhood and yet thought nothing of them. It was then I reahzed fully, possibly for the first time, the beauty and value of woods and mountains. Ever since then I have been pleading, " Oh, woodman, spare that tree. Touch not a single bough; In youth it sheltered me. And I'll protect it now." Not only did I determine to become the friend of the bannered giants that lift their heads to the sky, but to urge the planting of new forests everywhere, and, if possible, cover the barren plains of the "West with woods. Many writers had preceded me, but they all seemed defective in not pointing out how forest-trees could be reproduced. These writers were eloquent in their de- nunciation of forest destruction, but pointed out no reme- dy for the evil. I said I will study the lives of the trees. XXVIII INTEODUCTION. and take up the subject where others have laid it down, showing how to cultivate and grow forest-trees as fruit- trees are now grown. I soon found the task I had set myself was a most difficult one, for there were no forest-tree nurserymen, and no one willing to become such. They only laughed at the idea of planting oaks, elms, pines, and such " wild trees " as they called them. When the facts were sought to be laid before the people they too laughed at me, and the newspapers called me an alarmist, and scoffed at the idea of our forests giving out, or new ones being planted. I was recommended to sow the Alleghany Mountains with clover-seed, and plant the fence corners with sassa- fras for old women's tea. My articles were denounced as the impracticable vaporings of a madman, and I was even refused a hearing by such respectable journalists as J.W. Forney and Morton McMichael. A few thinking men, however, saw in the subject more than was indi- cated on the surface, and they slowly came to the sup- port of our projects. One of the earhest to take up his pen and help was the late WiUiam Cullen Bryant, the greatest of our American poets. Then came his amiable and able nephew, Charles Bryant, with his excellent book on " Forest Trees," and Browne, with his elaborate work on " Trees of America.' George Pinney of AV^isconsin fol- lowed, establishing his " Tree Grower," and later, James T. AUen wrote and pubhshed his pamphlet on " Forest Growing in ]N"ebraska," and then came J. F. Tallant of Iowa, George "W. Minor of Ilhnois, Herman Trott of Min- nesota, K. S. EUicott of Missouri, Daniel MiHiken of Ohio, Honorable Calvin Chambers of Maine, J. Sterhng Mor- ton of Nebraska, and others. This able corps of writers and workers soon silenced the scoffers at American for- INTEODXJCTION. XXIX estry, and awakened an interest among the people in the subject of tree-growing. The newspapers were slow to advocate it, but at last, when the New Tork World led oflf, it was followed by hundreds of papers all over the country. The pioneer state in the great work of forest-tree plant- ing was Nebraska, and this state, once called " the tree- less state," is now nearly covered over with young for- ests. It will soon be as well timbered as any state from Maine to California. Last year the Nebraskians set out fifteen millions of forest-trees, this year eighteen miR- ions, and next year they will plant over twenty millions. Such enormous plantings cannot but be productive of great results to the state, and already a change has taken place in the climate and rainfall. Mr. J. Sterling Morton invented what he caUed " Arbor Day," and had it legal- ized as a holiday. Every year, about the middle of April, the governor of the state issues a proclamation announc- ing the day, and on its reciirrence the entire population cease from their labor and engage in planting trees. This custom is not new. The Germans have a pretty habit of each member of a family living in the rural districts planting a tree at Wissuntide, which comes forty days after Easter. Also at early dawn on the same day their singing societies march to the top of the nearest hill or mountain, and hail the rising sun with songs and psans of praise for the glory of its warmth and blessing to Ceres and Flora. The old Mexican Indians also plant trees on certain days of the year when the moon is full, and name them after their children. The Aztecs used to plant a tree every time a child was born, and it bore the name of the child. In the State of Nebraska the governor each year offers a large reward to the family XXX INTEODUCTION. that will set out the greatest number of forest -trees. When. I was there it was $500 for the first premium, $400 for the second, and so on down to $25. Even the women and children could earn premiums, medals, and diplomas, and great was the competition for these re- wards of the state. The results of all have been wonder- ful. Patches of timber have sprung up everywhere, and where a few years ago only the naked plain was seen, now waves a goodly forest. Trees ten and twelve years old are thirty feet high, and eight to ten inches in diame- ter. It may be remarked that forest-trees grow in the "West with wonderful rapidity, and if care were taken in planting them, all the vast flats from the Missouri Eiver to the Kocky Mountains would soon be covered with forests and farms. It has been demonstrated in Utah and other places that sage-brush land, when irrigated, produces twenty-five, thirty, and even forty bushels of wheat per acre. In Colorado I have seen fifty bushels of wheat per acre cut from land which, before it was ir- rigated, looked like a worthless gravel-heap. As an evidence of the rapidity with which trees grow, Mr. James T. AUen of Nebraska says : "William HoUen- beck has two hundred acres of timber, mostly ash, planted from seedlings in 1861, and the trees now measure thirty- five inches in circumference, and are over forty feet high. Mr. HoUenbeck also has forty acres of black walnut planted in 1865, and many of the trees now measure thirty -five inches in circumference, and are forty -five feet high. Some of them bore nuts four years from the planting. There are soft maples growing in Omaha, Nebraska, which at fourteen years of age were forty-three inches in circumference, and forty-five feet high. Two speci- IHTEODUCTION. XXXI mens of elms in Douglas County, planted in 1859, were six years ago thirty-eiglit inches in circumference four feet from the ground, and over thirty feet high. A honey locust planted at Omaha, at thirteen years old was thirty- four feet high, and measured thirty-five inches in cir- cumference four feet from the ground. Cotton-woods in Douglas County, Nebraska, thirteen years old measured twenty-two inches in diameter, and were forty-five feet high. A box elder, growing in my yard at Omaha Bar- racks, shot up in a single season seven feet. Judge Crounse had a tree that grew seven feet for three con- secutive years. All the trees about Omaha Barracks while I was stationed there grew from five to seven feet annually. Many more instances of the rapid growth of trees might be given for the encouragement of tree- plantiag, but these will sufiice here, and those who are curious to learn can read, further on in the pages of this book, hundreds of instances. "What comes of tree-planting is profit, honor, health, and wealth. The progress made by the friends of for- estry in America during the past few years is a matter of great congratulation to them. This year we have had a Forestry Congress well attended ; Honorable John Sherman of Ohio has brought forward a healthy forest bill, which will be sure to pass at the next meeting of Congress, and the people of the country everywhere are awakening to the importance of both forest-saving and forest -planting. To aid in a humble way this good work the following pages are written, and if they shall make for the trees one true friend I shall esteem myself repaid for writing them. In closing this part of my work it will only be proper for me to make my most humble acknowledgment to Charles Bryant, XXXU INTEODTTCTION. D. J. Browne, Andrew S. Fuller, James T. Allen, and others for valuable assistance. "Without the aid of their works this book could not have been prepared. James S. Beisbin, U. S. Army. Fort Keoqh, Montana. TREES AND TREE-PLANTING. CHAPTER I. FOREST DESTEUCTION. Effect of Forest Destruction upon a Country. — Effects Produced in Europe and Asia. — The Ancient Habitableness of tliose Regions Contrasted with Modern Barrenness and Unproductiveness. — For- ests as an Essential to Industry and Comfort. — Dependence of Man- kind on Wood. — A Consideration for Future Wants. — Telling Re- sults of the Wilful Waste of the Atlantic States Forests. — Manner of Meeting the Question of Wholesale Destruction. — System of Forest Management in France and Germany. — The Unprotected State of American Forests generally. — The Forest Regions of the Northwest, and a Suggestion for their Preservation. I HAVE tried for years, in the best way I knew how, to get something definite done to save our forests and re- plant those destroyed, but the work has been very dis- couraging. The waste of timber still goes steadily on, especially in the Western States, and is each year increasing as the forests diminish. Forests are felled, and a man cuts down a tree that his own Ufetime and that of all his children added together could not reproduce, yet he thinks no more of his act of vandahsm than he would if he were removing a stone, a brier, or a dirt-pile. He does not cut it down because he needs the fuel or wants the lumber, but because it is handy, or because he fancies 1 2 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. it shades the ground too much, or he wants to get a bird's nest that is on it, a few nuts a squirrel has hid away in it, a coon oflf it, or some chestnuts. Any ex- cuse in the world serves as sufficient cause to justify his act of vandaUsm, and the axe is laid without mercy to the root of the tree. If these individual acts of vandal- ism were aU we had to contend with we might rest easy ; but every year great companies with ponderous mills go to the heart of our forests and fell thousands of trees that have been hundreds of years growing. One firm alone in a western state runs two hundred saws. No less than 1,030,000,000 feet of lumber were cut in a sin- gle year in the State of Wisconsin. At the present rate ten, or at most twenty, years will see the end, and the forests of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin will have been destroyed. Fifty thousand acres of Wisconsin tim- ber are annually swept away to supply the Kansas and Nebraska markets alone. New York has lost her maple, walnut, hickory, and has no big woods left worthy the name of forest, unless it is her Adirondacks. How long she will keep it is a question. In Pennsylvania the forests, except small portions of the AUeghanies, have been destroyed. AU the remaining regions have been bought up by speculators, and the trees are merely held for a higher market. The fires and the saw -mills will soon do the work, and America become a treeless region. What difference will it make? ask the careless. A great deal, for with the destruction of timber goes away much of the usefulness of the country. Did you ever see a treeless land, or have you ever read about one ? If not, ask travellers, or read carefuUy the histories of the Eoman Empire, Syria, Persia, Asia Minor, and portions of Italy. All these regions were once timbered coun- tries and richly productive. Now they are horrible des- erts, seamed with ravines and gullies, piled with ridges of sand, utterly incapable of reproducing the wood which once covered them. Behold the naked rocks and barren FOEEST DESTEUCnON. •> wastes of Mount Lebanon made famous by the life of our Saviour. From these mountains once came the tim- ber to supply the surrounding countries ; it has long since disappeared, and with it the population. Other causes no doubt assisted to desolate these countries, but, says Marsh : " the destruction of the forests was the chief cause of the present barrenness." I doubt if man can exist in any country entirely destitute of timber, t As ' countries entirely covered with timber are fit only for ! the abode of savages, so countries entirely denuded of timber become fit only for wild beasts and uncivUizei [ people. I Nature seems to have designed that there should T)e a happy medium in this respect which we cannot disregard without bringing upon ourselves evil conse- quences. Either extreme produces a like effect — the total destruction of forests unfits a country for the abode of civilized man, while the clothing of it in impenetrable forests does the same. Look at the country around the Mediterranean Sea, once the most populous in the world. Compare the descriptions of ancient writers with what is said of it to-day. Marsh says : " The vast forests have disappeared from the mountain spurs and ridges ; the vegetable earth accumulated beneath the trees by the decay of leaves and fallen trunks ; the soil of the Alpine pastures which skirted and indented the woods, and the mould of the uplands are washed away ; the meadows once f ertihzed by irrigation are waste and unproductive, because the cisterns and reservoirs that supplied the an- cient canals are broken, or the springs that fed them .dried up ; rivers famous in history and song have shrunk to humble brooklets ; the willows that ornamented and protected the banks of the lesser watercourses are gone, and the rivulets have ceased to exist as perennial cur- rents, because the httle water that finds its way into their old channels is evaporated by droughts of summer, or ab- sorbed by parched earth before it reaches the lowlands ; the beds of the brooks have widened into broad expanses 4 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. of sand and gravel, over which, though, in the hot season we passed dry-shod ; in winter sealike torrents thunder ; the entrances of navigable streams are obstructed by sand-bars ; and harbors once marts of an extensive com- merce are shoaled by deposits of the rivers at whose mouths they he." If we admit that trees are an essential to civihzation, we may as well at once say man cannot advance in im- provement beyond the rudest form of pastoral life with- out the use of timber. Even in this age of iron, steel, and coal, we can hardly estimate our dependence upon wood. The pen we write with is held by a wooden handle ; the chair we sit upon is made of wood, the floor beneath our feet is of wood, and the building in which we live (except possibly the walls) is of wood. This ma- terial enters into every want of our lives, and contributes daily and hourly to our convenience. The question natu- rally arises, Will our countrymen go on destroying an ar- ticle of such absolute necessity, without some regard to the source of a future supply ? As for others I know not, but as for myself I say no ; we will stop this wan- ton destruction of the beautiful trees at once, and so use them as to leave a portion for our children when we are gone. In some of the older states the want of timber is al- ready severely felt. Hills and mountains once covered with beautiful forests are bald and unsightly. The streams that once tm-ned the mills to denude these for- ests have dried up, or shrunk away to inconsiderable rivulets. It cannot be otherwise, with our rapidly in- creasing millions, than that the demand for timber will increase, and the destruction go on rather than diminish. I see no way but to meet this question with sturdy laws. In Germany, France, and some other countries of Eu- rope the forests are the property of the government. Their management has been reduced to a system, and they are guarded with the greatest care from wanton FOREST DESTETTCTION. 5 destruction. In our own country I doubt if a like sys- tem would work well. The government of the United States has never yet protected its forests, and I doubt if it ever wiU. Perhaps the better plan would be to turn over the whole question of forestry to the several states and territories of the Union. Timber growing on pub- He lands is everywhere so generally considered as fair game that possibly, the government cannot protect it. It did not, or could not, protect the live-oak woods of Florida intended for the use of the navy ; it did not pro- tect its forests in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Minnesota, and it is not to-day protectiug its woods in Montana or Wash- ington Territories. The Congress either does not wish to be bothered with the subject of forestry or does not care about it. If it does not then desire to undertake it, will it not give it up and let the states and territories try their hand at forest -saving? We have one great belt of timber (the last in the United States) stiU unde- stroyed. This magnificent body lies in the Territories of Montana and Washington, and the State of Oregon. It would be a pity to wantonly destroy it, and I believe the people of the West and their legislatures would pro- tect it if it was transferred to them. At aU events, is not the experiment worth trying in Washington Terri- tory, at least, where the great red-fir forests exist. I make the suggestion for what it is worth, not knowing if it would work well or not. Certain it is, the old sys- tem win not do, and, if continued, the destruction of tim- ber wiU go on increasing with the lapse of years, until the whole country is depleted of its woodlands, and vast sections rendered hopelessly barren and sterile. CHAPTEE II. CONSEQUENCES OP FOREST DESTRUCTION. The Wasteful Havoc of Forest-lands, and its Serious Consequences. — The Indifference Manifested towards Remedying the Evil. — The Action of Public Corporations on Forest-lands. — The Efforts of Dr. Drake to Protect Forests. — The Evil Consequences of Non-atten- tion. — Probable Date of a Timber Famine in the United States. — The Inherited Duties of Americans. — The Destined Uses of Nat- ure's Growth. — Fencing and Railroad Interests as a Means of For- est Destruction. — Annual Destruction and Replacement Contrasted. — Convincing Necessaries. THE WASTEFUL HAVOC WHICH IS BEING WOEKED IN THE WEST, AND THE SEEIOTJS CONSEQUENCES. " OuE National Legislature," tritely observes Bryant, " is almost wholly indifferent to the fate of our forests, and betrays a destitution of statesmanlike forecast that is painful." If this were all it would not be so bad ; but, aside from their indifference, the Congress is constantly squandering large bodies of our forest-lands on public corporations who are obtaining them only for profit, and who will destroy them with more rapacity even than private individuals. Candidly, I beheve that very many of our Congressmen do not credit the statements and theories that, by denuding a country of its forests, you can injure its productiveness. Some of them have lived a great many years, and as yet have seen no evU effects from the cutting down of forests, nor have they experienced any scarcity of fire-wood at home. Wise men — to them there is no other land than Spain, and no other age than that in which they live. It is now near- ly fifty years since Dr. Drake of Cincinnati proposed to CONSEQUENCES OF FOREST DESTETJCTION. 7 Congress tlie importance of saving our forests. Failing in this, he begged the government to at least reserve tracts of woodland around the head-waters of the prin- cipal streams, as a means of" preventing their diminu- tion. The wise doctor was poohed at, and thought a little cracked. WeU, some of the streams he proposed to save are almost valueless, and in a half -century more will be entirely useless for purposes of navigation. Probably the doctor did not anticipate that the time would come when these reserves would become important as a source of timber supply ; and if he had proposed such a thing he would have been laughed at outright. It is needless to say that Congress disregarded Dr. Drake,'s advice, and to-day the children of the very men who poohed at the doctor are suffering for the foUies of their fathers. Maine, New York, and Pennsylvania are practically ruined as timber states, and their streams are gradually drying up. In twenty-five years more the Northwestern States will be as bad, or even worse off for timber than the Eastern States are, and in twenty-five years more the timber famine in the United States will begin. Good, say the Congressmen and timber vandals of to-day, we shaU be dead by that time, and why should we. care what happens then? Americans owe more than any other people on earth to the toils, sacrifices, and fore- thought of their forefathers, and it is their duty — every man's duty — to transmit the inheritance they received from them to their descendants unimpaired by waste or neglect. Says Bryant : " The length of time required for the growth of timber from the seed to maturity shows conclusively that it was never destined in the order of nature for, the exclusive use of a single generation." ISTor is this all. The man who wantonly destroys that which he cannot reproduce in his lifetime is not only a coward and a fool, but he commits a flagrant crime against nature and nature's God. I never see a man cutting down a fine tree but I feel hke crying out, 8 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. " Stop thief ! ! !" What is his life as compared to the Mfe of the tree ? If he were immediately to plant an- other, not in his hfetime, in that of his children or his children's children, would the tree attain to maturity. AU this he knows, yet he fells it to the earth and does not even plant another to replace it for future generations. Is not this man a vandal ? Surely ; and worse, for he is a criminal, and his seed shall suffer for his sins. If the trees could talk, what a pitiful tale they would teU. How they had for ages drawn moisture from the earth and distributed it through ten thousand leaves into the air, to descend again in showers, refreshing the earth and watering the gentle flowers. Even the tiny blades of green grass would cry out, " Oh, woodman, spare that tree, Touch not a single bough." But they must perish from the earth j the fiat has gone forth, and we shall soon be able to say no more : " Thank God for noble trees! How stately, strong, and grand These bannered giants lift their crests O'er all this beauteous land." They will be cut down and gone; and the shifting sands alone will mark where they once stood. The bleakness and barrenness of death wiU cover the earth, the sun pour down his vertical rays, and the scorching winds unchecked howl over the sterile plains. I fear you wiU think I am becoming excited over this subject, and I do warm up a little when speaking or writing of the murder of the beautiful trees, which in atrocity is little short of human murder itself. But it is not fine phrases or grandiloquent expressions we want in this case, but facts, cold arguments, to convince the un- reasoning and the ignorant. The voracious monster who threatens to devour all our young timber in his insatiable maw are the railroad interests of the United States. CONSEQTJENCES OF FOREST DESTErCTIOy. 9 Last year there were 101,000 miles of railway in this country, and this year we are building 16,000 nules of new r^way. AH these roads have to be tied with com- paratively young timber. I have not at hand an esti- mate of the nmnber of ties used per mile, but the an- nual consumption is very large. Some years ago to build 71,000 nules of railway required 18tt,600,000 ties. Ties have to be replaxjed every seven years, and it is fair to set down the number of ties required annually for future consumption at 160,000,000. As every one knows, railroad ties are cut from young timber, the trees being from eight to twenty inches in diameter, and this de- mand strikes at the very source of our timber supply. It is a fact that the fences of the United States have cost more than the land, and they are to-day the most valuable class of property in the United States, except buildings, railroads, and real estate in cities. To keep up the fences requires annually an enormous consump- tion of timber. The 125,000 farms in Kentucky require 150,000,000 panels of fence to enclose them. The num- ber of rails required is set down at 2,000,000,000, cost- ing $75,000,000. To repair and keep in good order the fences in this one state costs, annually, $10,000,000. niinois, a comparatively new state, has $200,000,000 in- vited in fences, but it costs her only about §300,000 an- nually for repairs, many of her fences being constructed of wire. The whole value of the fences in the United States may be set down at $2,000,000,000, and it costs $100,000,000 annually to keep them in repair. The city of Chicago alone last year employed 17,800 men in handling lumber. There were 500 clerks, 4000 wood-workers, 2000 sailors, 1000 men to load and unload the vessels, and 10,000 men to handle and prepare the lumber for market, besides 300 proprietors. The lumber brought to Chicago m 1881 exceeded 2,000,000,000 feet, and would have loaded one train of cars 2000 miles long. No less than 300 square miles of land was stripped of 10 TREES AND TEEE-PLANTING. trees last year to supply the Chicago market with lum- ber. These figures are indeed appalUng, and may well alarm any one as to the futm-e source of our timber sup- ply. There is no hope of any diminution in the future, for Chicago wiU require more lumber this year than she did last. The demand is ever increasing, and the sup- ply ever diminishing. Between the two the end must come soon, and the grand old forests disappear. After the Saginaw, Muskegon, Menomonee, Manistee, and Lud- ington sources are exhausted, the Eocky Mountain slopes and Washington Territory will be stripped of their for- ests, and then we wiU have all that is worth taking. Every year we denude 8,000,000 acres of trees, and plant less than 1,000,000 acres to replace them. The end is so plain, even a fool may read it as he runs. CHAPTEE III. EFFECT OF FORESTS ON A COUNTRY. The Effect of Trees on Humidity, Evaporation, Rainfall, and Prevail- ing "Winds. — Nebraska's Generous Labor in Behalf of the Repro- duction of Trees, and her Reward. — Humidifying Influence of the Pacific Winds on Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. — The Humidity of Forests, to What Due. — The Theory of Condensation in Connection with Trees. — Evil Results of Forest Destruction in Santa Cruz. — The Serious Results of Forest Destruction to Manufacturing Indus- tries. — The Tree-planting of Lower Egypt and Consequent Rain- fall. — Moisture Distribution of Kansas and Nebraska, to What Due. — The Agricultural Benefits Derived from Tree-planting in Aus- tralia. — The Australian Desert's Reclamation Possible. — The De- struction of Forest-lands for Agricultural Purposes in the United States. — Decrease of Lumber Supply and its Increasing Value. — Precautionary Measures Discussed. The effect of trees upon tlie rainfall of a country is no longer disputed by the intelligent. A good -sized peach-tree will give off eighteen pounds, or about two gallons, of moisture every twelve hours. The evapora- tion of the earth through trees is immense; the roots often draw from springs themselves, and throw off through their branches great volumes of humid air. Those who have watched the effect of forests on rain- fall say that, by commencing at the edge of any dry belt, the forests, and consequent rainfall, may gradually be extended across the whole of the dry belt. The exper- iment is being tried in Nebraska, and I believe with en- couraging results, as the rainfall is gradually increasing. 'No state in the Union has done more to replace her for- ests, and I am happy to say Nebraska is already reaping the rewards of her generous labor in behalf of the trees. 12 TEEES AND TKEE-PLANTING. At a depth of some twenty feet from the surface of the earth white sand is struck in both Kansas and Ne- braska, which is full of water, and in some places forms subterranean streams. This makes both these states famous forest-growing regions, as the roots of the trees readily seek the moist white sand, and the trees grow with a rapidity which is perfectly astonishing. I think the great currents of air which leave the Pa- cific coast humid and warm are forced up by the high mountains until they become cold, and are discharged in snows in the Kocky Mountains, when, leaving the mountains dry, they sweep over the great plains, find- ing no moisture to take up until they cross the Missouri and Mississippi, when, having been recharged, they empty in Iowa, Illinois, and "Wisconsin. We know that in Wyoming Territory the dearth is almost complete, and the dry winds blow incessantly. But in ISTebraska the heavUy timbered heads of her streams give some humidity, and the clouds empty in frequent showers along the Loups, Mobrara, Plattes, Elkhorn, and Mis- souri. In time, as Nebraska increases her forests, the rains will become more frequent, and some day, should she persist in her present system of tree-planting, she will be as well watered as Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, or states farther east. Every one has noticed the moisture of the soil in a wood. There is as much difference between the soil under trees and that on a barren hill-top as there is in the temperature of a well and an open plain. The humidity of a forest is due to the discharge of moisture through the leaves of the trees. It is this peculiarity which keeps a stream strong and full where it flows for a long distance through woods; not only do the trees shade the stream from the rays of the sun and prevent evapo- ration, but they keep its banks moist and soft, and, in- stead of drinking up the stream, frequently contribute to its waters. The Elbe has lost eighteen per cent, of EFFECT OF FOEESTS ON A COtJNTEY. 13 its flow in consequence of cutting away the trees along its banks, exposing its waters to the hot sun. The island of Santa Cruz, in the "West Indies, which twenty-five or thirty years ago was a garden, is now almost a desert in consequence of cutting away the for- ests. The theory is that the dry currents of air are re- tarded by forests, and elevated until a point of conden- sation is reached. Eadiation is also prevented, the air cooled, and the clouds, passing over trees, are rendered more easily condensed. Electricity is also a great agent, the trees being negatively charged, and drawing with . great power the positively charged clouds. This theory ' is no longer a matter of doubt or experiment, but a fact \ demonstrated by experience and a knowledge of the laws that govern the atmosphere. But not only in Europe, but in America, is the loss of timber already lamentably felt. Many of our rivers have lost half their usefulness for manufacturing pur- poses. The Connecticut is hardly navigable, and the? Kennebec and Merrimac have shrunk one fourth. The; Potomac has lost nearly one fourth of its volume, andj the Hudson declined a sixth. If the Adirondack wilder- ness and other forests adjacent were destroyed it would probably, in time, render the Hudson wholly unnavi- _gable. As has been explained, forests are vast reservoirs of humidity — ^lessening the dryness of the surrounding at- mosphere, and aiding the perennial flow of springs and streams. Says Bryant, " instances are on record of the drying up of springs and rivulets when the woods which shaded them were felled, and of their reappearance when the trees were suffered again to grow." The increase of rainfall in Lower Egj'^pt since the for- mation of extensive plantations of trees is proof of their effect upon the rainfall of a country. In 1869 there were fourteen rainy days at the Isthmus of Suez, where rain had rarely if ever before been known, and the 14 _ TEEES AND TEEE-PLiJ^TTrNG. cause was ascribed to the planting of large plantations of trees. In Kansas and Nebraska the rains are much more evenly distributed through the seasons than they used to be, and this is undoubtedly due to the stirring of the soil and the planting of trees. A similar change has been noticed in Colorado, where the flow of small streams, it is said, is becoming stronger and more per- manent. The waters of the Great Salt Lake, which some years ago seemed to be receding, have again risen, and are every year increasing, as the Mormons open up farms and plant orchards in the Salt Lake valley. The effect of forests on a country may be set down as follows : First, great humidity of the atmosphere. Sec- ond, more rapid evaporation. Third, greater regularity of rainfall. Fourth, diminished force of the prevaihng winds. In no country has the effect of settlement on the climate been more apparent than in Australia. Keep- ing sheep there is in many places no longer as profitable as it used to be ; but, on the other hand, large tracts of land that were worthless before have latterly become fit for agriculture. There has been a decided increase of forests and a consequent increase of moisture in many parts, giving hopes that eventually the whole interior desert may be reclaimed. The direct effect of sheep- raising "has been to keep down the long grass which for- merly afforded material for destructive fires. The trees, young and old, had been periodically burned by these fires, until the country, becoming almost treeless, its cli- mate had been rendered arid and its soil sterile. If the chmate in Australia can be changed and rains made to fall by the growing of timber, why not our own coun- try ? And why may not our plains, in time, become weU- watered regions and good farming countries ? Incredible as it may seem, it is nevertheless true that forests are still felled and burned for the purpose of bringing the land they stand upon under cultivation. From 1860 to 1870 no less than twelve million acres of EFFECiT OF FOKESTS ON A COUNTET., 15 forest were cut, the timber logged and burned on the ground, so that the land could be farmed. The annual decrease of forests by logging and burning is still, I am told, some eight hundred thousand acres per year. And while we are thus destroying our timber by every pos- sible means, and taking no adequate steps for replacing it, the demand for lumber is increasing at the rate of twenty-five per cent, per annum. I cannot say what is just the annual decrease of our forests, but it cannot be less than eight million acres per annum, while as yet we do not plant more than a tenth of that amount in new timber, outside of Nebraska. That we have shamefully and wantonly destroyed our forests no right - thinking man will deny. "We cannot undo the past, but we may stiU provide for the future if we set to work with diligence and sense, and earnest- ly persevere. What, then, should be done? Let every man remember when he fells a big tree he is doing some- thing which he cannot undo, and destroying that which in his lifetime he cannot replace, and let him cut down just as few trees as possible. Farmers should plant hedges around their fields, and avoid cutting down timber for rails or fencing of any kind. Division fences between farms ought always to be made of hedges. Strong herd- laws should be passed in the states and territories, and stock not be allowed to run at large, thus doing away with the necessity of so many fences. Millions of dead capital in the states might thus be utilized and brought into use for other purposes. States should make liberal appropriations, and foster and encourage in every way the replanting of forests. Nebraska has admirable herd and forestry laws, and may be taken as a model in this respect by her sister states. Congress should enact strong laws for the protection of timber on the public domain, or turn it over to the states and territories. If placed under the War Department it would be protect- ed. L Overseers of roads should be made to plant trees 16 TEEES AND TEEE-PLAIHTNG. ' along the highways at the public expense. Eailways should be compelled to plant trees along the whole length of their track on either side, and preserve them .from fires. Eeservations should be laid oflf around the heads of rivers and streams, and no timber be allowed to be cut there. It is true that we cannot in one or even two generations repair aU the damage that has al- ready been done; but, by beginning at once, we may yet avoid the terrible scourge of a timber famine in the United States. CHAPTER TV. DANGER OF TIMBER FAMINE. Convincing Proofs of the Approach of a Timber Famine.— Manufac- ture of Charcoal in New England, and Quantities of Wood An- nually Consumed thereby. — The Destructiou of Forests on the Tittabawassee and Cass Rivers Illustrated. — The Immensity of Forest Destruction in Nevada. — A Prediction of Nevada's Future. If any one doubts the danger of a timber famine in the United States at some future day, let him look at the destruction of trees in his own neighborhood. Where are the forests that sheltered our youth ? Where are the big woods in which we hunted the red deer, the black and gray squirrel, and an occasional bear ? Gone, gone, and aU the game with them. I remember the furnaces of my own county, Centre, in Pennsylvania, how they never ceased until aU the big woods were cut down and burned up into charcoal to make iron. A few years ago, in the towns of Canaan, Salisbury, Norfolk, Sharon, Cornwall, and Goshen, comprising the northwestern part of Litchfield County, Connecticut, and a small portion of Dutchess County, New York, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts, were no leas than twelve iron furnaces for the manufacture of charcoal pig-iron, from iron dug within these districts. These fur- naces made about 3500 tons of pig-iron each per year, at a cost of about $40 per ton, or $1,680,000 for the whole. More than half this amount was paid for wood consumed in the shape of charcoal. To run these fur- naces one year it required that between four and five hundred acres of land should be stripped of the wood, 1* 18 TEEES AND TEEE-PLAHrTING. or a total of between five and six thousand acres cut every year. As every one knows, it takes about twenty years there to make a crop of wood, the whole amount of land stripped bare would be in the neighborhood of one hundred thou- sand acres, or nearly the whole of the woodland in the section above named. But not only in one or two states, but in all the states the destruction goes steadily on. Take, for the purpose of illustration, the records of the amount of logs rafted out of the great lumber-producing streams of the Saginaw districts for a number of years. In round - numbers the Tittabawassee rafted out 288,000,000 feet of logs in 1871, 316,000,000 feet in 1872, and 269,000,000 feet in 1873, and had left each year from two hundred to three hundred milhon feet. In 1873 the amount left over was stated at 250,000,000 feet. Taking the amount rafted out and the amount left over in 1873, we should have 519,000,000 feet as the total product of the Tittabawassee lumbering that year. Up to August of 1874 there had been rafted out of the Tittabawassee 1,202,371 pieces, or about 215,000,000 feet, and there were left back about 100,000,000 feet, making a total for the year of, say, 315,000,000 feet for 1874, against 519,000,000 feet for 1873. Let us take the Cass Kiver, the largest lumber-pro- ducing stream of this region except the Tittabawassee. In 1871 there were rafted out of the Cass Eiver 55,841,- 618 feet of logs ; in 1872 there were 99,913,935 feet ; in 1873 there were 109,450,140 feet ; and in 1874, aU the logs being now out, there have been but 48,260,800 feet, and there are no logs left. We might continue these illustrations by exhibiting the figures for the other streams in this section, and by giving the facts concerning the immense waste of for- ests, but these will do for one region. A Virginia City (Nevada) paper says that an im- mense destruction of the forest is taking place in that DANGEE OF TIMBER FAMINE. 19 vicinity, and in a short time the lumbermen have ad- vanced from the base to the summit of the Sierras, and soon they will go over the crest ; consequently it is pre- dicted that when the timber is all gone the snow wiU melt early in summer, leaving the streams from which they irrigate dry, and cold and fierce winds will have an uninterrupted and unobstructed sweep, making the country uninhabitable. CHAPTER V. DESTROYING THE REDWOOD. A Description of the Redwood Forests. — Lumbering Operations in the Redwood Forests in Detail. — The Advantages of Skilled Axemen in Lumbering Operations. — The Axeman's Efficiency in Time of War. — The Mill Machinery, of What Consisting. — Process of Pre- paring the Timber. — Immense - sized Trees. — Average Yield of Sawed Stufif per Acre. — The Forest Soil Described. — Depth of Root of the Redwood-tree, to What Due. — A Reasonable Expla- nation. — Great Age of the Redwood-tree. — Manner of Growth and General Appearance. — Experiences of the Log Camp.— Redwood Logging in California. A FEiEND of mine, while in California not long ago, made a visit to tlie Redwood forests on Russian River. His description of what he saw is so graphic and inter- esting that I give it a place in these chapters. He says : " The nearest miU was twenty mUes distant. But such was the purity of the atmosphere that the timber could be seen distinctly, looming up in its gigantic height, twenty miles away on the mountains. After a sharp drive across the plains we descended to the river through a pocket canon, where forests of fir and laurel line the hillsides. At this season the river is a stream of fifty feet in width, about knee-deep. The other bank is the margin of the red woods. A mile beyond we came to Murphy's miU, located in a vaUey in the heart of the timber. Though it has been running continuously all summer with a force of twenty-five men, and a capacity for sawing twenty-five thousand feet per day, they have not succeeded in clearing the trees away from dano'er- ous proximity to the buildings. DESTEOTINQ THE REDWOOD. 21 "Having read newspaper and magazine articles and books of travel laudatory of everything here to a tire- some extent, I took the precaution to carry a tape-line, and propose to set down the sober results of measure- ment, and will leave the speculative and poetical depart- ments entirely out. " The men live in httle houses scattered along a trout- stream near the miU, the stumps of the trees being in many instances as large as the houses. The mill-build- ing is forty by ninety feet, two stories high. The en- gine is sixty horse-power, having furnaces consuming less than half the sawdust and slabs produced — a car bears the surplus away to a pile always on fire. The gang of laborers is divided as follows: Sixteen men in the mill, eight in the woods, one cook, and four yokes of oxen. The wages for the eight Chinamen are twenty -six dollars per month; other common labor- ers, forty doUars. The engineers and sawyers receive from sixty to eighty doUars ; and the axemen, who f eU the trees, are paid eighty dollars per month — ^aU being * found.' " The axeman is the most important man on the prem- ises, for the reason that if he is not expert in felling the timber great annoyance and destruction would follow. The timber is soft and straight-grained, and splits better than chestnut. His axe is light, with a narrow blade, and a helve forty-two inches long. AU trees are cut from two sides only ; there is no girdling or haggling. He chops both right and left handed, yet has to reach a long way when the trees are very large. In contriving to throw the trees away from the miU or away from other timber, no matter how they lean, brings out the skiU of the woodman. But he does it every time. Not only that, but his employers wiU wager that his skiU is so great he wiU drive a stake, set one hundred and fifty feet distant, with the falling tree ; and showed me where he dropped a ten -foot redwood exactly between two 22 TEEES Aim TEEE-PLAKTING. stumps, either of which, if struck, would have shivered it ; there was less than a foot to spare on either side. All will at once understand that the point is to at once work up the timber without loss or delay and to the best advantage. A mistake made in lodging one of these huge fellows against another would entail hun- dreds of dollars in the expense and trouble of clearing away the debris. " In the older settled states there are few men left who could take their fathers' places as 'corner-men' at a house-raising. Enough are left to bear witness to the wonderful efiBiciency of an axe when wielded by skilful hands. It requires more judgment to manage than does the handhng of his weapon by a swordsman. This was made plain during the war of the KebeUion by the great superiority of lumbermen and Western men over others when it came to slashing timber for rifle-pits and road- making. " The miU machinery consists of one sash-saw, cutting logs eight feet in diameter (larger ones have to be slabbed), a circular -saw, edge -saws, and a planer for dressing and finishing. There are two cross-cut saws in the woods, following the axemen. Each saw is run by one man. " "When we arrived, the logging-gang were hitched to a log which they dragged along the ground, sled-fashion, to the mill. Before hauling it the bark was peeled off and the end of the log slightly rounded. Buckets of water poured along the track made it shppery. Then, resting a few times by the way, the oxen ' snaked ' the log, five feet in diameter, to the ways at the mill ; with a slight purchase and a puU by steam it was rolled on a car and began to travel to the saw. There it was cut by the sash-saw into three huge slabs, which were left clamped together, then rolled over to the circular-saw, which could now manage the pieces. Every twenty seconds a huge plank was shced off and sent to the DESTEOTING THE EEDWOOD. 23 ' edger ;' thence, in narrower boards, to the ' planer,' and before the mud was dry, it had become dressed -floor- ing or rustic finish for building. There were thirteen logs in that tree, each sixteen feet long. Another tree measured two hundred and eighty-eight feet from the stump to the end of the last saw-log. It had cut fifty- six thousand feet of boards ; the top was left at four feet diameter and near one hundred feet in length. Still another, which they were working into shingles, had already made three hundred thousand, and enough lay there in the log to make one hundred thousand more. It was perfectly free from knots and wind-shakes for two hundred feet. They count usually on having first- class lumber on the first one hundred and fifty feet. We measured two large trees, standing within fifty feet of each other, which were forty-one feet six inches and forty-one feet, respectively, in circumference at five feet from the ground. We afterwards saw still larger trees, but did not measure them, as some of them grew in clumps and were not fairly single stems. My opinion is that the average size may be set down as about eight feet across the stump. The product will run from two hundred thousand to five hundred thousand feet of sawed stuff per acre, as nearly as I could figure, -depending on the frequency of the groups and the size of them. There is no undergrowth, and the ground is deep, mellow black soil, capable of producing anything grown in Cal- ifornia. After clearing there would be no trouble in ploughing close up to the stumps, as the roots lie far be- low. One tree having died, fire got into it and burned twenty feet below the surface, leaving a hole like a well where other portions of the trunk could be seen still growing upward. The explanation may be due to their great age, which has allowed for the accumulation of soil around them for hundreds and thousands of years — like the ruins of old cities buried under accumulations of cen- turies. Attempting to count the rings of annual growth, 24 TREES AND TKEE-PL ANTING. we found an indefinite and unsatisfactory undertaking. They were very close and blended together. There is no doubt that the largest trees were in existence before the Christian era — possibly as long ago as the building of Rome. The growth here is so dense there is very Ut- tle fohage as compared with the size of the trunk, and the limbs do not often start nearer than one hundred and fifty feet from the ground. The tree-bole holds its di- ameter remarkably uniform in its upward growth, and will usually be two feet thick within fifteen feet of the top, where it seems to be broken off at the hmit of the fog-fine. There is no object at hand affording the spec- tator an adequate standard of comparison by which the eye may measure the vast height of these trees, which would far out-top the steeple of Trinity Church. " Away in the depth of these big woods we found a sofi- tary cow, belonging to the miU. She was quietly rumi- nating, and seemed glad of companionship. That she was a civilized animal was shown by the polished brass tips on her horns. She was very gentle, and suffered us to pat her neck, while she stopped chewing her cud and put out her nose, breathing big breaths fragrant of milk and grassy odors. "Eeturning, a couple of hours were spent wandering about the miU, where a dozen four-horse teams were loading lumber at the big piles. Afterwards a stroll of a few rods to see long-armed Davis, in his ' shirt-sleeves,' swinging in the slow, steady strokes with his long-handled axe, as he opened an eight-foot notch in the side of a three-hundred-footer. He stood on the ground at his work, but once in a while stopped to walk half way around the tree, or shut one eye and look up with the other, as though mentally engaged in taking its weight and in calculating to the fraction of an inch the devia- tion from its proper course that any probable force might exercise on its fall. " Once ten rods away, bound for the settlements, the DESTKOYING THE EEDWOOD. 25 axeman and the mill were hid from view — buried com- pletely by the trees." LOGGING IN CALIFOENIA. The following account of the manner of handling the redwood logs is condensed from the Scientijio Americom of recent date, and may be found interesting. The manner of preparing the tree, and treating the road on which the logs are snaked out, is the same in detail as is already given in the commencement of this chapter, with the exception that the trees are now felled with saws instead of axes, as hitherto ; it being found that the trees jump better from their stumps, and cause less waste by breakage, than when the axe was used. No wagons are used in the woods, the logs being sim- ply snaked along the ground, and in this manner the loads hauled are sometimes enormous. One train of seven logs, drawn on Humboldt Bay by five yoke of oxen, scaled collectively 22,500 feet, board measure, of mercantile lumber. ' Until within the past year all the labor of handling these logs was done with cattle, but now steam is used in many places for this purpose. The machine consists of an upright boiler and engine, somewhat similar to a portable hoisting-engine, except that, instead of a reel to wind the rope on, it has two " gypsy-heads " on each end of the reel shaft. To move this machine around in the woods, they run a hue ahead, make it fast to a tree or stump, take two or three turns around the gypsy, and start up the engine. In this way it hauls itself wherever wanted. By the use of this machine heavy logs are brought out of ravines and bad places, where it would be impossible to get them with oxen or horses. A wooden tramway is used for transporting the logs from the woods to the miUs or streams ; but, as the more accessible timber is being cut off, this way of convey- ance is supplanted by iron and steel rails or locomotives. 2 26 TEEES ASST) TEEE-PIAimNG. There are about forty mills engaged in cutting red- wood, the largest of -which have a capacity of 75,000 or 80,000 feet per day. Perhaps the average working ca- pacity of all the mills would be about 40,000 feet daily. The amount of redwood sawed by these mills in 1881 was not far from 140,000,000 feet. Of this, 95,000,000 came to the port of San Francisco ; the balance, 45,000,000 feet, manufactured, was distributed to the lower ports in California, Mexico, South America, Sandwich Islands, Society Islands, and Australia, vessels going direct from the mills. Very few vessels, however, run all the year round, both on account of the difficulty of keeping them suppUed with logs, and because the places where many are situated are not safe harbors for shipping in winter. As very few of the nulls are connected with the market by rail, nearly aU the lumber is transported by sailing- vessels. CHAPTER VI. FAMOUS TREES OF THE WORLD. The Forest World and Human Life Compared. — Remarkable-sized Trees, Where Found. — The Largest and Oldest Specimens in the World. — Adanson's Experience of the Age of Trees. — "The Afri- can Baobab," "Californian Pine," "American Cypress," "The Tree Shelter of Cortez," "The Chestnut-tree of Mount Etna," " The Babylonian Tree," " The Wurtemberg Linden-tree," " The Ancient Oaks of England," "The Old Walnut-tree of the Balkans," "The Banyan-tree of Ceylon," "The Ancient Cedar Forest of Lebanon," "The Feathery Cocoanut and Fan-like Palmyra of India," "The Date-tree," "American Trees of Historic Fame," "The Walnut- tree," "The Soap Plant of California," "The Mulberry-tree," "The Jonesia Asika " and " The Tamala of India," "The Shakespearian Mulberry," " The Wadsworth Oak of New York," " The Live-oaks of Florida," and the Grand Oaks of Europe variously and separate- ly Described. — The Oriental Mulberry Proverb.— A Quotation from Genesis. Teee-life all over the world, in every age and every clime, under Southern sunny sMes or the bleak, bare heavens of the North, has its wonderful giant-hke mon- archs, its hoary old sages, rugged with age, its poetical love-dreaming and love-suggesting specimens, and its useful plain, honest members. In fact, hke the human life, the forest denizens have their world within them- selves, their kings and sages and plebeian races. The subject is a vast one; thousands of trees bear names or attributes worthy of description. The most remarkable trees, as to size, are the baobab of Africa, the coniferae of Upper California, the banyan of India, the lindens of Germany, and the oaks and yews of Eng- land. 28 TKEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. The African baobab is held by botanists to be the oldest and largest specimen of vegetable growth in the world. Adanson saw one in the Cape Verde Islands within whose trunk, overlaid by three hundred close layers of wood, he discovered an inscription carved by two English travellers three centuries before. By the aid and position of this inscription he was able to ar- rive at a correct estimate not only of the length of time which it took the tree to grow or increase in size, but the exact age of the tree itself, which he puts down at five thousand one hundred and fifty years. The stem ordinarily attains only ten or twelve feet in height, but is thirty - four feet in diameter ; this immense foundation being necessary to support the foliage that grows on it. The main branch rises per- pendicularly sixty feet in diameter, and from it shoot other branches, extending horizontally fifty or more feet on aU sides, and which, being loaded with the most exuberant growth of leaves, forms a verdant crown of something like one hundred and sixty feet in diameter ; a single tree giving thus the appearance of a forest. It is called by a name which signifies "a thousand years," which would seem to be in agreement with the calcula- tion of its age by aU herbalists. A group of these bao- bab trees, crowning the summit of its rocks, gives the name of the Cape Verde Isles — " Green Cape." The next in size, and of course in age, are the celebrated pines of California, known by various popular names among the miners and other inhabitants of the district in which they grow : " The mammoth Washington Tree," which was discovered by the naturalist Lob on the Sierra Nevada, at an elevation of five thousand feet ; " The Miner's Cabin," which is large enough for a comfortable dwelUng-place, being a hollow tree three hundred feet high, with an excavation seventeen feet in breadth and thirty feet in circumference ; " The Three Sisters," three trees which, springing from one root, are so interlaced FAMOUS TEEES OF THE WORLD. 29 as to appear but one tree ; another, " The Riding School," has been blown down by a terrible storm which swept over the valley. It has a hollow stem into which a horse may be ridden for seventy-five feet and turned around. These trees stand in groups, and many of them attain four hundred feet in height. Judging from the rings found within those that have been felled, they are mostly three thousand years old. Dr. Bigelow teUs of one which he measured : " Eighteen feet from the stump it was fourteen and a half feet in diameter. As the diminution of the annual growth from the heart or cen- tre to the outer circumference or sapwood appeared in regular succession, I placed my hand midway, measuring six inches and carefully counting the rings on that space, which were one hundred and thirty, making the age of the tree, by this computation, one thousand eight hun- dred and eighty-five years." As to its size, he says, " It required thirty-one paces, three feet each, to measure its circumference, making ninety-three feet ;" and to fell it they were obliged to use pump augurs and bore it. It took five men twenty-two days to lay it low, and the mere cutting down cost over five hundred dollars. It is said there are five hundred of these gigantic trees within an area of fifty acres, ninety of which are of colossal size. At Chapultepec, Mexico, there is an American cypress which, when the Spaniards entered the country, in 1520, was called " The Cypress of Montezuma," being then of immense size, over forty feet in girth and one hundred and twenty in height. And the province of Oakaca, in the same country, shows the cypress which sheltered Cortez and his troops, stiU in fine condition. According to De Candole, these trees are four thousand years old. A chestnut-tree still grows upon Mount Etna, called by the natives " Castagna di Cento Cavalla," because a hundred horsemen can be concealed in its interior ; be- 30 TEEES AST) TEEE-PLANTING. ing hollow, and measuring one hundred and eighty feet round. At Babylon stands a willow-tree, in an ancient garden of Semiramis, and supposed to be coeval with her reign. A peculiar sighing sound, heard in its branches, and caused by some action of the wind upon them, is believed by the Arabs to be the voices of spirits hidden within its foHage. As no bird or insect ever lights upon it, or flowers grow, or, indeed, Hve near it, they think them evil spirits, whose presence is a bane. By the city of IS'eustadt, in the kingdom of "Wiirtem- berg, there stood a linden-tree which' was antique in 1229, for it is written " that the city of Neustadt, then called Helmbundt, was-destroyed in 1226 and rebuilt in 1229, near the great linden." It was so well known that for centuries Germans spoke of Neustadt as " the city near the linden." A poem of 1408 describes it as stand- ing near the gate, its branches propped by sixty-seven stone pillars. In 166ri these pillars were increased to eighty-two, and in 1832 to one hundred and six. In 1S32 the trunk, at the height of six feet from the ground, measured thirty-seven feet ; and it was estimated in that year, when a terrible storm rendered it weU-nigh a wreck, to be eight hundred years old. There are oaks in England planted before the IS'orman conquest, 1066, and yew-trees stiU older ; one at Foun- tain Abbey, Eipon, in Yorkshire, was said by Pennant to be twelve hundred years old ; another, in a church- yard at Baburn, Kent, measured by Evelyn in 1660, was then two thousand eight hundred and eighty years old, making it three thousand years old if stiU standing. In the Baider YaUey, near Balaklava, there stands a walnut-tree which, though twelve hundred years old, has not yet forgotten to be useful, but yields annually from eighty to one hundred thousand nuts. It belongs to five Tartar families, who annually divide the nuts be- tween them. The finest specimen of the celebrated banyan-tree of FAMOUS TEEES OP THE WOELD. 31 Ceylon is found at Mount Lavina, seven miles from Co- lombo. Two roads run through its stems ; some of its fibrous shoots have been trained, hke the stays of a ship, to intercept the road, while others hang half-way down, with beautiful vistas of cocoa -palms seen through its pillar-Mke stems and leaves. It throws a shadow at noon over four acres of ground. Cedars are found on Mount Lebanon supposed to be the remains of those vast forests from which Solomon cut the timbers for the temple three thousand years ago. Maundrell counted sixteen stUl standing in 1696 that measured thirty feet, and were over one hundred feet in the spread of the branches. The feathery cocoanut and the fan-like palmyra of the Deccan countries of India, the hardly less beautiful date- tree, useful for so many purposes that it seems as if a native Hindoo could scarcely get through hfe without it, are all trees of world-wide note, and many specimens of them are famous both for size and age. The date- tree, besides providing the inhabitants of its vicinity with almost everything used in their domestic economy, its fruit serving them as the chief article of food, the stems and leaves for baskets, mats, roof-covering, and carpet, is the source from which they imbibe their com- mon drink, " tara." Deep incisions being made in the trunk, a pleasant and abundant beverage exudes, both refreshing and invigorating if drank whUe fresh, but in- toxicating if allowed to ferment by exposure to the trop- ical sun. The tara is much sought for when in the fer- mented state by the English soldiers, and causes many of the irregularities and crimes recorded of the troops in India. Indeed, it is said that a camp pitched near a " toddy tope," or date grove, is sure to be disorderly. A-m nng the trees having claim to historic fame, none are more worthily celebrated in our own country than the " Charter Oak " of Hartford, Connecticut, in which was concealed from British tyranny (168Y) the charter 32 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTTNG. of the colony for several years. And the " Treaty Elm," under which the good William Penn made his treaty with the Indians in 1682, and which stood upon the banks of the Delaware until the year 1827, when, in spite of the care taken to preserve it, it fell to the ground, and had a regenesis in the shape of canes, snuff-boxes, and drinking-cups. The walnut-tree, originally called gaulinut, from hav- ing been introduced into England from France (ancient Gaul), was once considered by herbahsts to be efficacious in all diseases of the head, as it bore the head signature {i. e., a resemblance to the head), the outer skin being the pericranium, the shell the skull, the kernel the brain. At the end of the sixteenth century walnuts did more service than cannon-balls, as at the siege of Amiens by the Spanish during the opposition to the ascension of Henry Quatre to the French throne, a party of soldiers, dressed as French peasants, brought a cart-load of nuts to sell, and when admitted, as they passed through the gates let some of the nuts spiU out, which the sentinels dispersed eagerly to gather up, and while stooping were set upon, killed, and the gates taken by the disguised peasants, who then admitted the Spanish army. In ancient times the fig-tree was sacred to the gods. Its leaves were used for the crown of Saturn ; its branches borne in procession at the feast of Plynteria, when the statue of Minerva was washed. In the ThargeUa, or feast of the sun, they wore the fig, and played, on flutes, an ode to " The Fig-tree." The Eomans honored it be- cause Eomulus and Remus T>'ere found under a fig-tree, and it was considered a type of friendship. Paris has an elm-tree planted in 1605, the leaves of which are as early as those of younger trees. The soap-plant of California is not only beautiful, but useful, the bulbs being preferred by those who use them to the finest quality of soap. There is another tree, found in South America, the bark of which is used as soap also. FAMOUS TEEES OF THE WORLD. 33 The most beautiful tree of India and, it is said, of the world, called by the natives " Jonesia Asika," bears a red flower resembling the isora, of the most wonderful beauty and sweetness, while the denseness of its foli- age is a marvel to behold. Another tree of India, the tamala, bears black blossoms of a most singular shape. The mulberry, famous the world over, shall close this mere mention of celebrated tree-life. Since the Baby- lonian lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, in despair of the " course of true love running smooth," imperilled the spotless white of the mulberry-blossom with their life- blood, this tree, with its dark -winged leaves, its san- guine-juiced fruit, has been sung by poets and lauded by scholars. The Morea of Greece is named from its fancied re- semblance to the shape of the mulberry-leaf. The Eev- erend F. Gastrel, of Stratford-on-Aron, has sent his name down to ignominious disgrace, having, in the year 1786, "wantonly and brutishly" cut down the favorite tree of Shakespeare, a mulberry planted by the poet's own hands. The introduction of the mulberry into France for the food of the silkworm was bitterly opposed by the peo- ple, and only effected by the will of Henry IV., who fore- saw the great wealth to be thus gained. There is a pretty Oriental proverb inculcating patience and hope, which says : " With time and patience each leaf of the mulberry becomes the softest silk." The Wadsworth oak at Genesee, New Tork, is said to be five centuries old, and twenty-seven feet in circumfer- ence at the base. The massive, slow-growing live-oaks at Florida are worthy of notice on account of the enor- mous length of their branches. Bartram says : " I have stepped fifty paces in a straight line from the trunk of one of these trees to the extremity of the limbs." The oaks of Europe are among the grandest of trees. The Cowthrope tree is seventy -eight feet in circuit at the 34 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTmG. ground, and is at least eighteen hundred years old. An- other in Dorsetshire is of equal age. In Westphalia is a hoUow oak, which was a place of refuge in the troubled times of mediaeval history. The great oak at Saintes, in southern France, is ninety feet in girth, and has been ascertained to be two thousand years old. This monu- ment stiU flourishes, or did recently, and commemorates a period which antedates the first campaign of Julius Caesar. And the Lord God planted the trees of the field — " every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil," under the shadoAT of which Eve and Lucifer had that agreeable little intercourse from which came all this trouble and confusion. CHAPTEE VII. THE OLDEST TIMBER IN THE WOELD. Where Found, and Uses to -wbicli Put. — Its Present Preserved Condi- tion and Sacred History. — The Ancient Trees of America, Where Found. — Petrified Relics. — ^Evidences of Ancient Tree-growth in Nevada. — Indian Tradition on the Tree-growth of Nevada. — Car- bonized Tree-trunks. Peobablt the oldest timber in tlie world, which has been subjected to the use of man, is that found in the ancient temple of Egypt in connection with stone-work, which is known to be at least four thousand years old. This, the only wood used in the construction of the tem- ple, is in the form of ties, holding the end of one stone to another at its upper surface. When two blocks were laid in place an excavation about an inch deep was made in each block, in which a tie shaped like an hour-glass was driven. It is, therefore, very difficult to force any stone from its position. The ties appear to have been of the timarisk or Shittim wood, of which the ark was constructed — a sacred tree in ancient Egypt, and now very seldom found in the valley of the Nile. The dove- tail ties are just as sound now as in the days of their in- sertion. Although fuel is extremely scarce in the coun- try, these bits of wood are not large enough to make it an object with the Arabs to heave off layer after layer of heavy stone to obtain them. Had they been of bronze, half of the old temple would have been destroyed years ago, so precious would they have been for various pur- poses. The oldest timber in America undoubtedly existed in 36 TREES AND TEEE-PLANTING. Nevada and California. That in California has happily been preserved, but the ancient trees of Nevada have long since disappeared. There are, however, stiU to be seen many petrifactions of these ancient giants, which tell us what these forests once were, long before the land- ing of Columbus on our shores. In the bottom of the main shaft of the Virginia City Coal Company, Eldorado Canon, Lyon County, Nevada, was encountered the trunk of a tree four feet in diame- ter, a lone rehc of an ancient and extinct forest. Where cut through by the shaft, this old tree was found to be perfectly carbonized — ^turned into coal ; outside the old log was completely crusted over with iron pyrites, many of which were so bright that the crystals shone like dia- monds. These pyrites also extend into the body of the log, filling what were apparently once cracks of wind- shakes, and even forming clusters about what was once the heart of the tree. This relic of an old time lay far below the two veins of coal. The finding of this old trunk is evidence that the country ages and ages ago was covered by a forest of large trees ; though the na- tive timber growth, when the country was first visited by the whites, and as far back as the traditions of the Indians extend, was but a scrubby species of nut-pine. A few miles from the shaft in which this carbonized tree was found, are to be se6n on the surface the petri- fied remains of many large trees. In the early days of "Washoe, before the prospector had broken them up for specimens, pieces of tree-trunks two and three feet in di- ameter, and twenty or thirty feet in length, were to be seen lying upon the surface of the ground. CHAPTEK YIII. THE BEAUTY OP TREES. Their Varieties of Feature and Form and Diversity of Character. — The Attributes of Trees. — The Essential Condition of Beauty in Trees. — Beauty of Forest Eetreats. — The Forest Enjoyments and Joyous Inhabitants. — Individual and Collective Beautifying of Trees, How Realized. Among all the millions of human beings who have existed since time began, no two have been alike. AU their illimitable varieties of expression are produced by the varied combinations of only half a dozen features included in a circle of six to eight inches in diameter. "While amid all these forms of expression many are known as being of exquisite beauty. So with the end- less diversity of character that may be exhibited among trees, with the multitude of features and form given by their trunks and myriads of branches, limbs, and twigs, their infinitude of leaves and blossoms, of all sizes, forms, and colors; their towering outhnes delineated on the azure canopy of the skies, and the ever-varying play of light and shadow of their foliage. There are subtle ex- pressions in trees, as in the human face, that are difficult to analyze or account for. Sunny cheerfulness, gayety, gloom, sprighthness, rude- ness, sweetness, awkwardness, and eccentricities are aU attributes of trees, as well as of human beings. Some trees look sulky or sad, as old oaks, or balsams, and re- pel sympathy. People never love such trees; they are only endured by way of variety. A healthy, vigorous sugar -maple looks warm, sunny, and deep -blossomed; 38 TEEES JlND TEEE-PLANTING. the voluptuous magnolias and the wide-winged apple-tree, bendiQg down with loads of fruit to shade and cover all, convey to us at once the idea of human love and sym- pathy. These are the trees we are forced to love, be- cause they are beautiful ; have souls that thrill a sympa- thetic chord ia our own souls. The children will not cry when the stiff and stoical old balsam fir and Lom- bardy poplar are cut down; but lay low an old and favorite apple-tree, or oak, or maple, under whose shade they have played, and their hearts wiU be quick to feel the difference between trees. No tree has the highest beauty of its type without the appearance in its whole bearing of robust vigor. This is the essential condition of all beautiful trees. Thriftiness cannot make an elm look like an oak, but rather marks more sharply the difference between them, making the elm appear more graceful and the oak more majestic. Yet thriftiness changes the forms of some trees. Few trees attain the f uU measure of their beauty through thrift unless they are fuUy exposed on all sides to the sun. "We do not mean that all trees wiU not be beautiful without such complete exposure, but that to realize the highest beauty of which any one is capable, it must be exposed. A greater variety of beauty can be attained by grouping one or more varieties or species, thus contrasting sev- eral expressions of form or foliage. But in this case we sacrifice the highest type of individual perfection to pro- duce a more striking effect with several trees. But the same fact may be observed with reference to the group ; its full beauty can be realized only by having the trees in luxurious growth, and exposed collectively to the sun. What is a forest ? How grand, how silent and beau- tiful ! Let us saunter forth after breakfast in the grand old woods, and, finding a pleasant spot, sit on a moss- covered log that not long ago stood erect and for five hundred years waved his feathery crest to the gentle THE BEAUTY OF TREES. 39 breeze. It has resisted the crumbling power of Time's history remarkably well, and furnishes a nidus for the growth of the beautiful moss, whose Calyptra, with its cardinal's hat oflf, wooes the gentle zephyrs passing over its soft bed. This is a cool arbor — "a boundless contiguity of shade," where, undisturbed by the heathen shot-gun, the feathered songsters congregate to pour forth their matin lays in peace and fill their crops with the devas- tating insects that would denude the old forest-trees of their beauty and leave them to wither in lifeless decay. Hear the sprightly bluejay pipe his saucy notes, and mock in great glee the chattering squirrel on yonder huge knot contiguous to a safei retreat. Listen to the half-dozen birds in yonder thicket, personified by the merry, mischievous catbird. He is really the only bird in the thicket, and he laughs to think how he is fooling an unfeathered biped, with mouth agape, wondering at his mixed minstrelsy. Hark ! The woodpecker taps with lightning rapidity the dry limb on the top of yon elm, and as the taps echo among the cool arbors of the forest he chants his home- ly notes and thanks Heaven that he lives. The fish- hawk screams along the streams, and his voice strikes terror into the small song-birds, who have ventured near in search of food. In the distance, in the dark aisles of the forest, the loud notes of the hooting owl come booming on the air, and a thousand hearts beat momentarily in great fear. There goes one of the tribe known as the mink, and he proudly trots along with a mouse in his mouth and his head erect. And there comes a hawk from the barn-yard with a hen in her talons, pursuing the course marked out for her on the map of hawk-hfe, however detrimental that course may be to the housewife's an- ticipated chicken-pie. Insect life's ten thousand notes ascend to heaven in paeans of praise, and feeble, finite 40 TEEES AlTD TEEE-PLANTDfG. man worships in wonder and amazement the omnipres- ent Creator of alL The solitude of the forest is the place to see, listen, meditate, and worship. There we come in contact with the God of nature, and feel that it is good that we have been born. CHAPTEE IX. INFLUENCE OF TREES ON CLIMATE. Forest Resources of India. — Formation and Development of the For- est Service of India. — Utility of Indian Forests, of What Con- sisting. — Traces of Flooded Areas.— Decrease of Stream in Pun- jab Rivers, to What Due. — The Temperature of Russia, How Af- fected by Forest Destruction. — Difficulty of Replanting Trees in Russia. — A Striking Illustration of a Forest-denuded Country. — Khanate of Bokhara. — Its Fertility Now and Thirty Years ago Contrasted. — Bavarian Observations. — Ascertained Influence of Forests on Climate, Relative Moisture, Fertility, and Healthful- nes9, with Illustrations. — The Distribution of Rainfall and For- ests of the United States. — Serious Discoveries in the United States in Connection with Forest Destruction. — An Unpleasant Future "Prospect.— Industrious Prosperity of the United States, How Threat- ened. — Saying of Dr. Hayes and How it Concerns the United States. A GEEAT deal has already been said in these chapters about the influence of trees on the climate of a country, but as some people seem to be sceptical on this subject we will add for their benefit a few more facts. The formation and development of the forest service of India has been followed by a succession of reports that bring into prominence the great and varied forest resources of that country. The work of classifying, demarcating, working, and managing was commenced and conducted so recently as the year 1863, and hence a thorough examination of the forests of India has not been completed. The expanse of country under the direct control of the government comprises every variety of climate, elevation, and tem- perature, and almost every form of soil and sub-soil. 42 TREES AND TEEE-PLANTtNG. The general forest administration has, therefore, to deal with the treatment of a great variety of forests, from the cool shade of the cedars that cro\ra the middle ranges of the Himalayas, to the arid plains of the South, where the stunted vegetation scarcely yields a rafter for the peasant's hut, and thence to the tropical forests of Burmah, where the deep-green shade is never pierced by the sun's rays. The utiUty of these forests consists of their suppUes of timber-woods and other products for building, manu- factures, food, or for the use and convenience of the people, while they indirectly affect the climate and soil, maintaining the supply of water in springs, streams, and even rivers. In certain parts there exist evidences that at some former period, where there was rice cultivation on a wide scale, there must have been large areas flooded with fresh water for a long succession of years, and that not by fitful floods of sudden inundation, but in a steady, quiet manner. At present there are to be seen only the dry beds of torrents, running as a torrent dur- ing the rainy season, and having a very small supply of water at other times. This phenomenon, as we are in- formed in Mr. Powell's report, so commonly observed in all the Punjab streams coming from the now denuded lower hiUs, points inevitably to the conclusion that forest denudation has deprived these rivers of their steady water supply, and hence ruined the rainless countries that were dependent on them. The winters in Eussia are becoming colder every year, and the summers hotter, more dry, and less fruitful, ow- ing, as it is clearly proved by Palingston, to the destruc- tion of the woodlands which formerly abounded in the southern districts. The clearing of these lands has caused such an evaporation that many once capacious watercourses have become mere swamps, or are com- pletely dry. The Dnieper becomes every day more shal- low, and its tributaries are no longer worthy the name INFLUENCE OF TREES ON CLIMATE. 43 of streams. The question of replanting has frequently been agitated, but the dried condition of the earth in many places in southern Kussia makes it a matter of great difficulty. A striking iLLustration of the results which have fol- lowed the denuding of a country of its forest trees, and a result which has been brought about within the short period of thirty years, is afforded by the Khanate of Bok- hara, in Asia, a country situated between 35° and 45° north latitude, and 60° and 70° longitude east from Lon- don. Thirty years ago the Khanate was one of the most fertile provinces of central Asia, well wooded and wa- tered, and was considered an earthly paradise. Twenty- five years ago a mania for forest-clearing broke out and continued until the timber had nearly all been destroyed. "What trees were spared by rulers and people were after- wards destroyed in course of a civil war. The conse- quence of this ruthless destruction of forest growth is now painfully manifest in immense dry and arid wastes, and the watercourses have become dry and useless chan- nels. To ascertain by scientific observations the influ- ence of forests on the annual rainfall, moisture of the air and ground, and on the climate generally, the Bavarian government estabhshed in different parts of the kingdom seven stations, at each of which daily observations were made at two different points, one situated in the middle of a large open field, the other in the middle of a large forest. These observations, according to Dr. Ebermeyer's report, agree with the observations and opinions given by Humboldt, De Saussure, Herschel, and other scientists in regard to the great influence of forests on the climate, relative moisture, fertihty, and healthfulness of a coun- try, and are confirmed by the present physical condition of the Mediterranean shores, which, since the Alps, Apen- nines, and Pyrenees were deprived of their forests, have lost the verdure and fertility so glowinglj'- described by ancient geographers and historians. Elvers famous in 44 TREES AND TEEE-PL ANTING. story and song have sunk into insignificant streamlets, subject to sudden rises and overflows inundating and covering with gravel and sand the former fertile vaUeys. The destruction of the forests of the Vosges and Ceven- nes sensibly deteriorated the famous f ertUity of Elasas and the rich vaUeys of the Ehone. The same discoveries, although in a lesser degree, we are now making in various parts of the United States. The wholesale stripping of our repubhc's soil of its tim- ber, continued at its present accelerated rates, a quarter of a century later will be followed by a long era of physical degeneracy and chmatic deterioration that must sap its industrial and even its intellectual energies, and reduce its fair and salubrious bosom to the aspect of a South American llano. Unless there can be excited a national interest in this subject, and preventive measures are set on foot, the vast interior of the United States must part with a great por- tion bf its magnificent agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial prosperity. I say that the distribution of rainfall in the United States is almost identical with the distribution of its forests. The eastern one third of the United States is a well- watered and weU-wooded area. The prairie region east of the Missouri has a moderate amount of rain. The parallel of 60° is the northern limit of the forests. Dr. Hayes said he had often covered a whole forest, well grown, with his hat. This was in Greenland, but unless we protect our forests the same may some day be said of the United States. CHAPTEK X. WARMTH OF TREES IN WINTER AND COOLNESS IN SUMMER. Temperature of Trees. — Their Winter Warmth and Summer Cool- ness. — Differences of Temperature of Different Trees Illustrated. — Heat-producing Property of Trees Exemplified. — Local Heating Influence of Forests. — The Additional Property of Evergreens. — Their Twofold Office. Teees have temperature. The shade of some is much cooler and pleasanter than others. If you do not believe it, try the shade of a maple and then that of a pine, and note the difference. So, too, some trees are warmer in winter than others. "We aU know that a stove throws out heat by reason of the fuel it contains, and that in a hke manner the food taken by an animal is, as so much fuel to a stove, the source from whence animal heat is derived, and which is given off to the surrounding atmosphere precisely as heat is given off from the stove ; but it is not so well known that trees give off heat in the same way. They feed, their food is decomposed, and during decomposition heat is generated and the surplus given off to the atmosphere. " If any one will examine a tree a few hours after the ces- sation of a snow-storm, he will find that the snow for perhaps a quarter of an inch from the stem of the tree has been thawed away more or less, according to the severity of the cold. This is owing to the waste heat from the tree. If he plants a hyacinth four inches or more under the surface of the earth in November, and it immediately becomes frozen in and stays frozen solid till March, yet. 46 TEEES AND TEEE-PL ANTING. when it shall then be examined, it will be found that by the aid of its internal heat the bud has thawed itself through the frozen soil to the surface of the ground. These facts show the immense power in plants to gener- ate heat, and the more trees there are on a property the warmer a locality becomes. Evergreens, besides pos- sessing this heat-dispensing property, have the additional property of keeping in check cold winds from other quar- ters, thus filling as it were, the twofold office of stove and blanket." CHAPTEE XL THE BLOOD OF TREES. Experiments in Connection with the Circulation of Sap in Trees. — Variety of Sap-exuding Trees. — Non Sap-yielding Species. — The Influence of Climate on Flow of Sap.— Composition of Sap, to What Due. — Distinctive Characteristics of Sap-yielding Trees Demon- strated.— Effect of the Temperature of Soil and Atmosphere on Sap- flow.— Principal Ingredients of Sap.— Daily Meteorological Obser- vations and What they Prove.— Explanations on the Alternations of Sap-flow.— The Observations of Biot and Nevins, and What they Determine.— The Opinion of Mr. Hubbard Confirmed by Experi- ments. — The Absorbent Power of Roots. — Development of Leaf and Flower, How Influenced, and Origin of their Vitality. A sEEiEs of experiments made by Professor "W. S. Clarke, President of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege, throws much light on a subject which has hitherto remained in great obscurity — ^the circulation of sap in trees — and promises an understanding of many things connected with pruning and transplanting which have hitherto been veiled in obscurity. Unable, from want of space, to present our readers with the full report, we endeavor to condense the material portions into a brief space. The f amihar facts — that sap flows from wounds in certain trees in the spring, that from the sap of the maple sugar is obtained, and that the peculiarities of the season affect the quality and quantity of the flow, suggested these experiments, whose object was to determine the amount, pressure, and composition of sap which might be obtained from different species of woody oxogens. The great majority of trees and shrubs, it was found, do not at any season of the year bleed from wounds in the wood, and but few of the species which, in our northern lati- 48 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. tude, exhibit this phenomenon at all do so when clothed in foliage. The striking and extraordinary differences thus evidenced are not accounted for by any peculiarity of structure or habitat. The soft and spongy wood of the willow and elm, growing in moist ground, seem spe- cially suited to absorb and pour forth water before the expansion of their leaves or flowers in the spring ; but examination shows that they contain no unusual amount of sap at that time. Of more than sixty species of trees and shrubs tested by Professor Clarke, only six — Betula, which includes the birch ; Acer, the maples ; Vitis, the vines ; Ostrea, the hornbeam ; Juglans, walnuts ; and Cas- rya, the hickories — showed any tendency to bleed. The genus Garya exudes but very little, and possibly Fagus, the beech ; and Carpinus, the hop hornbeam, may do the same, though no satisfactory test was applied. It was found that each species had its own time of beginning the flow of sap ; that the flow then steadily increased in quantity and force until the maximum was reached, when it gradually declined ; and that the com- position of the sap of the several species differed remark- ably, both according to the date of the flow and the time of its beginning. This singular periodicity demonstrates that the absorp- tion of water by the rootlets is not caused by osmose or any other merely physical force, but is the result of that specific life which imparts to every plant its distinctive characteristics. The sugar maple, which begins its flow in October, reaches its maximum about the first of April, and ceases about the first of May. The black birch begins the last of March, reaches its maximum in a single month, and stops entirely about the middle of May. The wild suin- mer grape-vine commences the first of May, arrives at its maximum by the twenty-fifth of the same month, and ceases early in June. Differences in the season of flow- ing are of course accompanied by correspondino- differ- THE BLOOD OF TKEES. 49 ences in the temperature of the soil and atmosphere, as also in the chemical condition of the sap. The principal ingredient of maple sap is cane sugar ; of birch sap, grape sugar ; and of vine sap, mucilage or gum. But why do we find cane sugar in the maple, and not in the birch ? and why only gum in the vine 1 Possi- bly because these several transformations of the starch (which descended to the root of the plant and was depos- ited in its cells, or in those of the stem, as the result of the previous season's growth) require different periods of time. The maple is the only one gorged with sap during the six months which intervene between the fall of the leaf and the beginning of spring growth. This affords ample time for the necessary chemical changes, and may account for the fact that the maple is the only indigenous tree from which crystaUizable cane sugar can be profitably extracted. Birches are next in order. Being filled with sap for several weeks before a bud begins to expand, we may reasonably expect to find in them the formation at least of grape sugar ; and in the north of Europe a sweet syrup is obtained from their sap by evap- oration. At last the vine. The beginning of the motion of its sap is deferred untO. about the first of May, at which time it seems to contain no sugar of any kind. Three weeks later it acquires a sweetish taste, and we may then find a trace of grape sugar. At this period the beginning of vegetable growth is attended by the rapid exhalation of the water of the crude sap and the assimilation of its gum in the formation of cellulose, and this is precisely the transformation which ordinarily oc- curs in plants at the beginning of the vegetating season. A careful comparison of the daily weight of the sap from several sugar-maple-trees with the meteorological obser- vations of the same period, conclusively proves that while the general flow corresponds with the season — ris- ing to a maximum and dechning — the daily and hour- ly flow varies with the weather. Steadily and severely 3 so TEEES AHD TEEE-PLANTDIG. cold and uniformly warm and foggy weather are the most unfavorable, while the best sap days are bright and warm, preceded by freezing nights. The variations of temperature which affect the flow of maple sap are most likely to occur when the ground is covered with snow, because the heat of the sun during the day cannot then overcome the cooling influence of night. The most probable explanation of the effect of these alternations appears to be that the contracting influence of the cold drives sap from the outer tissue of the tree into the heart-wood of the higher parts of the trunk. Meanwhile absorption goes on as usual under- ground, and thus, when reUef is afforded by the expan- sive influence of the sun, the sap rushes again to the surface and flows abundantly. This explanation is con- firmed by the observations of Biot, in France, as to the poplar ; and by Nevins, in Ireland, as to the elm. To determine whether sap would flow from the heart-wood of a sugar-tree a piece of gas-pipe was driven to a depth of six inches. The flow was regular and long-continued, but not abundant. From another tree a piece of bark five inches wide and three inches high was removed, and a piece of sheet-iron driven into the bark below to catch the sap which flowed very profusely but stopped very early. From the first tree the sap flowed eleven days longer than from the last, but the latter yielded twelve pounds more of the fluid. In case of a tree tapped on both the north and south sides at the same level, it was found that the north spout yielded daily about twice as much sap as the south, and continued to flow nearly two weeks longer. To discover whether the sweetness of the sap was the same in aU parts of the same tree, spouts were inserted in a tree which had never previously been tapped — one at the usual height, one fifty feet higher, where the trunk was about five inches in diameter, and a limb thirty-five feet from the ground was cut. In several hours the lower THE BLOOD OF TEEES. 51 spout yielded six pounds of sap, the limb two ounces, and the upper spout none at aU. Similar experiments of other trees showed the flows of sap to be most free within twelve feet of the earth, diminishing rapidly above that height. Experiments upon the roots proved that the sap flowed from both ends of a cut root, and that it aU contained sugar. The largest flow noticed during any one spring day was from a healthy shade-tree, six feet five inches in cir- cumference, March 23, and amounted to ten pounds and three ounces. Sap gathered from the latter tree ISTovem- ber 1 was found to contain only half as much sugar as that obtained in March from the first tree. Mr. Hub- bard, an experienced sugar-maker, is of the opinion that the amount of sugar obtained from a single tree can- not be augmented much by multiplying the number of spouts. Two half-inch holes about two inches deep suffice for ordinary trees, while four spouts and two buckets are used for very large trees. The average annual product of the sugar maple varies from twelve to twenty-four gallons of sap, yielding from two to three pounds of sugar, though the yield of a single tree is said to have exceeded thirty pounds in one season. Eirches seem to exceed aU other trees in the amount of sap which they yield — black, yellow, paper, and gray or white birch were tested and reached the maximum of fifteen pounds per day per spout. They were tapped March 19, commenced yielding on the 25th, and ended the last of April. At six o'clock, A.M., April 2, the two gauges in a black birch — ^the first at the ground and the second thirty feet higher up — indicated respectively pressures of 56.65 and 26.74 feet of water, the difference corresponding abnost exactly to the difference in height. A hole being bored at 12.30 P.M. opposite the lower gauge, the pressure feU in fifteen minutes equal to 10.27 feet of water. Upon 52 TBEES AND TEEE-PLANTINQ. closing the hole the pressure rose to its former level in ten minutes. A stop-cock having been inserted into the hole, it "was found that the communication between it and each of the two gauges was almost instantaneous ; proving that the tree was entirely fUled with sap and exerted its pressure freely in all directions. This sap- pressure continued to increase until May 11, when it represented a column of water 84.77 feet high — probably the highest pressure of sap ever before recorded. This pressure gradually decreased until May 27, when the lower gauge indicated zero. The suction manifested by the birch was very httle, never exceeding nine feet of water, and continued for but a few days. To determine whether this pressure was due to the vital action of the roots alone, a root was followed for a distance of ten feet from the tree, and then, one foot below the surface, cut off. To this detached root, one inch in diameter, a gauge was attached, AprO. 26. The pressure became immediately evident, and rose, with slight fluctuations, until noon of April 30, when it in- dicated a column of water 85.80 feet high. The origi- nal experiment of applying a gauge to the grape-vine, first tried by Kev. Stephen Hales, of England, one hun- dred and fifty years ago, was now repeated. May 9, and on the 24th showed a pressure of 49.52 feet of water — six and a half more than was observed by Hales. The pecuhar features of the vine-sap are its lateness in the season, its apparent independence of the weather, its moderate and uniform rise to its maximum, its grad- ual dechne to zero without marked fluctuations, and its almost unvarying suction of from 4.5 to 6.5 feet of wa- ter between June 20 and- July 20, when the observations ceased. The general indications of the mercurial gauge seem to show that the flow of sap is caused by the absorbent power of the roots forcing water into the tree, and as, even in the maple, the sap rarely rises more than twenty THE BLOOD OF TEEES. 53 feet from the ground, and the development of leaf and flower buds is not usually affected by any mechanical pressure of the sap forced into them from below, their vitality is stimulated to activity by the genial influence of the sun, and their growth is, in its beginning, caused by the assimilation of organic substances accumulated during the preceding season of vegetation. These experiments and observations are not final and conclusive in several respects, but they may be looked upon as having opened the door to an almost exhaust- less subject of which the world needs information. I hope they wiH be read with interest by the most indif- ferent, and will be carefuUy studied in all their relations to the natural world by those who delight in such re- searches. CHAPTEE Xn. SHELTER-BELTS. Vegetable Need of Protection Illustrated. — Observed Fallacies and Reasonable Contradictions. — Laws of Heat Radiation Demonstrated. — ^Nightly Atmospberic Heating. — Condition and Elevation of Air Favorable to Vegetable Life. — Atmospheric Vapor, How Supplied. — "The Benefits of Transpiration of Forests. — Observations in Europe, and What they Prove.— A Conclusion Established. — Ad- duced Facts. — Motion of the Atmosphere. — Liquid and Aerial Mo- tion Contrasted. — Aerial Motion Illustrated. — Protective Systems and their Controlling Influences. — Experienced Facts iiersus Theo- ry. — A Study for the Orchardist and Farmer. — Experienced Testi- mony on the Influence of Shelter-Belts. The following article from the pen of Professor Gale speaks for itself, and I need make no apology for insert- ing it here. "Both animal and vegetable life need protection. Nor do we all see eye to eye in regard to the the- ory of protection. This is well illustrated in the fol- lowing statement from a late number of the Scientific American: 'A well -grown evergreen - tree gives off continually an exodium of warmth and moisture that reaches a distance of its area ia height ; when the tree- planters advocate shelter - belts surrounding a tract of fifty or more acres, when the influence of such belt can only reach the height of the trees of such belt, they do that which will prove of little value.' There are two fallacies here. First, that the climatic influence of a tree arises from its power to send off an ' exodium of warmth ' into the surrounding atmosphere. In relation to this we wiU only ask how many Christmas-trees wiU be re- quired to keep our parlor warm next winter ? The sec- SHELTEE-BELTS. 55 ond f allaxjy is that shelter-belts can effect climatic changes only through their power to send off an ' exodinm of ■warmth.' While the writer of this article may have aimed at a very good thing, he has certainly missed the point as far as shelter-belts are concerned. "Holding that forest -culture in Kansas can be made a success, and that it is necessary to the prosperous set- tlement of the state, we desire to prove that forest-cult- ure in the form of extended and carefully arranged shelter-belts must have efficient cUmatic influence. In proof of this let us state some of the simple laws which govern the radiation of heat and the motion of the at- mosphere. "laws of heat. " 1. Heat is radiated from all bodies and in aU direc- tions, the angle of incidence and of reflection being equal. " 2. Heat of high intensity passes almost unobstructed through some bodies, while th4 same bodies are opaque to heat of a lower intensity ; thus the sun sends its in- tense heat through the glass into the green-house, whfle the plants cannot radiate that heat back again through the glass into the open air. This fact can be illustrated by a heated ball and a plate of glass, showing the heat of low intensity is almost entirely retained by the glass. The vapor of water operates almost like the plate of glass, permitting the free passage of the heat from the sun, Ijut checking very largely the radiation from the earth. Thus an atmosphere saturated with vapor will check radiation with seventy times the power of a dry atmosphere. " 3. The point of saturation varies with the tempera- ture of the atmosphere. Then the cooler the atmosphere the drier it wiU be, and hence the more rapid the radia- tion of heat ; or, the drier the atmosphere under any cir- cumstances, the more rapid the radiation of heat. It is calculated by Professor Tyndall that one tenth of the 56 TREES AND TEEE-PLAirTIN&. heat radiated from the earth is retained within ten feet of the earth's surface by the vapor held in the atmos- phere. " 4. It is found that during the night-time the atmos- phere becomes sensibly warmer to the height of one hundred and fifty feet, as shown in the following table : " Let the thermometer upon the grass represent zero, and at one inch above the grass it will read three degrees higher; and At 6 inches above the grass it will read 6 higher. " Ifoot " " " ' 7 " " 12 feet " " " " " " 8 " " 50 feet " " " " " " 10 " " 150 feet " " " " " " 13 " You wUl notice that two thirds of the entire rise of tem- perature occurs below twelve feet, and five sixths of the increase in temperature below fifty feet. That is, the vapor within fifty feet of the earth is five times more important to vegetable life than that contained within one hundred feet above that point, and the vapor within twelve feet of the earth's surface has twice as much in- fluence upon climatic conditions as one hundred and thirty-eight feet of atmosphere above that point. " These facts lead us at once to the conclusion that, as far as vegetable life is concerned, we are most inter- ested in the condition of the air within twelve or fifteen feet of the earth's surface, and that a vapor-laden atmos- phere near the surface of the earth, not subject to vio- lent commotion, must be a matter of the gravest moment. " Now it is well known that vegetable life, as well as the earth itself, is sending off continually a vast amount of vapor into the atmosphere. Every spear of grass and every leaf is pumping up the moisture from the earth, and sending it forth into the air in the form of vapor, thus giving the earth a glassy covering, opaque to radiated heat of a low intensity. The amount of wa- SHELTEE-BELTS. o7 ter drawn from the soil by growing trees and given off in the form of vapor from the leaves is simply im- mense. Thus it is stated that the eucalyptus of Austra- lia will absorb ten times its weight in a single day (Kept. No. 159, H. K. U. S., on Timber Culture, page 94). A small pear-tree has been found to absorb and give off more than its own weight of water in forty hours. The effect of this transpiration is seen in the prevailing moist- ure of the forest. We have only to surround a house with a dense growth of timber, and we learn the imme- diate result in the dampness and mildew which pervade the dwelling. Hence the amount of moisture pumped up by the growing trees, often from great depths, can hardly be measured. This process wiU be constantly varying in its activity with the conditions of vegetable life. " Extended observations in Europe have proved that there is a marked excess in the rainfall of an extensive forest over that of the open country. This should be expected, since the falling rain, as it reaches the prevail- ing moisture of the forest, must condense and carry much of its vapor to the ground. " If the positions above taken be correct, we should expect that wooded lands should be cooler than the open fields in the daytime, and warmer in the night ; and such a conclusion has been clearly established by extended observations, made under the direction of the Bavarian government during the last six years. " The facts adduced prove that all vegetable Hfe wiU cover itself with a glassy mantle, in density proportioned to the luxuriance of growth, and nearly opaque to the heat radiated from the earth. " How can this glassy mantle be retained as a nightly and constant protection to vegetable life, or must it be swept away by the prevailing winds ? To answer this question intelligently, we must consider briefly some of the simple laws which govern atmospheric motion. 58 TREES AUD TEEE-PLAimNO. "motion of the ATJIOSPHEEE. " There is a marked contrast in the motion of a liquid like water, and an elastic, gaseous fluid Mke air. If we place an impediment in a creek the water immediately flows around the impediment, and will not flow over it as long as a clear way can be found to either the right or the left. But the air not only moves around on either side, but piles up in front of whatever checks its course and rolls over the top of the impediment as readily as it passes around. Thus a grove of timber or a thin shelter- belt effectually checks the motion of the wind. "■'^ii^s^^^^sa«ss=«awi:t^2SL'.'^"-'?I?-J^ The wind rises over the trees, as indicated by the ar- rows in the figure, and, instead of faUing like water to the ground, it flows on, as shown, and does not reach the original level until it has gone a distance of eleven times the height of the wind-breaks. There will be a quiet atmosphere immediately about the trees, but to eleven times the height of the shelter-belt, and even in the teeth of the wind at D, there wiU be a quiet atmosphere. It is well known that while the wiad may sweep with fearful velocity over a forest and powerfully agitate the tops of trees, the motion is comparatively sMght within the forest ; the same is true of a succession of shelter-belts. The wind wiH sweep with great force over the trees at C, while aU below remains quiet. The extent of these quiet spaces, A and B, will of course depend upon the height of the shelter-belts. Any one who wiU take the SHELTEK-BELTS. 69 trouble can test the correctness of these views for him- self. " We expect that the most important and positive re- sults will follow a weU-devised system of protection. It would exert a controlling influence over all farm opera- tions. A judicious system of protection would be at- tended with the most beneficent results, while under cer- tain other conditions it might be attended with disaster. " FACTS. " All this, some wHL say, is theory. But Kansas in 1874 gave us, along the line of the M. K. and T. E. K., and in other parts of the state, some important facts in this di- rection. There are many parts of the state where corn was an entire failure. In a few locahties com matured a fair crop, even in exposed conditions. And there were other localities where corn yielded a crop only under very favorable conditions of culture and protection. It is these localities that are most interesting to us now. Space will permit at present the presentation of only a few of these cases reported to me by Eobert Miliken, H. E. Yan Deman, and others. " We have here represented a corn-field, Isaac Smith's, fourteen miles south of Emporia. A B, corn-field, at the road passes through the timber, leaving an opening - =-B-'- mSl%=^^^ ^k — ____■!-_ '^m--^.,^.^ '^CZI^ — -„~;;;gS»— 60 TEEES AND TEEE-PLAinTNG. for the wind. As a consequence no corn matured near the road on either side. The timber south of B was very heavy, and the yield of corn in that part of the field was forty bushels to the acre ; while south of A the timber was much lighter, and as a result the yield of corn was not more than twenty bushels to the acre. " The figure below represents a field of corn reported by Mr. Van Deman, situated on the Neosho River, two miles south of Neosho Falls. At A the field of corn was forty bushels to the acre. Further north, at B, beyond the influence of the southern protection, the corn dried up and was much lighter. Vrvjv>- "The following figure represents a corn-field north and east of an orchard eighteen years old, trees large and closely planted, Linn County, Kansas. Reported by SHELTEE-BELTS. 61 m c^^^-^ %^ ^H *?a ^? ^'f.A, M. F. Leasure as yielding, in 1874, twice the com of any other land upon the farm, though in ordinary geasons the corn is not as good as from some other parts of the farm. " Another case is that of B. F. Leonard, ten miles east of Emporia. Mr. Leonard had two fields in com last year on land cleared of timber, and at least one half mile from the prairie on the south. ' He raised,' says Mr. Mihken, 'the largest and heaviest corn I saw in 1874.' Com from this field took the premium at the Linn County Fair, and was good enough for any season. The yield was sixty bushels per acre. Several other cases have been reported, with a careful attention to all incidental circumstances, so as to leave no doubt in regard to the direct influence of protection upon the corn crop of that immediate vicinity. In one case the com was good for fifteen or twenty rods north of the timber, while beyond that line there was little or no com. In another county, where a medium crop was made without protection, the lightest com is reported on the southern side of the fields, where most exposed to the Tpinds. The above cases are only given as examples of those which have been reported. They are facts which the practical farmer 62 TREES AOT) TEEE-PLAUrmG. and orchardist in Kansas need to study. If we doubt the deductions of science, we certainly ought not to be slow in accepting the testimony of experience. Tree-planters have long advocated shelter-belts, for they know the de- ductions of science are in their favor, and the testimony of experience has been brought across the ocean to prove these positions ; but the disasters of 1874 have brought out the experienced testimony of hundreds in Kansas. These can say, at least, that we know whereof we affirm when we report that in our experience shelter-belts have exerted a controlling influence on farm crops. " It is time for the farmers of Kansas to look at the practical side of this question. " The whole matter of protection needs to be thorough- ly studied. Let the whole subject be carefully systema- tized with reference to the broadest results. We need to consider at large what to plant, when to plant, in what way to combine and extend our shelter-belts ; how the inter- ests of neighborhoods, towns, and even counties, run to- gether in this work ; how the interest of every property- holder may be concerned in this matter ; what may be justly claimed of our state and government to encourage the work ; and, lastly, how to reach and gain the atten- tion of the great mass of farmers on this question. These points are too broad and too important for a brief dis- cussion." CHAPTEE XIII. KINDS OF TREES TO PLANT. The White, Blue, Black, Green, Ked, and European Ashes. — Their Growth, Usefulness, and Manner of Culture. — Climate and Soil best Suited to their Growth. — Distinguishing Traits and Proper- ties of Varieties. — The Mountain Ash. — ^Its Deportment, Uses, and Manner of Propa^ting. — Its Enemies. — The American Flowering Ash Described. It is not so difficult to raise timber as many people imagine. The lack of correct information on this sub- ject is, I believe, to a great extent the reason why so little timber is planted. If farmers only knew how to plant, and when and where, they would not be slow to raise trees. Now let us see if we cannot give some sim- ple directions for the planting of trees. First, then, yHE ASH. This is one of the best trees for forest -culture. It grows rapidly, is easily raised, and of great money value. Mr. HoUenbeck, of Nebraska, has, in Douglas County, a piece of ash timber he planted in 1861, and many of the trees now measure thirty-eight inches in circumference, and are over forty feet high. Mr. Budd, of Iowa, has a grove that has done better still. He says ten acres, thinned to six feet apart, contained twelve thousand trees, and at twelve years of age were eight inches in diameter and thirty-five feet high. The wood from thin- ning paid all expenses of planting and cultivation. The bodies of the trees cut out sold for forty cents each, and the tops were worth ten cents more. Ten acres of this 64 TEEES AND TEEE-PLAinTNG. timber, twelve years old, was estimated to be worth six thousand dollars. Young ash, if cut low at eight years of age, and a hght furrow turned over the stumps, wiU sprout and be ready for a second cutting in eight years. Mr. Budd says ten acres of black ash, planted for hoop-poles in rows four feet apart, may be half thinned in five years, and at three cents per pole wiU yield $1620. The remaining half, or fifty-four thou- sand poles, cut two years later for large hoop-poles, at six cents per pole, will yield $4860. The ash seed should be sown in the fall, in rows two feet apart, and covered with one inch of earth. In winter scat ter a Utter of straw three inches deep over the ground. The straw should be renewed early in the spring. The plants will grow as soon as the frost is gone, and win be twelve to fourteen inches high by fall. This wiU make an admirable nursery, from which the trees should be transplanted when one year old, and set out in the forest ground four feet apart. Work the ground the same as for corn, and keep the weeds down ; the closer the trees are planted the straighter they ■will grow, and be free from lower Mmbs. THE WHITE ASH. The ashes greatly resemble each other in their quality of wood, but for profit and cultivation the white and blue ashes undoubtedly lead. Most of the farm utensils manufactured in this country are partially constructed of ash, and on this account are greatly preferred by the European farmer to those manufactured in his own coun- try ; this is owing to the excellence of the ash used in their construction. Owing to the rapid consumption of ash, not only for farming utensils, but for any purpose where toughness and durability are wanted, there is not the slightest doubt that the ash wiU be one of the most profitable trees planted. The white ash is one of our largest trees when it has KINDS OF TEEES TO PLANT. 65 attained its full growth ; it is usually from two to three feet in diameter, with a straight trunk free from branch- es to the height of thirty or forty feet. We find the white ash in the New England States, New York, in the Northern States, and in the Dominion of Canada, but it is fast becoming scarce. It is common, but not by any means abundant, in northern Illinois and Iowa, but is met with less frequently in proceeding southward. It also grows to a small extent in southern Kansas, but is so small and crooked that it is worthless, except for fuel. The white ash needs a moist, cool, deep soil, and will not thrive to any extent in poor, dry land. The prairies of Iowa and Illinois afford the best soil for the cultiva- tion of the white ash; the other members of the ash species would thrive and perhaps be of more value far- ther south. Those trees of the ash family that have been of the most rapid growth afford the best timber, while that from slow-growing, stunted trees is generally weak and brittle. Ash is very extensively used in constructing carriages, furniture, and agricultural implements; it also makes very good firewood. The supply is fast diminishing and its use increasing, and those who propose to take advan- tage of this cannot be too soon in planting and getting ready to help fill the demand. The American ashes are dioecious, i. e., the fertile and the barren flowers are on different trees. Seed is only produced by white-ash trees that are growing in open ground ; it bears transplanting well, even when partially grown. It is a handsome and ornamental tree, and the only insect that attacks it is the May-bug, which devours the leaves early in the summer. The seed is ripe in October, and falls with the first frost. THE BLUE ASH. This tree grows principally upon the river bottoms of the Mississippi vaUey ; also on the banks of the Illinois 3* 6G TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. Kiver and its branches as far north as Bureau County, beyond which it becomes rare. It is about two feet in diameter, and reaches sixty or seventy feet in height. Its distinguishing trait from other members of its species is the triangular shape of the young shoots. The bark of old trees is not like that of the white ash, deeply fur- rowed, and divided into smaU spaces. The blue ash has the same qualities as other members of the ash genus, but possesses in a greater degree durability when ex- posed to the alternations of dryness and moisture : this quahty has been satisfactorily proven in its use for posts, rails, stakes, etc., in rural fences ; where it grows it is employed for the same purposes as the white ash. Michana claims that a blue color can be extracted from the inner bark, and doubtless from this fact it has de- rived its name. It is planted and treated the same as the white ash, but I would suggest a more southern cli- mate than for the white ash — south of latitude 40°. BLACK ASH has the same characteristics as others of the ash family : its chief use is in the manufacture of barrels, baskets, and hoops for barrels, but it is less durable than others of its species when exposed to the weather. "When green it can scarcely be burned, but when seasoned is very good fuel. A great deal of alkali can be obtained from its ashes. It can be raised on ground that is too wet to produce other valuable kinds of timber ; it is to be plant- ed the same as others of its species. EED ASH is said to be more numerous than any of its brethren in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. Doctor Gray affirms that it is very rare west of the AUeghanies, but it is found in various portions of Iowa and lUinois. Its uses are the same as the white and blue ashes, and it has all the properties for which they KINDS OF TREES TO PLAST. 61 are prized. It is cultivated as are the others of the ash family. It is smaller than the white ash. GEEEN ASH. This is quite an ordinary-sized tree, and is chiefly found upon the banks of rivers. It is quite a handsome tree, its leaves being very nearly alike on both sides. It pos- sesses the -good qualities of the rest of the family, and the only drawback to its culture is its inferior size. Its seed, contrary to that of the blue and white ashes, germi- nates readily if sown dry in spring. It is cultivated like the rest of its genus. EUEOPEAN ASH. This is a very lofty tree, the growth of which, in cer- tain locations, resembles that of the white and blue ashes, and is only cultivated in the United States for its beauty. Its wood does not begin to compare with the white and the blue ashes for durability ; hence I see no reason why it should be recommended for for- est cultivation. THE MOUNTAIN ASH. This tree is cultivated for ornament in many parts of the United States, within the neighborhoods of Boston^ Philadelphia, etc., where it attains considerable dimen- sions, sometimes reaching the height of thirty feet. Its deportment is somewhat restricted when fuUy grown, but is more loose and gracefully disposed Avhen the tree is young. In color its bark is gtay on old trees, but purplish-brown on young trees. Its leaves, which are spear-shaped and toothed on their edges, and smooth on their upper surface, are composed of eight or nine pairs of leaflets and an odd one terminating its length. Its flowers, which blossom in May and June, occur in large, fragrant white clusters, and are succeeded by berries of a brilliant scarlet color. 68 TEEES Am) TKEE-PLANTING. Of the many varieties of the moimtain ash, the small- fruited variety is indigenous to the whole range of the AUeghanies, and is distinctively distinguishable by the dark-brown gloss of its young branches and by its scarlet berries. Most of its varieties may be propagated by seed, which should be gathered as soon as ripe. Macerate in ^vater before sowing, to separate the seeds from the pulp. Sow in beds of light, rich soil at two or three inches apart, and cover to the depth of half an inch. By the end of the first season the plants should average a height of eighteen inches. Separate and transplant the most thrifty to situations of permanency, after which their growth will be moderately rapid, and their attained height reach eight to ten feet at the end of the fifth year. The mountain ash is subject to the attacks of several species of borers, one of which is specially noticed as its enemy by Browne in his "Trees of America." This beetle varies in length from a little more than one half to three fourths of an inch. The upper side of the-body of the perfect insect is marked with two longitudinal white stripes between three others of a light-brown color, while the face, the antennae, the under side of the body, and the legs are white. It comes forth from the trunks of the trees early in June, making its escape in the night, during which time only it uses its ample wings in pass- ing from one tree to another in search of companions and of food. In the daytime it keeps at rest among the leaves of the plants on which it feeds. In the months of June and July the females deposit their eggs upon the bark of the trees, near the roots, and the larvae or borers hatched from them consist of fleshy, whitish grubs, without legs, nearly cylindrical in their form, and tapering a little from the first ring to the end of the body. The head is small, horny, and of a brown- ish color. The first ring is much larger than the others, KINDS OF TREES TO PLANT. 69 the next two very short, and, Mke the first, are covered with punctures and very minute hairs. This grub with its strong Jaws cuts a cylindrical passage through the bark, and pushes its castings backward out of the hole, while it bores upward into the wood. It continues in the larva state two or three years, during which it pene- trates eight or ten inches into the trunk of the tree, its burrow at the end approaching to and being covered only by the bark. It is in this situation that its trans- formation takes place, which is completed about the first of June, when the beetle gnaws through the bark that covers the end of the burrow, and comes out of its place of confinement in the night. One of the oldest, safest, and most successful modes of destroying this borer is to thrust a wire into the hole it has made, or, what would probably answer as well, to plug it up with soft wood. The apple-tree, as well as quince, June-berry, and various specimens of thorns and aronias, are attacked by the larvae of this beetle. THE AMEEICAN FLOWERING ASH. This tree is a native of ]S"orth America, and attains the height of thirty or forty feet. It has an abundant and extensive foliage, and is . highly prized as an or- namental tree. Its general characteristics are so simi- lar to the manna ash of Europe that it has been sup- posed one of the same species. It blooms in April and May, and its flowers are distinguished from those of the common ash by having corollas. This tree yields a clear, liquid-like substance, which oozes from its trunk and limbs under the influence of a hot sun. This substance first resembles drops of honey, of a sweetish taste, accom- panied by a shght degree of bitterness, but granulates on exposure to the atmosphere. This variety of the ash is propagated from seed, by grafting or budding, and by cuttings and layers. CHAPTEE XIV. THE WALNUT. Its Culture, Usefulness, and Productiveness. — Value of the Walnut as a Crop. — Seed per Acre. — Its Nativity. — Traces of its Antiquity and Introduction into Europe. — Recognized Roman Varieties and their Names. — Its Modern Cultivation and Increased Varieties. — The Black Walnut. — Where Found, Attainable Size, and At- tendant Features. — The Butternut. — Climate best Suited to its Growth.— General Qualities. — Its Medicinal Properties. — The Eng- lish Walnut. — ^Its Cultivation, Distinguishing Properties, and Fruit- fulness. The walnut is a favorite tree, and very useful. It grows admirably in rocky ground, and thrives best in land with a yellow subsoil. To prepare the land, fur- row out as if for corn, and drop the walnuts, one in a hill, four feet apart. Cover lightly with a hoe or plough. The seed should be planted soon after it falls from the tree, and is best dropped with the hull on. If this can- not be done, bury the seed, but by no means allow it to dry. Seed is also good dropped in February and cov- ered in the spring. The frost cracks the walnut shell, and the sprout Avill start out soon after being covered in April or May. Forty acres of walnut timber wUl yield the farmer in ten years more than if the land is planted every season in grain. The trees wiU grow the first year ten or twelve inches, the second thirty, and the third year four to five feet. The first and second year the ground may be planted between the rows with pota- toes or corn, and it will not hurt the young trees, wal- nut striking a deep root and drawing its sustenance from the subsoil. To make the trees bear nuts early, THE WALNUT. 71 dig under and cut the tap-root. Fruit-trees that do not bear may also be made to do so by cutting their main or tap roots. Mr. Hollenbeck has a grove of forty acres of walnut, planted in 1865, and the trees average twenty- seven inches in circumference and are thirty-five feet high. Many of them bore nuts four years after plant- ing, and six years from planting the trees had a peck of nuts each. Three bushels of nuts with the hulls on wUl plant an acre four feet apart, or one and three quarter bushels hulled will plant the same amount of land. The walnut is a native of the mountains of Asia, from the Caucasus almost to China. It is supposed to be the Enoz of the Bible. The Greeks had it from Asia ; and Nicander, Theophrastus, and others mention it under the names of Carya hasilike (or royal nut). Pliny informs us that it was introduced into Italy from Persia, an in- troduction which must have been of early date, for, al- though it be doubtful whether it be alluded to by Cato, it is certainly mentioned by Varro, who was born in the year 116 b.c. The Eomans called it JVux Persica, Nux Hegia, Nux euioca, Jovis glans, Dinglmis, Juglcms, etc. They recognized several varieties, and among them the soft-sheUed walnut is stiU cultivated, which several of the commentators have confounded with the peach. In modern days the cultivation has been extended, and the number of varieties considerably increased. Jean Bau- hin noticed six only. Micheli, under Cosmo III. of Med- ici, describes thirty-seven, of which the original speci- mens are still preserved ; some of these, however, are with difficulty distinguished from each other. THE BLACK WALJSriTT. This tree is found in the Atlantic States and the Mis- sissippi Valley, in most places where the soil is deep and rich. It is also found in Illinois, but where it once ranked in that state with the ash and hickory, and was very abundant, it has now become scarce. 72 TEEES AND TKEE-PLAlTrmG. Bryant, in his work on trees, speaks of one that he met near " Koslyn, on Long Island, about twenty miles from the city of New York. It stands on the grounds of "WiLliam C. Bryant, and sprang from the seed in the year 1713, in the garden of a Quaker named Mudge. At three feet from the ground it is twenty-five feet in circumference. At the height of twelve or fifteen feet the trunk divides itself into several branches, each of which by itself would constitute a large tree ; the whole forming an immense canopy, overshadowing an area one hundred and fifty feet in diameter." The wood of the black walnut is extensively used in the manufacture of furniture, all species of cabinet- ware, gun-stocks, etc. Its excessive use is rendering the supply rather scanty. Fruit-trees, from some unknovni cause, will not thrive near it ; but silver maples, birches, and other varieties of trees may be planted between the walnut-trees with rather a beneficial effect, as they pre- vent the low branches from spreading, as they otherwise would, a distance of about ten or twelve feet. These small branches should be pruned out from time to time. The black walnut is apt to throw out very heavy, branch- es while young ; these should be pruned off close to the tree, otherwise it will have a tendency to form a low, heavy, spreading top. THE BUTTERNUT. This tree is common throughout the northern portion of the United States, from the Atlantic to the Bockies : it thrives best in a cold climate. Its wood is soft, fine- grained, and of a light-brown color ; is easily worked, and its uses are sufficiently varied to warrant its cultiva- tion an object of pecuniary interest. It is also valuable for its fruit. From a single planting the kernel becomes larger, fuller, and easier of extraction, while the sheU becomes very much thinner. New England has the largest butternut-trees to be found in this country. THE WALNUTl 73 A fluid extract of the inner bark of the root of this tree is used in cases of dysentery, habitual constipation, and other bowel complaints, and as a gentle cathartic, operating without producing debOitating effects. The preparations of the butternut are much used in domestic practice for the ailments of children, especially in throat disease. THE ENGLISH WALITOT is largely cultivated in Europe, both for its timber and fruit. The black walnut is far superior, both as a shade- tree and for its timber. It would hardly pay to culti- Tate the tree excepting for its fruit, which is always marketable. The blossoms are very apt to be nipped and destroyed by the spring frosts, and, Mke the black walnut, fruit-trees wUl not thrive near it. Its exhala- tions are so disagreeable that we have authentic cases on record where people have been seriously affected by sleeping in its shade. It is best propagated by grafting. 4 CHAPTER Xy. THE MAPLES. The Sugar Maple: its Productiveness, Peculiarities of Growth, Foli- age, and Maimer of Culture. — A Proposition Worthy of Note. — Placing Maple-groves with Respect to Shelter. — The Advantages of Regular Planting. — Thrift of Trees when Transplanted from Dense Thickets. — Preferable Transplants. — Timber and Fuel Qual- ities of Maple. — Its Ornamental Standard. — The Chief Uses of Ma- ple. — Peculiarity of its Seed. — Soil best Adapted to its Growth. — The Soft Maple: its Wild and Cultivated Thrift, Manner of Planting, and Uses. — The Red Maple : Range of Growth, Na- tive Home and Standard Timber, and other Qualities. — The Ash- leaved Maple: its Uses, Growth, and Ornamental Advantages. — The Striped Maple: Where Found, Growth, and Ornament. — The Norway Maple: its Advantages. — The Large and Round-leaved Maples generally Described. SUGAE MAPLE. Me. PnmET, an experienced tree-grower, says an acre of sugar maples at twenty-five years of age will average one foot in diameter and produce two thousand pounds of sugar annually. When the trees measure twenty inches they wUl give sixty thousand feet of lumber, worth $2500, besides a great deal of fuel. A peculiarity of this tree is, its body increases faster in size than its top. It can, therefore, be planted very closely. Two hundred trees will grow on an acre. Maple-seed ripens in October, and should be planted in rows the same as ash, but not so thickly. After planting, allow the tree to stand two years in the nursery, and then transplant to ground where it is to grow permanently. Old sugar orchards, with trees left scattering and thin, usually pay a good interest on the value of the land. Two or three THE MAPLES. 75 hundred maples will thus usually occupy as many acres, often interspersed with beech, basswood, or "hickory. The labor of gathering the sap over a larger area is much increased, while the production of sugar is dimin- ished. I do not know that any one has practically test- ed the plan, but it seems to me that a regularly planted sugar-maple grove on good land, but not too high-priced, ought to pay at least as well as the average of farming operations. Many farms are already scarce of wood, and to grow two or three acres of sugar-maple orchard would kill two birds with one stone. To accomphsh a third object, the sugar bush ought to be planted in such shape and position as to pr®tect the farm from the prev- alent destructive winter winds. A grove of trees on the west side of every grain farm would often be worth the use of the land simply as a shelter-belt to protect winter grain. As forests are being cleared oflf, many farmers are learning for the first time the importance and neces- sity of these shelter-belts of trees to protect their crops. But to the plan. For convenience in sap-gathering the sugar orchard should be planted in as compact a form as possible, and in regular rows ten feet apart each way. This will give, if there are no vacancies, four hundred and thirty trees per acre. But when young the trees will grow better if planted closer, say ui rows five feet apart, and cultivated for two or three years. Once or twice scarifying the surface during the summer to destroy weeds will answer if you can get two or three year old trees to start with. Often trees ten or fifteen feet high, from new-growth woods, can be bought at small cost, and when this is possible it is always prefer- able. A young tree taken from a dense growth in the woods, where it has been stunted and smothered, wiU grow much more rapidly when planted where it can have room to spread, if it is well cultivated and pruned. These unpruned masses of young trees in a forest, each choking the other, and neither haJf living, are the bug- 76 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. bear which deters hundreds from planting trees. Farm- ers see how small a growth these make, and conclude that forest-growing is a very slow and unprofitable busi- ness. Yet when these same trees are planted by the road-side, often foot-bound with grass, their growth is much more rapid. 1 have in my mind a hne of noble maples, planted seventeen years ago this spring by a public road, which have for two or three years been large enough to tap. They were got from the woods, and were the size of whipstalks when planted. Young trees of equal size, then, left in the same woods uncared for, are not half their size. Yet these trees have stood in grass most of the time since planted. Cultivated in or- chards, with room enough to grow, and yet so close as to keep down the grass, their growth would probably have been even larger than it is. The principal objec- tion to the maple for timber is the facility with which it decays when exposed to the weather. For fuel, the sugar maple is the American tree par excellence, not second to hickory, which is claimed by many Eastern people to be superior to aU others for heat-producing quaUties ; it forms a dense, broad-based, round-topped, frequently egg-shaped head of deep-green foliage, clean, and more free from insects of all kinds than any other deciduous tree we know. It justly claims a place at the head of American ornamental trees. Being hardy, it is easily transplanted in large sizes, and bears cutting back very patiently. We have known of large trees, three to four inches in diameter, with the tops all cut off, being moved from northern Wisconsin to the prairies of Tlli- nois, and being successfully transplanted. This tree is by far the most valuable of its species; its wood is hard, heavy, strong, close and fine grained ; has a silky lustre when polished. The curled maple and bird's- eye maple are the same as the sugar maple, the curl or bird's-eye being caused by the undulations and in- flections of the fibre. Its chief uses are in the manu- THE MAPLES. '77 facture of cabinet work, gearings of mills, and in naval architecture. Sugar made from the maple commands a much higher price than that made from sugar-cane ; the syrup made from maple sap is ranked among syrups as A No. 1. The seeds are in pairs, and are united at the base, but only one of each pair is of any account, the other being worthless. The trees never produce seed two years in succession. The sugar maple wiU not thrive in poor, sandy soil, but requires almost any good tillage land. It will not live where the soil is saturated with water during the growing season. Bryant speaks of losing a number of sugar maples in the wet season of 1874, which had been growing several years upon land which, in an ordinary season was dry enough for cultivation. It continues to grow after the silver maple has arrived at maturity, so that a tree-grower should not be discouraged at its slow growth in its early stages. The black sugar maple, though formerly classed as a different tree from the su- gar maple, is now generally considered as a variety of sugar maple. Its general properties and its sap are the same; its general appearance is darker, and its leaves are larger, darker, and less scolloped than the sugar maple. THE SOFT MAPLE. The soft maple, in its wild state, is an uncouth and shaggy tree ; when grown closely, in a cultivated grove, it is much improved in appearance and a most useful tree. I have seen numerous patches well shaped and eight and ten feet high at three and four years of age. In !N"onoma County, Iowa, maple-trees, seven years old from the seed, were large enough to make three ten-foot rails, and an acre yielded three thousand rails. This timber is always in great demand for manufacturing purposes. Its growth in seven years equals that of the 18 TEEES AIJD TKEE-PLAUTING. walnut in ten. The seeds ripen in June and should be sown in mellow ground as soon as they fall. Plant one and a half inches deep with drills in rows twenty inches apart. They wiU come up in six days. Keep the weeds out until the plants get a good start. The first year they wUl grow eighteen or twenty inches. They should be transplanted the next spring, and set out twenty- seven hundred to the acre. They wiU grow four to five feet the second year. A soft maple planted in 1861 is now forty-nine inches in circumference four feet from the ground. The red or soft maple has a wider range of growth than the sugar maple, being found farther north, and grows in the South quite down to the Gulf of Mexico. Its native home is in the low, rich soil in the swamps and along the borders of streams, yet it is frequently met on high lands, but growing less vigorously. In any location it makes a more rapid growth than the sugar maple. The wood is fine-grained and compact, more frequently curly than the sugar maple, but very seldom growing in birds'- eyes. The timber, for solidity and strength, is much inferior to that of the sugar maple, and is of much less value for fuel. It is, however, more valuable as a shade -tree and for planting for forest growth. Its habits being as desirable as the sugar ma- ple and its growth being much more rapid, and an ad- ditional beauty found in its fohage, makes it very desir- able for transplanting. The additional beauty is the deep scarlet-red color of the twigs and flowers very early in the spring, long before any other flowers ap- pear. The wood of the red maple is suitable for turning and carving, and it is much used for the stocks of shot- guns, rifles, etc. It is sometimes confounded with the silver maple, but its wood is harder and finer grained. It grows to the height of sixty or seventy feet, and from two to three feet in diameter. It is hardly proba- ble that it wUl ever be cultivated for anything but its THE MAPLES. 19 beauty. The seeds are about half as large as those of the sugar maple, are a deep red, and are ripe about the same time. BOX ELDEE, OB ASH-LEAVED MAPLE. A very ornamental tree, and in favorable situations reaches the height of fifty or sixty feet ; it grows along the banks of streams ; its growth is astonishingly rapid. It is very short-Uved in dry soil. Sugar is made from its sap. This and its rapidity of growth render it a very desirable tree for planting for the production of sugar. It is a singularly beautiful tree while standing alone ; it has a round, symmetrical top, and very deep, dense foli- age. A large proportion of its seed is worthless ; it is planted and raised the same as the sugar maple. THE MOOSE-WOOD OE STEIPED MAPLE. This is a very smaU tree, generally from ten to twen- ty feet in height. It is found among the AUeghanies, and from Maine to Wisconsin and southward. It has deep, dense, heavy leaves, and smooth, Hght-green, striped bark. The wood is of a more durable pharacter than the other maples, the only objection to it being its infe- rior size. It, therefore, is only of use as an ornamen- tal tree. I would suggest grafting to any one that in- tends raising it, as it is said to reach three or four times its ordinary size when grafted. THE NOEWAT MAPLE. This tree, when first starting to grow, is very tardy for the first two or three years, but afterwards is of very rapid growth. Its foliage is more dense, its leaves come earlier in the spring and retain their verdure later in the f aU than the sugar maple ; hence it has some shght ad- vantages over the sugar maple as an ornamental tree. 80 TEEES AND TKEE-PLANTING. THE LAEGE-LEAVED MAPLE. This is a most graceful tree, and, when grown in soil and climate favorable to its thrift, attains a height vary- ing from forty to ninety feet, with a diameter of from two to five feet. The bark of its trunk is rough and of a dark-brown color, and that of its wide and spreading branches ash gray. Its leaves vary in size, the largest being nearly a foot broad. It bears a very fragrant, greenish-yellow flower, which appears during the months of April and May. Its latitude of growth is between forty and fifty degrees north, and it is indigenous to the northwest coast of North America, where it is found in woody, mountainous regions along the sea -coast, and on the great rapids of the river Columbia. Its wood is of a whitish tint, of a grain scarcely inferior to the finest satin-wood, and is well adapted for cabinet- making. This species produces sap in abundance, and might be made use of for sugar-making, as its saccharine property is equal to many of its congeners. It is a highly orna- mental tree, and attention to its suitability for general cultivation cannot be too warmly recommended. It is propagated by layers and of rapid growth. THE EOTJITD-LEAVED MAPLE. The round-leaved maple is a native of the northwest- ern coast of the American continent, between the forty- second and fiftieth degrees of latitude, where it arrives at the height of from twenty to forty feet. Its branches are pendent, slender, and somewhat crooked ; bark, when young, smooth and of a green color. This species may readily be distinguished by the regular form of its leaves, which are heart-shaped, equally lobed and nervated, of a pale, reddish-green color, smooth above and downy beneath, with lobes acute and sharply serrated. Its flowers, which are of a middling size, appear in April THE MAPLES. 81 and May. Its wood is fine, white, and close-grained, very tough, and susceptible of a good polish. This species is confined to the woody, mountainous country that skirts the shores, and is particularly abun- dant in the region of the rapids of the river Columbia. It is propagated by layers, and is of rapid growth, the annual shoots often acquiring a length of six to ten feet. CHAPTEK XVI. THE ELMS. The White Elm. — Its Usefulness and Demand. — Growth and Attain- ment.— Elms, How Planted. — Additional Cropping of Area. — Re- sistance against Insects. — Its Use as a Shade-tree. — The Elm as De- scribed by Michaux. — Its Ancient and Modern Popularity. — SoU Suited to its Growth. — ^Effect of Crowded Planting on its Appear- ance. — Its Ornamental Usefulness. — The Corky White Elm. — Its Distinguishing Features. — Its Additional Name. — The Wa- hoo, or Winged Elm. — Its Distinguishing Growth and Scarcitj'. — Uses to which Put.— Its Medicinal Properties. — The Red Elm. — Its Relative Kindred. — Elevated Home. — Its Growth and Useful- ness. — Soil Suited to its Growth. — Durability of its Wood. — The Uses of Small Specimens. — Its Enemies and Objections. WHITE ELM. The white elm is a fine forest tree, and the demand for this wood is every year increasing as the old stock disappears. Plough-handles, cheese-boxes, chairs, and many manufactured articles are made from this wood. A field of white elms planted in Nebraska has done remarkably well. An avenue of these trees is unsurpassed for road shade. The growth is rapid, they have finely shaped heads, and are not easily damaged by insects or winds. Two elms near Omaha, planted in 1859, now measure forty and forty-two inches in circumference four feet from the groimd. Some tall-growing tree may be plant- ed with them, and cut away at the end of ten years. Elms should be set out eight feet apart. A small tree, when the size of a small whip, was brought from Bel- gium thirty years ago, and now presents a rich and mag- nificent appearance, the trunk measuring two feet eight THE ELMS. 83 inches in diameter in one direction, and over three feet in another. Michaux says that the white elm "is the most magnificent vegetable of the temperate zone." It is the popular shade-tree of many portions of the United States. Horace, Ovid, and many other both ancient and modern poets speak of the elm, not only on account of its beauty, but the strange combination of grace, beauty, and majesty. It is the most popular tree for planting in parks, along avenues, and in cities, and, in short, wher- ever shade or beauty is required. It often reaches the height of from ninety to one hundred feet ; it loses a great deal of its grace and beauty if grown in a forest where it is crowded among other trees. It grows chiefly in a moist soil ; it sometimes thrives in a dry, but never in sterile soil. Its wood is chiefly used for the panels of carriages, naves of wheels, boxes, barrels, etc. It is seldom used for lumber when any other tim- ber can be obtained, as it warps badly. It is only as an ornamental tree that I would advise farmers to cultivate it, and as a shade-tree I cannot too strongly recommend it. The corky white ehn is sometimes mistaken for the white elm, but can easily be distinguished by the corky ridges on its branches. It is sometimes called river elm : its wood is tougher and of somewhat finer grain than the white elm. THE WAHOO, OR WINGED ELM. This rather uncommon species of the elm is so scarce ' that little can be said in regard to it. It grows to the height of thirty or forty feet, and is distinguished by the corky ridges on the opposite side of its branches. Its wood is very fine-grained, and fit for turning, but is so uncommon that I cannot recommend its culture. Its most extensive use is in the construction of carriages. A fluid extract from the bark of the root of this tree is used as a tonic, alterative, and laxative, and is espe- cially beneficial in hepatic derangements, whether accom- 84 TKEES AKD TREE-PLANTING. panying or preceding intermittents, or occurring inde- pendently of malaria. In constipation, due to hepatic torpor, it is highly recommended. THE BED EJ^M. The red elm is the brother of the white elm, but it inhabits higher and dryer ground. As a shade-tree it is splendid, and grows rapidly. The wood is used for car- riages, and also makes excellent fuel. Trees of this kind, planted in 1861, grew to be twelve inches in diameter in ten years. They are often, however, attacked by insects, which burrow under the bark for sap. It will thrive in low, wet soil, is a medium-sized tree, about fifty or sixty feet in height, and from two to three feet in diameter; it also thrives on dryer ground and higher up than the rest of the native species. The red elm does not compare with the white elm in grace and beauty, but its wood is much more durable and tougher when exposed to atmospheric changes. The smaU spec- imens are used as wagon-hubs, carriage-hubs, etc., not being so very liable to crack in seasoning. In some sec- tions of the country it is used for rails ; the only objec- tion to it for this purpose is its liability to rot on contact with the ground. The sap-wood in the red elm is very small. CHAPTEE XYII. THE LOCUST. The Honey-Locust. — ^Where Found and Convenient Usefulness. — Its Growth and Value. — Locust- wood as Pavement. — An Exceptional Specimen. — Uses of the Thorny and Thornless Varieties, and their Characteristics. — Distinguishing Variety Features. — Its Resisting Properties to Destructive Agencies. — Experience of Mr. Helme on Locust-planting. — Manner of Sowing its Seed for Hedge. — Manner of Transplanting Explained. — Its Usefulness as a Wind-break. — Successful Hedge-growing Experiments. — The Water-Locust. — Its Growth. — General Characteristics Compared with the Honey- Locust. — Where Found and Soil Suitable to its Growth. — The Yel- low and Common Locust variously Described. — The Rose-flowered Locust Described. THE HONEY-LOCUST. This is an admirable hedge-plant and a tree of great value, and on the river bottoms of lUinois honey-locusts are found from eighty to one hundred feet high and four feet thick. Dr. "Warder, of Ohio, thinks this tree is very valuable on account of its rapid growth. He sold one acre of locust-trees fifteen years old for one thousand dollars. The wood is much used for paving streets. A locust in Omaha, planted twelve years ago, measured thirty -one inches four feet from the ground, and was thirty-five feet high. The thornless locust is best for forests, and the thorny variety for hedges. In the thorny variety the thorns are stout, often triple or compound ; leaflets lanceolate, oblong, somewhat serrated ; flowers greenish and very fragrant; blossoms the middle of June; pods linear-elongated, from twelve to seventeen inches long, often twisted; filled with sweet pulp be- tween the seeds. It was named in honor of Gleditsch, 86 TEEES ASD TEEE-tLAHTINa. a botanist contemporary with Linnaeus. Michaux, sent out by France twenty years ago, predicted that it would become valuable as a hedge-plant. Mr. Helme says : '' In 1S3S I found this tree growing on the Mississippi, from St. Louis to Wisconsin. Those on the Mississippi, I think, are not identical with ours, for they are less thorny and the bark a darker color." A correspondent from Illinois states that if they stand near the yellow-locust they are affected with the borer ; but ours are not, for a few years since all the yeUow- locusts in our city were destroyed by the borer, but the honey-locusts, standing side by side with them, were not affected in the least. They will grow on any soU, wet or dry, and receive no injury from cold at thirty-four degrees below zero. Mr. Helme says : " Six years ago I set fifty rods, one foot apart, cut back the second year to one foot from the groimd, and it would turn stock in four years." To plant a hedge, gather the seeds in the fall; in April mix them with sand, keep them moist and warm until they sprout, then sow in drUls two inches deep ; set the plants when one year old, cutting to within two inches of the groimd. At the end of two years cut back to three inches, after which trim once a year. A man with a pair of twelve-inch shears wOl trim eighty rods per day, and for a wind-break I consider it invaluable. Cut back once a year, and then trim the sides to keep them tidy. I left ten rods of my hedge as an experiment, and it is now six years old and from twelve to fifteen feet high, and wiU turn all large stock. A correspondent of mine says he has been successful in setting plants three feet apart. I have no doubt a good hedge could be thus obtained, for the branches grow at nearly right angles with the trees, and they would have more room and light in this way and be less apt to smother. THE LOCUST. 87 Another authority says : " I raised and set plants one hundred and seventy rods in the spring of 1871, have trimmed it once, and now it is acknoAvledged by all who have seen it to surpass any hedge they have ever seen. And now, in conclusion, I would say, for a hedge do not let it get over three feet high ; and, furthermore, time wiU prove it to be the only successful hedge-plant for Michigan." THE WATEE-LOCUST. This is a much smaller tree than the honey-locust, but its general characteristics are the same. It is found in the southern portion of Illinois. It is inferior to the wood of the honey-locust, and is not much used even where it is the most common. Its height is from forty to sixty feet. It is found growing principally on the river-banks and in the swamps of Illinois. THE YELLOW LOCUST. This tree is sparingly produced in its native home — Kentucky and western Tennessee — where it attains a height of from thirty-five to fifty feet and a diameter of ten to twelve inches, and is also successfully cultivated as an ornamental tree in many parts of the United States as far north as Connecticut. It forms a considerable spread of foliage, composed of rows of leaflets, broadly oval, smooth, two inches broad and from three to four long. The branches, being, like the petioles and leaf- nerves, of a yellowish hue, contrast admirably with the dark-green of its trunk-bark. It flowers in April and May, forming elegant white, pendulous racemes six to ten inches long, slightly odoriferous. Its seeds are con- tained in flat pods, and mature in the United States in the month of August. It is propagated from seed, and its favorite soil is a loose, deep, and fertile one. The wood of this tree is soft and flne-grained, but is very little made use of except for the vegetable coloring which its heart imparts for the purpose of dyeing. Botanical interest 88 TEEES AND TKEE-PLANTING. and ornamental purposes are the chief inducements to cultivate this species. THE BLACK OE COMMON LOCtJST. The common locust is indigenous to the country west of the Alleghanies as far as Arkansas ; and without the maritime parts, to the distance of forty to ninety miles, it is planted for purposes of utility and ornament from Maine to Georgia, and often attains a height of eighty or ninety feet and a diameter sometimes exceeding four feet ; but under ordinary instances, or in its wild state, it does not ordinarily exceed half these dimensions. It is valued for the properties of its wood and the beauty of its fohage and flowers. When young its branches tend upward, but as the tree increases in age they become more horizontal. The bark of its trunk and principal branches is very thick and deeply fur- rowed,»and in young trees is studded with strong hooked prickles, which disappear as the tree grows old. This tree bears a very agreeable foUage, each leaf being composed of opposite leaflets from eight to twelve in number. It is particularly adapted for planting along roadsides and in the neighborhood of cities and towns, and would be very effective for park purposes. It pro- duces a perfectly white, sometimes yellowish, flower, disposed in pendulous bunches from three to five inches long, from which is diffused an agreeable odor. The common locust varies considerably in its native lo- calities, and numerous varieties have been produced from seed, the foliages of which are distinct when the plants are young ; so we may regard the several varieties, com- monly treated as species, as the result of soU and climate. Its growth in favorable soils is fairly rapid, and the dura- ble properties of the wood fit it for posts, fencings, axle- trees of timber-wagons, and for many other useful pur- poses where exposure to weather is necessitated. THE LOCUST. 89 THE EOSE-FLOWEEED LOCUST. This tree appears to be cliiefly confined to the Alle- ghanies, where it is found on the banks of rivers in Georgia and Carolina, growing to a height varying from thirty to forty feet. The bark is of a dull red, particu- larly that of young trees and shoots, and is covered with a clammy, adhesive substance. The branches are armed with spines, and the foliage is thicker and of a darker green than that of the common species. Unhke the common locust-tree, its flowers, which occur in numerous open bunches four or five inches long, are of a beauti- ful rose color mixed with white, but are destitute of fra- grance. The properties of its wood are similar to those of the common locust, but it is considered less durable. As an ornamental tree it is rendered conspicuous by its large, roseate flowers. It is propagated and treated in the same manner as the common species, from which it is dissimilar in but very few points. 4* CHAPTEE XVIII. THE CHESTNUT. A Favorable Notice. —Its Remunerative Returns. — Manner of Setting Out and Caring For. — Benefits of Cutting Bacli. — Ground Suited to its Growtli. — A DifHculty of its Raising. — Manner of Sowing its Seed. — Winter Preservation of Plants. — Time to Transplant. — A Release from a Difficulty. — Chestnut-planting in Nevada and Pro- ductiveness. — Growtli of the Chestnut in North Carolina, and its Great Growth in Europe. — An Old Tree and its Productive Bear- ing. — Uses of Chestnut Wood. — ^Its Durability. — The Chincapin. — Where Found.— Quality of its Fruit. — Durability of Wood.— Its Growth Influenced by Climate. A BEAUTIFUL tree and a favorite with nearly every one. A lot planted in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, eleven years ago, are now making a better return than the same number of acres in orchard. At Des Moines chestnut-trees four years old from the seed have borne fruit. They should be set out four thousand to the acre, and gradually thinned, as they increase in size, to three hundred to the acre. They wUl then be twelve feet apart. A grove of chestnuts may be cut down at twelve or fifteen years of age, and in twelve years wUl be ready for another cut- ting. The growth of the sprouts will be more rapid than the original growth of the tree. The stumps should be cut low and covered with a thin layer of earth. Side- hiUs and rocky land are the best for chestnut cultivation. The great difficulty in growing this tree is to get it start- ed properly. Care must be taken to keep the seed from rotting or moulding. The seed should be kept through the winter in sand, dampened and placed in a cool cellar. In the spring plant the chestnuts in rows three feet apart, THE CHESTNTTT. 91 and drop the nuts like potatoes, six inches apart, cover- ing them with only half an inch of soU. In the fall, be- fore frost, cover the young shoots with a Mtter of straw six inches deep. They should be transplanted when one year old. This tree has always been considered hard to raise, but it has been because it has not been under- stood. Treated in the way I describe, twelve chestnuts will raise eleven trees. In Nevada, California, the proprietor of some pubhc gar- dens obtained from France some of the'finest specimens of chestnuts, and planted them on his place, in 1872. In 1882 the trees bore fruit, and they are described the past year as being heavily loaded with fruit, and the nuts were the largest ever seen. The burs contained from three to seven large-sized nuts, some of them ex- ceeding in size a large plum. The chmate is admira- bly adapted to it. In North Carolina we have trees that at six feet from the ground measure from fifteen to sixteen feet in circumference. But we read of trees in Europe that far exceed our chestnuts of North Car- olina in size, viz. : The great chestnut grove of Mount Etna, one tree of which is one hundred and sixty feet in circumference. Michaux describes one growing near Sancerre, in France, which at six feet from the ground is thirty feet in circumference. Six hundred years ago it was called the Great Chestnut, and, although it is believed to be more than one thousand years old, its trunk is still sound and its branches annually laden with fruit. The principal use of the wood of the chestnut is for the inside work of cars and for cabinet-ware ; al- though the grain is coarse, yet, when oiled and varnished, it makes quite a presentable appearance. It is used for making fences, and rails made of this wood have been known to last fifty years. THE ohincapht. This variety of the chestnut on a small scale is found 92 TEEES AND TEEE-PLAITITNG. as a shrub in 'New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, but in the Southern States it grows to the height of thirty or forty feet. The fruit is smaU, but sweet. The wood is much more durable than the chestnut, but on account of its small size it will hardly pay any but one having the curiosity to raise it. CHAPTEK XIX. THE BOX-ELDER. It3 Nativity. — Bange of Growth, and Soil Suited to its Growth. — Gen- eral Appearance and Duration of Life. — ^Description of its Wood, Bark, and Leaf. — Large Specimens, Where Found. — Manner of Sowing its Seed.— A Suggestion by Michaux. — Date of Introduc- tion into Europe. — Attained Height. This tree is a native of the United States and Canada, where, especially in bottoms which skirt rivers, in soil deep, fertile, and moist, it is most common, and found to attain its greatest size. "West of the Alleghanies it flour- ishes in open ground with trees of other varieties, though in such situations its growth is somewhat more stunted. It seldom, however, exceeds fifty feet in height, with a trunk twenty inches in diameter. Its range of growth does not extend beyond the fifty- fourth degree of north latitude, and south to the South- ern States, where, in Georgia and Tennessee, it thrives, and, when cultivated in soil and situations favorable to it, attains its amplest dimensions. Its trunk, separating into branches at no great height from the ground, forms a loose and vnde-spreading head of dense f oMage, giving to it an ornamental appearance. In America, where effect and shade are the objects of its raising, it merits atten- tion owing to its rapid growth and massive, showy foli- age. It is not a long-lived tree, arriving at maturity in fifteen or twenty years. Its wood is fine-grained and of a yellowish color, variegated at its heart with bluish and rose-colored veins. In middle life the proportion of sap- wood to heart is large. In color, the bark of this tree, when grown, is brown ; but when young the bark is of 94 TEEES AND TEEE-PLAimNG. a beautiful pea-green color and smooth surface. Its leaf is oval-shaped, terminating in a point, and deeply toothed on its edges. Some of the large specimens of this tree are to be found in Pennsylvania, specimens having been seen grow- ing on the Schuylkill Eiver and in Philadelphia of the height of fifty feet and a four -foot circumference of trunk. Its seed, as soon as practicable after gathering, should be thickly sown, as about half of them are false, and not over one in ten will germinate. Sow in the fall in shal- low furrows, and cover only one and a half inches deep with earth. In somewhat moist and deep soil the plants grow rapidly, and should be protected, during the fall and winter, with a covering of straw. Plant them out in the spring four feet apart, and they wUl grow the first year ten to sixteen inches. I have seen nursery plants, two years old, six feet high and one inch in diameter. Box-elders of eleven years old measured thirty inches in circumference and were thirty feet high. A suggestion from Michaux says that, from its rapid growth, if cut down and " layered " it might form a val- uable underwood, to be used for fuel, charcoal manufact- ure, and other purposes ; but, on trial of this, it has been found that the " layer " soon decays. The introduction of this tree into England dates from 1688, and since that time its growth has extended to the continent of Europe, where, especially in Austria, a spec- imen of it attained the excessive height of eighty feet. CHAPTEE XX. THE BIKCH. The Canoe-Birch. — Its Romantic and Legendary Connections. — Youth- ful Reminiscences. — Its Native Home and Attainable Dimensions. — Color and Use of its Bark. — European and American Birch. — Their Growth. — Advantages of Dense Sowing. — Its Value as Fuel. — Characteristics. — Seed, Where Obtained. — Soil Suited to its Pro- duction. — Black Birch. — ^Its Usual Height. — Its Wood Described. — Where Found. — Seed, when Ripe. — Yellow Birch. — Where it Thrives. — Height and General Characteristics. — The Red Birch. — Its Proportions. — Its Climate. — Seed, when Ripe. — The White Birch. — Its Insignificance. — Its Only Virtue. Of this tree there are two principal kinds, the white or European birch and the American canoe-birch. The latter is connected with the legends of our Indians, and is emphatically a tree of romance and poetry. The birchen rod has had much to do with our public schools, and most of our great men have been soundly thrashed with it when boys. Both European and American birch- es grow to a large size in northern latitudes. When planted thickly the young birch grows up very straight and graceful. Who of us, when farmer-boys, have not cut a birchen rod for our hue, and raised the speckled beauties from their native stream. Birch makes excellent fuel, and is valuable for cabinet-work. In north- ern Michigan the canoe-birch grows to a height of sev- enty feet. Its bark is white, and the tree highly orna- mental. Seed can always be obtained in Wisconsin. The seed-bed should be Mght, sandy loam, and the seed should be covered but lightly, and well sheltered from the sun until the plants are two or three inches high. 96 TREES ANB TBEE-PLANTTNG. BLACK BIECH. This tree is tisually from fifty to sixty feet in height ; its wood is fine-grained, and very suitable for inside finishing, as it takes a high polish. It is found in the northern section of our country. The seed is ripe about the first of November. TELLOW SmCH. This tree also thrives in the cooler portions of our country. Its height is sixty or seventy feet ; trunk straight and circular; its twigs have a very pleasant odor ; its wood is very fine-grained and fit for turning. Its seed is ripe about the middle of October. It makes excellent fuel, EED BEKCH. Height, seventy feet, and about two feet in diameter. It was named by Michaux. Contrary to the others of its species, it thrives best in warm latitudes. Its seeds ripen in the beginning of June, and as soon as gathered should be sown ; shield the yoimg trees from the sun. CANOE-BIECH. This tree is found in the northern portion of our country, and in British America, in the regions of the Saskatchewan Kiver, it is said to reach from eighteen to twenty feet in circumference. The bark is very white, and is used by the Indians, voyageurs, trappers, and traders for manufacturing the birch canoe, of which we hear so much in both the poetry and song of our country. It makes excellent firewood, and thrives in wet soil. The seeds ripen about the first of July. THE WHITE BIRCH. This tree is quite insignificant, its only virtue being its beauty; its wood is very soft and decays very quickly, and does not even make good fuel. CHAPTER XXI. THE HICKORY, Its Favored Emblematic Character.— Productive Qualities. — ^Manner of Planting for Fruit and for Wood. — TIic Sliellbark Hickory. — Its Features, Form, and Cliaracter. — Its Twofold Merits. — The Thick Shellbark Hickory.— General Characteristics. — Quality of its Fniit. — Composition of Leaf. — Pignut Hickory. — Its Size, At- tainable Height, and Particular Qualities. — Quality of its Fruit, and for What Used.— The Mocker Nut. — Attainable Height and Size. — Manner of Growth. — Its Fruit Described. — Distinguishing Characteristics. — Probable Beason of its Name. — The Pecan Nut. — Its Attainable Height. — Quality of its Wood and Fruit. — Gen- eral Appearance and Productiveness. — The Bitter-Nut Hickory. — Its Associate Trees. — Where Found and Progressive Decrease. — Its Liability to Destruction. This emblematic tree of America, and the representa- tive of the character of one of our greatest men, will al- ways be a favorite with our people, not only on account of its history, but its valuable nut-bearing qualities and its wood. The shellbark is the best for planting, either for wood or for fruit. If planted for nuts it should be kept in the nursery unto, two or three years old, and then trans- planted. To make it bear early, dig under and cut the tap-root as close to the surface as possible. For timber and rapid growth, in transplanting dig the holes deep, and see that the tap-root is put in perfectly straight. The nuts should be dropped four feet apart each way, and, if planted in ground where the trees are to remain, the plants should be thinned so as to keep the branches from touching. Hickories are rather slow of growth, so I would advise that it be transplanted after the first 5 98 TEEES AND TEEE-PLAimNG. year to the place it is to occupy permanently. A nur- sery of young trees should be carefuUy weeded and cul-. tivated until they have arrived at such height as to ren- der them safe from the encroachment of weeds. SHELLBAEK HICKOKY. This is a lofty tree, reaching to the height of eighty feet, with a diameter of two feet ; the trunk is of the same diameter and without limbs for the greater portion of its height. This tree is noted for the exfoliation of the outer bark, which is divided into long, narrow, scale- like plates, adhering by only one end or the middle. It has been found that those trees that have been trans- planted bear the best fruit, while those that have not make the best timber. This tree merits cultivation more than any tree of its species, both for fuel, timber, and its fruit, which, to my taste, is much superior to the walnut. THICK SHELLBAEK HICKOEY. This tree bears a slightly flattened, thick - shelled, strongly-pointed nut, with a light, apple-green hull. It is a very tall tree, and is sometimes mixed with the shell- bark hickory on account of their both having the same general characteristics. The leaves are the same color, and are veined ahke, but differ in being composed of seven, and sometimes nine, leaflets, while the leaves of the shellbark hickory are invariably composed of five. The kernel has a very poor flavor, and is enclosed in a thick, hard shell of a light orange color. PIGNUT HICKORY. This is a large tree, growing to the height of eighty feet, and about four feet in diameter. It is found in its greatest abundance east of the AUeghanies. It is not at all common in our Western States. It is called the toughest of the whole hickory genus, and is used where toughness and durability are most needed. The nut is THE HICKOKT. 99 small, roundish, ovate, hull very thin, and when ripe splits in the centre, and adheres to the nut after it has fallen from the tree. Kernel very small and usually bitter. It is only fed to animals, and is never marketable. THE MOCKEE NtTT. This tree grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet, and about twenty inches in diameter. It is the slowest growing of all the hickories, and hence cultivators will hardly care to wait for its growth. It bears a nut nearly six-angled, shell very thick and hard, large, heavy husks, and of a light Yandyke-brown color. The old trees are covered with a thick, rugged, hard bark; wood very tough and strong and makes excellent fuel. It probably derives its name from the difficulty one experiences in extracting the kernel from the hard, heavy shell. THE PECAK NUT. This tree grows to a height of sixty or seventy feet, with a diameter of from two to three feet. This is a very beautiful tree ; tail, straight, and well-shaped trunk. The timber is inferior to the rest of the hickories, but it more than pays the cost of cultivation by the proceeds of the sale of its fruit, which is superior to any nut, either native or foreign, on account of the excellence of its flavor. The nut is thin-sheUed, very sweet, and the kernel is not divided by partitions. I agree with Mr. Bryant in condemning the practice, worthy only of van- dals or barbarians, of chopping down the trees to gather the fruit, thus diminishing not only the number of trees, but the quantity of fruit. This practice of chopping down the pecan-trees cannot be too strongly condemned ; and I doubt not, if it were not that it has been practised so much, and is stiU practised, where it can be done with impunity, the pecan-nut would be more highly valued and better known ; but let it continue a few years longer and the pe- can will advance in value as the trees decrease in number. 100 TEEES AUD TKEE-PLAimNG. THE BUTTEEITDT HICKOET. This member of the hickory family I camiot recom- mend, on account of its being liable to be attacked by a small black beetle, which bores through the inner bark and deposits its eggs, which usually number from twenty to thirty, in a cell about an inch long. The young, when they are hatched, bore in different directions, and thus girdle the tree, which soon dies. It is found with the black walnut, red elm, laurel oak, and bur oak. It was at one time very plentiful in the neighborhood of Prince- ton, ISTew Jersey, but owing to the ravages of Scalytus CarycB (the small black beetle above mentioned) it has become scarce, and continues to become more so every year. The wood in the old trees is soft, and the timber of the young trees is to be preferred for any purpose but fuel. It is found in the Western States on the rich bottom lands, and on the outskirts of prairies, where the land is deep and rich. CHAPTEE XXII. THE PINES. Their Rank among Trees. — Uses to Which Put. — Produce of the Pine. — Places Famous for its Growth. — Its Ornamental Advan- tages. — The White Pine. — Its Attainable Height and Size. — Scar- city of the Pine in New England and Other States, and Cause. — Present Supply, from Where Procured. — Future Prospects of Pineries. — Its Accommodating Growth. — Soil Suited to its Growth. —Effect of Varied Soils on Quality of its Wood. — An Objection to its Ornamental Qualities. — Properties of its Wood as Fuel.— A Suggestion -on Planting the Pine. — The Red Pine. — Its Nativ- ity. — Attainable Height. — Soil Suited to its Growth. — General Ap pearance. — Durability and Quality of its Wood. — Its Beautify- ing Advantages. — Experienced Difficulties of Raising. — Practised Roguery in Selling Seed. — Gray and Scrub Piue. — Its Diffused Range of Growth and Attainable Size. — For What Used and for What Recommended. — Its Advantages for Ornamental Purposes. — Its Easy Culture. — The Yellow Pine: Where Found.— Its Sub- stituted Name. — Peculiarities of its Growth. — Soil Suited to its Abundant Growth. — Its Good QuaMties and Chief Uses. — Pitch Pine. — Its Confined Range of Growth. — Soil Suited to its Growth, and its Attainable Height. — Its Particular Properties. — Its Chief Uses. — Its Undesirable Peculiarities. — Stone Pine. — Where Found. — Chief Uses and Adaptability. — Properties of its Seed and Durability of its Wood. — Reason of its Non-extensive Cultivation. — Loblolly Pine: Its Disadvantages and General Uselessness. — Scotch Pine. — Its Relative Merits Compared with the White Pine. — Its Usefulness and Recommended Culture. — Austrian Pine: as Recommended by Bryant, Loudon, and Bayreuth. — Where Found — Purpose for which Cultivated. — Its Durability and Other Advantages. — Scrub Pine. — Where Found and its Uselessness. — Corsican Pine. — Its Nativity, Valuableness, Attained Height, and Manner of Growth. — Its Ornamental Advantages. — Table-Moun- tain Pine. — Its Height and Appearance. — Where Found and Gene- ral Worthlessness. This genus ranks among our first forest - trees, and is more widely used for building purposes than any tree 102 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTTNG. "we have. The greatest amount is produced from two species. From the pine is produced immense quantities of pine-tar, resin, and pitch, North and South Carolina taking the lead, " The Barrens " of these two states be- ing justly famous, not only for the quantity but for the quality. But not only is it useful for building purposes, but also for ornamental purposes, the only trouble being that these trees are found mostly "west of the Kocky Mountains. THE "WHITE PINE. This is one of the best-loiown of our American trees, and reaches a height of from one hundred to one hun- dred and eighty feet, "with a diameter of from two and a half to six feet. So much of our pine has been cut and shipped to the Old World that, "where the pine "was for- merly abundant, as in New England, northern New Tork, and Pennsylvania, it has no"W become scarce, and large tracts that were thought to be inexhaustible are now bare and devoid of pine. The North"western States at present furnish nearly all of our pine, but it is needless to expect even here a renewal of the pine, for the tide of immigration is so great that, before a second supply "wiU. have time to grow, the country will be populated, and instead of pine -forest we wUl have comfortable farms and cities. The white "pine is a hardy tree, and accommodates itself to almost every variety of soil. The wood of the white pine that is grown on dry uplands is harder, more resinous, stronger, and has a much coarser grain than that grown in moister soOs. It is a very graceful tree, its foliage being soft, its color a deep, rich green ; the only objection to it as an ornamental tree being the formal arrangement of its branches in whorls, but this is lost sight of in a large tree. Its wood burns freely, but does not give much heat ; hence it is not fit for much imtU it has reached a convenient size for hewing into timber, or for lumber. Hence I would suggest that, in planting the young trees, they be set eight feet apart. THE PINE8. 103 and the intervening spaces be filled with trees of easier propagation, which may be cut out and used before the pines become crowded. Great care should be taken to preserve the leading shoots of the young pines, as they are very tender, and apt to be broken by the intervening branches, THE EED PINE.' This tree is common in the northern part of the United States, a portion of the British provinces, and also in some parts of Michigan and "Wisconsin. It frequently reaches the height of from eighty to ninety feet, with a diameter of two feet. It grows in dry, sandy soils, and has a beautiful straight trunk, and furnishes planks forty feet long without a blemish. The wood, for some uses, is preferable to the white pine, as it is heavy, stroiig, and very durable ; it also is a very beautiful tree, and is sometimes planted around private residences in the rural districts on account of the beauty of its trunk and branches. The only trouble one experiences in the cultivation of this tree is the difficulty in procuring the young trees for planting, as seven eights of the trees bought for cul- tivation usually perish during removal, no matter how carefully handled ; it is very difficult, nay, in fact, im- possible, to give a succinct reason for this, as the young trees of the red pine that are raised in nurseries are usu- ally hardy and strong plants that transplanting would not seem to affect. The seed of this tree is also very difficult to obtain, and " some rogues have been known to sen the seed-cones of the gray pine to unsophisticated people for those of the red pine, which they much re- semble." GEAT OE SCEUB PINE. This tree is found very widely diffused aU along the northern portion of the United States, and thence to the Arctic Ocean ; in lower Canada and Labrador it is only a straggling shrub from three to ten feet in height. 104 TREES AND TKEE-PLANTING. In "Wisconsin it is a middle-sized tree. Messrs. Lapham, Knapp, and Crocker, in their report on the forests of "Wisconsin, speak of it as reaching the height of sixty or seventy feet, and furnishing hewn lumber thirty or forty feet long and eight inches square. The logs are seldom sawn into lumber, as they are light and hardly ever found suitable. The fibre is straight and the wood tough. I would only recommend this tree for cultivation as a tree fit for fuel, as it burns readily and gives great heat. Loudon speaks very high- ly of the gray pine as an ornamental tree, but I have never admired it, as the old cones cling to the branches and turn black, and remain so for years ; this, with the number of dead twigs scattered promiscuously over the branches, give the trees while yet comparatively young the appearance of age and decrepitude. It is easily transplanted and needs no especial care. YELLOW PINE. This tree is found from the New England States to Florida. In the "West it is found in Kentuckj", Tennes- see, and Missouri; and Bryant claims to have found small trees among the sand - hiUs at the south end of Lake Michigan. In St. Louis considerable quantities of this lumber were brought from the Gasconade Eiver and sold under the name of Gasconade pine. Michaux claims for this tree, which grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet, that " the concentrical circles of the wood are six times as numerous in a given space as those of the loblolly or pitch pines." It grows most abundantly in the poorest soils. Its heart is fine grained and moder- ately resinous, which renders it compact without great weight. Its chief uses are in flooring, and for the masts, yards, and decks of vessels. The tree is of moderately slow growth. I would recommend the yellow pine not only on account of its qualities as a timber tree, but also on account of its beauty, its Hmbs forming from the top a regular cone. THE PINES. 105 PITCH PINE. This tree is confined to the Atlantic States, it never be- ing found west of the Alleghanies, and occupies, like most of its brethren, sandy, poor soil ; it seldom exceeds from thirty-five to forty feet in height, with a diameter of from twelve to eighteen inches. Sometimes it reaches the height of about eighty feet, but this is only when found in swamp-land. The wood of this tree is unusu- ally resinous, knotty, and heavy, three fourths of the wood being sap-wood. The chief use of this tree is for the amount of pitch it yields. It also makes very good fuel, as it bums with a steady, strong flame and gives great heat. I would not recommend it for culture, as there are so many better varieties of pine that far ex- ceed it in value, both as a lumber tree and for fuel. Loudon recommends it as an ornamental tree, but I can- not say that I admire his taste, as it is very knotty and generally has a great many excrescences. STONE PINE. This tree is found extensively in the Alps and in Si- beria ; its chief use is for carving and fancy inlaid work, it being especially adapted for this work on account of the absence, or nearly so, of the grain ; the wood is soft and very durable. The seeds yield a very odoriferous oil, and are sometimes used for food. This tree is a very handsome tree, and the only reason for not culti- vating it extensively is its slowness of growth, which fact, I dare say, has kept it from becoming as well known as other less valuable of its species. LOBLOLLY OE OLDFIELD PINE. This tree cannot be given much space, as it is not only inferior as a " thing of beauty " to many others of its brethren, but its timber is very spongy and not worth anything, excepting where other lumber is hard to find. 106 TREES AND TEEE-PLANTING. The grain is straight and without knots, but is composed mostly of sap-wood, and warps very badly on exposure to the weather. SCOTCH PINE. 'J'his tree, which very much resembles the yellow pine, has given rise to a great deal of controversy as to its relative merits as compared with the white pine. Euro- pean arborists claim that it is much superior to the white pine, but this claim Americans refuse to admit ; but it is hardly fair to make a comparison, as the two trees are so dissimilar. I cannot too strongly recommend this tree, as it is easily cultivated, very hardy, and widely known as a first-class lumber tree. AUSTRIAN PINE. This tree, which to my mind, on close inspection, is stiff and formal, is recommended by Bryant, Loudon, Bay- reuth, and others as a very ornamental tree. It is found mostly in Austria and the adjacent country ; is cultivated chiefly for its turpentine and as fuel ; its timber is very tough and durable. It has a very picturesque appear- ance when seen singly from a distance. It makes splen- did wind-breaks. SCRUB PINE. Found in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and some of the adjacent states. It is a low, dwarfish tree, and is fit for absolutely nothing, being the poorest one of its species. CORSICAN PINE. This tree, which is a native of Corsica, is very valuable as a lumber tree, and reaches the height of from one hundred to one hundred and forty feet. It is very short- lived and of very rapid growth, growing very nearly three feet in one year; its growth is just about two thirds as fast again as the Scotch pine. Loudon speaks of a tree in the garden of the Horticultural Society of Lon- don which at the age of twelve years, in 1834, was twenty THE PINES. 107 feet high, and in 1837 was twenty-five feet high. It is strongly recommended for ornamental purposes, but I doubt if plants of this species can be safely handled here ; but if in any place, it would in aU probability be Kansas or some of the adjacent states. TABLE-MOtTNTAIN PIIfE. Height about forty feet, numerous branches, habits and general appearance of the Scotch pine. I cannot recommend it either for lumber or as an ornamental tree. It is found chiefly on the Blue Kidge Mountains. CHAPTEE XXIII. CEDARS. White Cedar. —Where Found and Soil Suited to its Growth. —Its Chief Uses.— Its Ornamental Value.— The Red Cedar. — Its At- tainable Growth, Usefulness, and General Appearance. — ^Its Vege- tating Properties. — Reasons for its Non-extensive Culture. — Com- mon Juniper. — Its Nativity. — The Attainable Growth of Varie- ties. — Its Medicinal and other Properties. — How Propagated. — Care Necessary for the Protection of Young Plants. — The Cedran- tree. — Where Indigenous. — Its Antidotary Properties. WHITE CEDAE. This tree is found in swampy ground all along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Florida : its chief uses are in the manufacture of shingles and wooden- ware for household purposes. I have seldom seen it advertised in nursery catalogues, and I am in doubt as to whether it would grow to any height in any other locality than that which it at present occupies. It is a very slow grower, and a very ornamental tree, which fact alone should entitle it to more consideration than it receives. EED CEDAE. This tree grows to the height of thirty or forty feet, with a diameter of twelve or fifteen inches ; it is used for posts, rails, rustic work, and ship-building, but more especially for use in the manufacture of lead-pencils and penholders. It has long, spreading branches that are sometimes longer than the trunk of the tree; others are more conical, but these are more generally those that are cultivated and placed in shape by careful training. It is very slow of growth, and as an ornamental tree it CEDAKS. 109 will not do, becoming at an early age ragged and un- sightly in appearance. Seed vegetates the second year. Protect from the sun when it first grows. It will never be extensively cultivated for timber, on account of its slow growth. COMMON JUNrPEE. This tree is a native of both the Old and the New "World, but our American variety is nothing more than a straggling shrub. It is the chief food of a great many varieties of birds. The European variety under favora- ble circumstances reaches a height of from eighteen to twenty feet, with a diameter of from six to eight inches, but in Europe they grow to a considerable size. The berries of this tree are used in the manufacture of medi- cines, and as an extract to flavor hquors, especially gin. The Scotch and Swedish varieties are chiefly used as or- namental trees, and as such merit attention. They are chiefly propagated by cuttings rooted by means of a bottom-heat. Great care should be taken to preserve the young trees from the frost, as a great many have been destroyed by severe winters. THE CEDEAN-TEEE. This is a species of the family of cedars, and is found indigenous only in Central America. It is of more stunted growth than any of its brethren of northern lat- itudes, and bears a large bean, similar in size, shape, and color to a horse-chestnut, but very brittle. To Mr. John P. Curry is due the honor of having first introduced this tree to public notice. His attention was first called to the cedran-tree while on the Isthmus as consulting engineer for the Panama Eailroad Company, by ob- serving the neutralizing effect that its beans exercised upon a snake-bitten buzzard. The bird was struck by a rattlesnake, and then made its way to a cedran-tree, and after pecking at one of its beans flew off apparent- ly uninjured. A native to whom Mr. Curry related the 110 TEEES ASD TEEE-PLANTING. incident scouted the idea of a rattlesnake-bite being dangerous, and exemplified his confidence in the effi- ciency of an antidote by bringing a snake of twelve rattles the following day, and allowing himself to be bitten by it. He then took a cedran bean, and, having chewed it, swallowed a portion, and saturated the wound with his sahva ; after which treatment no disagreeable feelings or unpleasant effects resulted from the bite. Mr. Curry, after having been thus satisfied of the mar- vellous curative powers of these beans, verified his ex- perience by writing to the Alta California newspaper, and carried about a peck of the beans to San Francisco, where many successful experiments of their efficiency were made by Professor Lanzwert, a German physician, on dogs, cats, rabbits, etc., which were allowed to be bitten by rattlesnakes. After these tests the neutraliz- ing power of these beans was found never to fail when applied to human beings bitten by these reptiles. Very few physicians, however, had any knowledge of the curative properties possessed by this tree until a tinct- ure was manufactured from its roots by Parke Davis & Co. about three years ago. Its extracts are consid- ered a safer antidote than whiskey or alcohol, producing as they do a chemical reaction of the blood in from six to eight hours ; but for snake-bite their neutralizing ef- fect is almost instantaneous after being taken into the system. They are also a cure for gout, and an antidote for hydrophobia. Mr. Curry's experience, since, further evinces the fre- quency of rattlesnake-bite being completely neutralized and cured by simply eating a portion of a bean, or taking a tea made from half a bean. Therefore it would seem, from the incident of the buzzard having been bitten, and its instinctive knowl- edge of the antidotary power of this tree, that to science has been given a remedy for prevention of the effects of so many occasional diseases before considered incur- CEDAES. Ill able, thus proving conclusively that nature is continual- ly making experiments, as well as man, and bringing to observing human beings, through the instincts of ani- mals, birds, and even insects, grand discoveries in sci- ence, meteorology, and medicine. CHAPTEE XXrV. LINDENS. Where Found.— Their Classiflcation. — Quality and Durability of their "Wood. — Their Ornamental and other Uses. — European Linden. — Its Principal Uses and Growth. — White Linden. — Description of Leaf. — Range of Growth. — A Specified Variety. — Buffalo Berry. — Its Attainable Height and Deportment. — How Propagated. — Its Es- teemed Quality and Relative Resemblance. — Quality and Useful- ness of its Fruit. — Manner of Planting for Fruit Production. — Ja- pan Sophora. — Its Nativity. — How best Propagated. — Quality of its Wood and for What Used. — Soil Favorable to its Thrift. — Sas- safras. — Its Domestic Uses. — Properties and Uses of its Wood. — How Propagated. — Its Ornamental Advantages. The lindens are found in the ]S"orthern and Middle States, along the Alleghany Mountains, and in the Mis- sissippi YaUey. These trees may be classed with those that cannot be used for lumber until they have arrived at quite a large size. It takes the place of the pine for a great many things, its wood being soft and light, and of very little durability ; it is much used as an ornamental tree. The inner bark of the tree is separated from the rough outer bark by saturation, and is much used as a twine by gardeners, etc. EHEOPEAIT LINDEN. The principal use of this tree is the manufacture of " bass matting," which is imported in quantity from Eu- rope. It is quite a large tree, and weU worthy of cul- tivation as a shade-tree. It sheds its leaves quite early in the autumn. WHITE LINDEN. The leaves of this tree are smooth, bright green above, and sUvery underneath. It is not found as far north as LINDENS. 113 many of its brothers, nor is it as large a tree. The com- mon weeping linden of our nurseries is of this species. BTJFFALO BEEET. This tree grows to a height of from twenty to thirty feet. It is propagated from the seed or by suckers. It is esteemed more for its fruit than for its lumber; it much resembles the buckthorn, and I doubt not would make an equally good hedge ; its fruit is manufactured into pies, tarts, preserves, and a great many household delicacies. The trees are strictly dioeceous, and both sexes must be planted in close proximity to obtain fruit. JAPAN SOPHOEA. This tree is a native of Japan. It is best propagated by layers or from the seed. Little is known of this tree in this country excepting that it is hard, compact, and fit for ornamental work. It does not thrive in Illinois prairie-soil, but under favorable auspices is said to grow quite rapidly farther south. SASSATEAS. This tree is surely the old woman's friend. Who has not gone to some old vUlage grandmother and been dosed with sassafras-tea, much to the edification of the old lady, and then swore like a pirate or looked helplessly down one's nose and waited for further developments ? It is found as a shrub or tree of some small size. The bark, of late, has much gone out of date as a medicine. Bedsteads made of sassafras-wood are never infested with vermin. The wood is not very strong, but fine, close- grained, and fit for cabinet-work. It is propagated by suckers or by seed. It is a handsome, ornamental tree, and I would recom- mend its culture around some of the beautiful homesteads scattered about the country that have a great many less ornamental trees than the sassafras, and whose appear- ance would be much benefited by it. 5* CHAPTER XXV. LARCHES. The Black Larch, or Tamarack. —Its Singular Beauty, Attainable Height, and Appearance. — Its Range of Growth. — Soil Suited to its Growth, with Difference of Opinion.— Its Durability and Usefulness.— A Practised Fraud Unearthed.- The European Larch. — Its Attainable Height, Range, Rate of Growth, and General Con- tour.— Its Ornamental and Timber Excellence. — Durability and Uses of its 'Wood.- Larch-growing in England and Scotland.— Ages of Maturity. — Foreign Testimony on its Durability. — Its Adapted Uses.— Places Favorable to its Propagation.— Where to Select and Obtain Seed. — Mr. Thomas Lake's Experience in Grow- ing Larch. THE BL4.CK LAECH, OE TAMAEACK. This singularly beautiful tree grows to the height of from ninety to one hundred feet, with a diameter of from two to three feet. It is perfectly straight, with leaves of a light-bluish color. It grows as far north as Hudson's Bay, but is found in the United States in only swampy soU. I, for one, cannot understand this, as in British America it thrives in almost any soil. It is a very strong and durable wood, and among our most valuable for timber and rafter-beams ; uprights made of it are said to last a great length of time. It is a handsome and a very ornamental tree. That which grows the farthest north is far superior to our swamp-growing species. Some unsophisticated horticulturists have been swin- dled into buying the black larch as the European spe- cies — a deception that is very easy of accomplishment with those not acquainted with the different varieties of trees. LARCHES. 115 EUROPEAN LARCH. This tree rises to the height of from ninety to one hundred feet, and in general contour much resembles the black larch. It is found in the Alps of France and Switzerland, of the Tyrol, and in the Carpathian Mountains, and in various mountainous districts of Eu- rope. Thanks to the assiduous care of the Duke of Athol, it has been planted in England as a forest-tree, and duly recognized as one of much excellence both as an ornamental and a timber tree. It is very durable, and adapted to a variety of uses, and is daily growing in greater demand. Loudon says : " The rate of growth of the larch in the climate of London is from twenty to twenty-five feet in ten years from the seed, and nearly as great on the de- clivities of hiUs and mountains in the Highlands of Scotland. A larch cut down near Dunkeld, aiter it had been sixty years planted, was one hundred and ten feet high, and contained one hundred and sixty cubic feet of timber. In a suitable - situation, the timber is said to come to perfection in forty years, while that of the pi- naster requires sixty years, and that of the Scotch pine eighty years." "W. 0. Bryant, in his excellent work on trees, says: " The larch, planted four feet apart each way, may in ten years be large enough for fence-posts. At that dis- tance, about twenty-seven hundred would grow on an acre." A great deal of foreign testimony may be cited in re- gard to the durability of this tree, as, for instance, tried by driving a post made of it alongside an oaken post in the Thames Kiver, where the tide rose and wet it and then subsided and left it exposed to the drying influence of the sun. The oak posts were renewed twice before any alteration was noticed in the larch. The vine-props of a great many German vineyards are made of this tim- 116 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. ber, and have been handed down from generation to gen- eration, and will still be handed down, in an almost per- fect state of preservation. M. Brissel de Monville says that he has examined trees in the forests of Switzerland that have been struck by lightning and badly shattered, and yet the heart-wood is still perfectly sound, and the uninjured limbs continue to grow in a perfectly healthy condition ; and even trees that had lain on the ground for years and become thoroughly dried out have not rotted, but have become brittle with old age and may still be scaled off. It is the best timber for rails, fences, etc., and anything that requires to Avithstand the weather. The larch appears to grow best on uplands, and I doubt not with a little care and attention some of our own bills and prairies could be covered with a luxuriant growth of larches. It does not seem to thrive on low, damp plains, and I would not recommend any one to try it in such places, as a failure might prejudice them against a tree that is destined to become one of our most useful and ornamental trees. Great care should be taken, in the purchase and selec- tion of seed, to obtain it from thoroughly reliable parties, as large quantities of worthless old stuff are sold for good seed that no one could make grow. I would rec- ommend seed from the Tyrol in Switzerland, or from the Valais of Switzerland, both of which are usually pur- chased by the horticulturists of France, Germany, and Scotland. In closing these remarks about the European larch, I would Hke to call attention to the experience of Mr. Thomas Lake, a resident of "Winnebago County, Illinois. In a recent letter Mr. Lake says : " A few years since I saw in the Rural New -Yorker the European larch ad- vertised for sale by Eobert Douglas & Sons, "Waukegan, Dhnois, and being well acquainted with the fast growth and value of those trees in my native home, England, I bought and planted nine thousand, and have but to re- LABCHES. 117 gret that I did not multiply that number by ten at that time. They were quite small when I bought them — many not larger than a lead-pencil and not over a foot high. My ignorance as to how this climate would suit them was the only reason I did not venture to plant more at that time. Many of those trees are now stand- ing thirty feet high and six to seven inches through at base, as straight as an arrow, and much admired by those who see them. My mode of planting is to plough the ground deep — ^the deeper the better — and make it as meUow as possible. I do not advocate deep planting. I mark out with the plough furrows four feet apart each way. As I plant, I settle the fine earth firmly around the roots with my foot. Get the ground ready as early in the spring as possible for your trees, as the English larch is about the first tree that starts. At corn-plant- ing time I planted two grains or more of corn on the south side of each Uttle tree ; if more than two grew, I puUed them up. The corn-stalks acted as a shade for the young trees through the heat and drought of sum- mer, and I think it saved many, as the season was ex- tremely dry. " Many think that when they have planted, their work is ended, but it is just begun if one is resolved to suc- ceed. I kept the young larches weU cultivated with the corn-cultivator, not allowing any weeds or grass to grow. I harvested corn enough to pay for the labor, and pro- duced the largest ears grown on the farm. The reason of this was that there were only two stalks to the hiU, and they were well and often tended. I followed the same course the next season, and intended to do so the third, but in this I was prevented, as the trees had grown so fast that I could not get the horse and cultivator through without injuring them. That season they cov- ered the ground and choked out the grass and weeds — so ended my labor." CHAPTEE XXVI. THE MAGNOLIAS. The Cucumber-tree. — Its Range and Manner of Growth. — Its At- tainable Height and Ornamental Character. — How Propagated. — Yellow Cucumber -tree. — Where Found. — Its Beauty and Or- namental Character. — Quality and Durability of its Wood. — A Reason for its Scarcity.— Small Magnolia, Sweet Bay. — Its At- tainable Height. — Its Limited Range and Exceptional Ornament. — A Perfect Specimen Described. — How to Preserve its Seed and Young Plants.— Great-leaved Magnolia — Its Rarity and Remark- able Characteristics. — Umbrella-tree. — Its Resemblance to the Great- leaved Magnolia. — Its Range of Growth and Favorable Soil. — Its Usual Height. — Its Artistic Beauty, Odoriferous Qualities, and Peculiar Tendency. — Ear -leaved Magnolia, or Ear -leaved Um- brella-tree. — Where Found. — Its Height. — Its Pleasing and Distin- guishing Features. — Yulan Magnolia. — Its Foreign Nativity and Recent Introduction into the United States. — Its Distinctive Char- acter and Odoriferous Production. — The Foliage of Young Trees De- scribed. — Recommended Specimens. — The Conspicuous-flowered Magnolia. — Its Distinguishing Difference. — The Empress Alex- andrina's Conspicuous-flowered Magnolia. — ^Date of Introduction into England. — Its Parallel of Thrift and its Floral Productiveness. Manner of Planting. — Magnolia Purpurea. — ts Nativity. — Color of Bloom. — How Grown, and Medicinal Properties. THE CUCT3MBEE-TEEE. This tree is found in western Kew York, through Ohio and Indiana, southern Illinois, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. It is about the largest of its species except- ing the big laurel. It is of very rapid growth, fine shape, and of an ornamental character. Unlike any other magnolia, the flowers of this tree add very little to its beauty, as they consist of six twisted, scraggy pe- tals, without any beauty or special color. Its wood is of the same order as the linden, basswood, etc., and is sel- THE MAGNOLIAS. 119 dom used for any purpose where other lumber can be obtained. The tree should be propagated by layers, and the seed sown while in a moist state, as it wiU not ger- minate if once dry. Shade the young plants from the sun when they first start to grow, and during the first period of cold weather. YELLOW CITCDMBEE-TEEE. This tree is found in Georgia and South Carolina chiefly ; it is noted for the extreme beauty of its large yellow flowers, which form quite a contrast to its rich green foliage. It is one of the most ornamental of its genus, and is as hardy as any of its species, notwithstand- ing what Loudon says to the contrary, as it wiU with- stand the Massachusetts winters. Its wood is on a par with that of the cucumber-tree, and is not used for build- ing purposes. SMALL MAGNOLIA, SWEET BAT. This tree, which grows to the height of thirty or forty feet, is seldom found west of the Alleghany Mountains. It is one of the most ornamental of an ornamental spe- cies ; its leaves are large, of a dark-green glossy color on top, and of a creamy white underneath. In the South this tree is grown all the year round. The most perfect tree of this variety that I have ever seen was in the grounds of Girard College, Philadelphia. It rose to a height of about twenty-five feet, perfectly symmetrical, and it seemed as if there was not a branch or a leaf out of place ; and I remember to this day how the air was perfumed for some distance around it. The seeds soon become rancid, and should be kept in some damp place or in rotten wood until they are ready for setting out. When young, the plants, which do not grow very fast, should be shielded from the sun. 120 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. GEEAT-LEAVED MAGNOLIA. This is one of the most uncommon of our American trees. It is not found in abundance anywhere, and is chiefly remarkable on account of the size of its leaves and flowers. Its leaves are two and three feet long, and its flowers from ten to twelve inches across ; the wood is soft and of no practicable value. The tree is apt to be hurt by high winds. UMBEELLA-TEEE. This tree much resembles the great-leaved magnolia in the length of its leaves. It is found in deep, rich, cool soil, from western New York to the Gulf of Mexico. The usual height of the umbrella-tree is about thirty feet, which it seldom exceeds. The leaves are from two to two and a half feet in length, with a width of from six to eight inches, and form quite a beautiful and ar- tistic curve, hence the name umbrella-tree. Its flowers are large and beautiful, and from six to eight inches in breadth. They have quite a sweet though rather heavy odor. The terminal buds of this tree are very tender and apt to be injured by the cold. It also has a ten- dency to throw out suckers at its base ; these should be carefully trimmed off, or they wUl sap the body of the tree. EAE-LEAVED MAGNOLIA, EAE-LEAVED UMBEELLA-TEEE. This tree is only found at the base of the AUeghanies. Its height is about forty feet, and it is distinguished for the beauty of its flowers. Cultivators prefer this species to any of its genus, on account of its pleasing fragrance. It is hardy around Phfladelphia and farther south. It is not very plentiful anywhere. Its leaves are from eight to twelve inches long, heart-shaped at the base, and smooth on both sides. The branches are slenderer than the rest of its fanuly. It bears a white flower, from five to seven inches in breadth. THE MAGNOLIAS. 121 TULAN MAGNOLIA. This tree has but lately been tried in this, country, and can as yet hardly be pronounced upon. In all probabil- ity it will prove a success. It can hardly be called a tree, however, but only a shrub. It bears a beautiful white flower, which makes its appearance before the leaves, and has a very sweet, penetrating odor. It is found in greatest profusion about New York, where it is hardiest. In young trees the leaves are from six to eight inches broad, and three to four inches across the widest portion. I would especially recommend the following for culti- vation : Conspicuous - flowered magnoha and Empress Alexandrina's. In the conspicuous -flowered magnolia, though very closely resembhng the other species, one accustomed to trees would distinguish the difference by the odor of the blossoms and in the thickness of the branches, the conspicuous - flowered magnoha having much the stoutest branches. The Empress Alexan- drina's conspicuous-flowered magnoha was first brought into England by Sir James Banks about the year 1788, where, after a hard struggle, it at length, after eight or ten years, attracted attention, and became one of the leading hot-house shrubs. It flowers every year, and thrives best in the neighborhood and about the same parallel as London, New York, and Philadelphia. To give some idea of the immense number of flowers this tree bears, I wiU cite an instance from Browne's work on trees. He says : " An original imported plant, trained against a wall at Woombybury, in England, measured twenty-seven feet in height, and covered a space later- ally of twenty-four feet, and had on it, in April, 1835, five thousand flowers. This tree will thrive in any rich, free soil, properly drained and slightly enriched. As a background, it should have an ivy-covered waU, or some kind of ever- green shrub or plant, on account of its bearing flowers 6 122 TREES AND TEEE-PLANTING. before leaves. Plant in pots after taking the small shrub from tree. Keep for first two years in pots, and then set out. By this means we may escape the danger from frost, as the young trees are very easily nipped. This plant, first introduced into England about the year 1790, is a native of Japan. Its flowers are purple without and white on the inside. It should be grown from the seed in loose earth slightly enriched. The bark is used medicinally, and emits a very pleasant odor when bruised. This plant is not well known in this country. CHAPTEE XXVn. YELLOW WOOD. Its Rarity and Limited Height. — Where Found and General Char- acteristics. — Manner of Preserving and Sowing its Seed. — The Bogwood. — Cornel Dogwood. — Its Singularity of Species and Diffused Growth. — Its Ornamental and Useful Advantages. — Method of Preparing and Sowing its Seed. — The Jamaica Dog- wood. — Description and Medicinal Properties. — The Date Plum. — Persimmon. — Its Usual Height and Size. — Peculiarities of its Foliage and Bark. — Effect of Frost on its Fruit. — Description and Uses of its Wood. — Preserving its Seed. — The Mulberry. — Bed Mulberry. — Where Found, Attainable Height, and Manner of Growth. — Durability and Uses of its Wood. — Its Ornamental Value.— How to. Obtain its Seed. — The Black Mulberry. — Its For- eign Origin. — Its Comparative Growth and Productiveness. — Its Dedication. — Weight of its Wood per Cubic Foot. — Effect of Age on its Fruitfulness. — The White Mulberry-tree. — Its Main Dis- tinguishing Feature. — Its Growth. — Countries to which Indige- nous. — Purpose for which Introduced into the United States, aud Results. This is a rare tree, and seldom exceeds forty feet in heiglit. It is found in Kentucky and Tennessee, and according to William 0. Bryant is much more hardy sev- eral degrees farther north. The fohage is quite brUliant and has a very sweet odor, only, to my notion, a little heavy and dead. The flowers are in long, pendulous clusters. This tree would make quite a valuable timber tree ; but, owing to its scarcity, it has never been used. When first planted it is said to be of slow growth, but after the first two or three years takes a sudden start, goes ahead quite rapidly, and soon reaches its full height. The seed of this tree should be kept in rotten wood, or in damp sand, during the winter, and covered very 124 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTmG. lightly in the spring. If it is sown dry it will not vege- tate until the next year. THE DOGWOOD. COENEL DOGWOOD. This is the only species of dogwood in the United States. It is found in nearly every state of the Union, and is from twenty to thirty feet lugh. It has a diame- ter of from ten to twelve inches. The wood is hard, strong, heavy, has a very fine grain, and is used for small panel work, and for almost anything where it is necessary to give a high pohsh. The flowers are small and form in clusters, surrounded by four large white leaves. It also bears a red berry, which forms a pleas- ant contrast to the large white leaves, and makes the dogwood one of our most ornamental trees. The seeds of the dogwood require from two to three years to make them vegetate, but Michaux gives the following method : Gather the seeds in the fall, clear them of their pulpy covering by rubbing them in Avater, cover them with earth in a box, and place them in the cellar till spring, care being taken to keep the earth moist. JAMAICA DOGWOOD. This tree belongs to a large and important order of the pulse family, familiar representatives of which are found in the locust, tamarind, and the like. The major- ity of the plants that belong to this widely diffused or- der are indigenous to foreign lands. "\Vlien full grown this tree attains a height of twenty to twenty-five feet, has a bright -colored, smooth bark, and very irregular, spreading branches. The wood is very heavy and resin- ous, of a light -brown color, coarse and cross-grained, and lasts almost equally in or out of water. It makes excellent piles for Avharves, and is reckoned the most lasting timber in America, every way as good as the EngMsh oak, and having such a leaf. 'The blossoms are very white and sweet, small, and in bunches, as full as TELLOW WOOD. 125 the tree can hold. After the bloom come bunches of a membranous substance, looking like hops at a distance, in which are contained the seed. Calyx of a brownish red, covered with greenish hairs. The leaves are twice pinnatifid, somewhat coriaceous, covered with a fine down when young, afterwards becoming almost glob- ous, and deciduous. Leaflets about two inches long, twelve to sixteen lines broad, and pointed. The leaves are shed early in the year, and previous to the develop- ment of the new foliage the flowers make their appear- ance. This tree is easily propagated by seeds or cut- tings, and stakes cut from it soon take root and form an excellent live fence. The bark of the trunk is very as- tringent ; a decoction of it stops the immediate discharge of ulcers, especially when it is combined with mangrove bark. It cures the mange in dogs, and would probably answer well for tanning leather. The bark of the root, pounded, is used in catching fish ; if mixed with the wa- ter in some convenient part of a river or creek, whence its influence may spread, in a short time the fish that lie under the rocks or banks rise to the surface, where they float as if dead. Fish caught in this manner are eaten without hesitation, and are not considered unwholesome. The bark of the root, to be effectual, should be gath- ered during the period of inflorescence. "When chewed it has an unpleasant taste. It yields its virtues to alco- hol, but not to water. A saturated tincture prepared from the bark is used as an anodyne in toothache, and found very efficacious, not only affording relief when taken internally, but uniformly curing the pain when introduced upon a dossil of cotton into the tooth. The preparation of the bark for the sport of fish- catching is as follows : Being detached from the roots, it is mashed up with what is termed in the West Indies temper hme and the low wines or lees of the still-house, and the mixture distributed into small baskets, from which it is gradually washed out by persons holding the 126 TEEES AND TEEE-PLAimNG. baskets in the water, no doubt with the certainty of stupefying or narcotizing a large number of fishes. Most of the larger fishes recover after a time from the influ- ences of the drug, but a great sacrifice of the smaller ones is occasioned by the process. It has been observed that the eel is the only fish that could not be intoxicated with a common dose. Experiments have demonstrated the power of this drug, in large doses, to produce prompt paralysis of the motor nerves, while it does not affect the seat of intel- ligence nor the great centres of innervation. THE DATB-PLTJM PEESIMMON. PEESIMMON. The persimmon -tree usually reaches the height of from fifty to sixty feet, and from twenty to twenty-four inches in diameter. The leaves are about five inches long and pointed, of a beautiful dark bottle-green, with a glossy face and glaucous underneath ; the bark is very rough, the Hmbs and branches crooked and twisted. This tree usually has a conical and rather open top ; its fruit varies in shape and in time of ripening, and is best if ripened before frost, and not, as most people suppose, after frost. Frost removes the astringency of the per- simmon, but at the same time spoils it & it has not reached a certain stage of maturity. The wood of the persimmon is hard, heavy, and of a very fine grain, and is much used in place of ash as axle-trees for carriages and wagons, but its principal use is for carving. Keep the seed moist, and plant in the seed-bed until one year old, then transplant. THE MULBEEET. BED MULBEEEY. This tree is found east of the Mississippi River, and reaches a height of from seventy to eighty feet. WhUe in its young state it makes very rapid progress, but after it has reached a few inches in diameter it seems to faU back, and becomes of much slower growth. Its timber YELLOW WOOD. IS '7 is very strong, tough, compact, and durable. Its chief use is for posts, fences, and rural buildings. Its fruit, too, is esteemed a delicacy by many. It is a handsome, ornamental tree, and is usually covered by myriads of birds that come to feast on the berries. To obtain the seed the berries should be taken when fully ripe and washed, the seed that falls to the bottom only being used ; these should be laid by until spring, and then lightly covered with mould. The first year the young trees will grow to the height of from twelve to fifteen inches. Its fruit is very much increased in size by culti- vation, but the birds generally save all trouble as to pick- ing by being beforehand, and obtaining the best that is to be had. THE BLACK MULBEEET. This tree, though a native of Europe, is found in a wild state in this country. It is not nearly as large as the red mulberry, and is of much slower growth. Its wood is not of any value, but its fruit is from two to three times as large as the red mulberry. This tree grows to the height of from twenty to thirty feet. Its leaves are broad, rough, and heart-shaped at the base. On account of its comparative slowness in putting forth its leaves the mulberry was dedicated by the Greeks to Minerva, the goddess of war. "When perfectly dry the wood of the black mulberry weighs only about forty pounds to the cubic foot. As it increases in age it in- creases in fruit, so that an old tree will produce not only more but better fruit than a young one. THE WHITE MULBEEET. The leaves of this tree are its main distinguishing mark, being about eight inches long and about six inches broad, and heart-shaped. The tree grows to a height of from thirty to forty feet. It is only found in a real- ly wild state in China, but exists in a semi-wild state widely scattered over Europe and Asia, and is found 128 TREES AlTD TEEE-PLANTING. sparingly all over the United States. It was first intro- duced into this country for the purpose of feeding the silk -worm, but it has never proved of practical value. At the time of the silk -worm craze in 1830 the white mulberry took a big boom, but has since gradually sunk down into utter insignificance. It may, however, at some future period, arise to eminence as food for the silk-worm. CHAPTER XXVIII. THE BOW- WOOD, OR OSAGE ORANGE. Range of Growth, and Soil Favorable to its Growth. — Its Attainable Height. — The Incorruptible Property of its Wood. — Color of its Wood, Uses for which Pit, and Advantages. — Its Productiveness and Famed Elasticity. — Its P'oliage and Fruit Described. — States best Suited to its Thrift. — Difference of Bearing of the Male and the Female Tree.— A Fruitful Yield. This tree is found chiefly in the rich bottom-lands of Louisiana, Texas, and 'New Mexico, where it reaches the height of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet. The wood, which takes a beautiful polish, and is easily mistaken for satin-wood, is hard, tough, and very elastic, and, strange to say, is incorruptible, a rotten stick of Osage orange being never seen ; though it "vviLL waste away, it will never rot. In color it is of a bright yellow, and is fit for any purpose where lumber is exposed to changes of weather, as it does not shrink nor swell on exposure to water or heat. In a few years a plantation of Osage orange -trees would reproduce itself. It is so pregnant with suckers that, like the chestnut, the more it is cut down the more shoots it wiU throw out, and thus the Osage plantation wiU grow thicker and thicker. The Osage Indians have rendered the wood of the Osage orange famous from their skilful use of it in the manufacture of their bows. It is a beautiful deciduous tree, and has a smooth, gray- ish-yellow bark, and while young has a beautiful round- ish appearance ; but, like youth and beauty, when old age appears it becomes wrinkled in its bark and scraggy in its branches. Its foliage is of a beautiful dark green, 130 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. smooth and polished on the top and slightly seamed underneath ; the leaves are about three or four inches long and as many broad. The spines that cover the branches are straight and strong, and about two inches in length. The fruit is about the size and appearance of a large Seville orange. It consists of numerous small radiating fibres that meet and join a small ball-like centre of soft, woody fibre. The orange, when wounded, exudes a milk- hke fluid that on exposure to the air turns to a white, co- agulated mass, but turns black when left to dry on the hands. It is found scattered aU over the country, but is at its best in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and New Mex- ico. There is a curious instance related by Browne, viz. : Two trees were planted by Mr. McMahon, of Philadel- phia, close together ; one of them bore fruit in a perfect condition, and continued to do so for some years, while the other bore only fruit whose seed was abortive. Mr. McMahon was puzzled for a time to account for this, but after mature study he came to the conclusion that they were male and female; the female bearing the perfect fruit, while the male could only produce abortive fruit. Two other trees situated about four hundred yards away showed the same result. At Beaver Dam, in Virginia, a female tree of this species yielded fruit to the number of one hundred and fifty, many of which weighed eighteen or nineteen ounces each. From the wood of the Osage orange is obtained a yellow dye ; the inner bark is very fine and Avhite, and might be manufactured into fine linen. The chief use of the tree is for hedges It has been tested as a food for silk-worms, but with poor success, most of the worms dying, and those that lived were weak and puny. CHAPTER XXIX. THE AILANTUS, OR TREE OF HEAVEN". Its Height, Size, and Nativity. — Its Adaptability to Arid Places, with Recommendation. — Manner of Growth, Description and Uses of its Wood. — Description of its Leaf and Flower. — When First Intro- duced into the United Slates and by Whom. — Successful Propaga- tion Instanced. — How jPropagated. This tree, which grows to the height of sixty or seven- ty feet, with a diameter of two feet, is a native of China, and has quite recently been transplanted to the arid steppes of Siberia with great success, as it has a strong tendency to hold the sand together and keep it from shifting. In the first period of its existence it is of very rapid growth, and does not slacken until about the twelfth year, and then it gradually becomes slower and slower of growth. The wood is hard, very fine grained, and fit for cabinet-work. It has been strongly recommended for planting on the arid plains of western Kansas. This gigantic tree is justly called by the ancients the " Tree of Heaven." The leaves are from one and a half to six feet in length, having leaflets with coarse, granular teeth near the base. Its flowers are of a whitish green and of a very disagreeable odor. The ailantus was flrst introduced into the United States by Mr. William Hamilton in 1784, and a sucker, planted from the original tree in 1809, is at present standing in the Bartram Botanic Garden. In 1820 Mr. WiUiam Prince, of Flushing, Long Island, imported the ailantus from Europe, and from this stock most of the trees around New York have been supphed. This tree may be propagated from seeds, suckers, or cuttings. CHAPTEE XXX. THE BUCKEYE. Similarity of Species and General Characteristics to Horse-cliestnuts. — Horse-chestnut Buckeye. — Its Elevation and Nativity. — Its Manner of Growth and Soil Suited to its Growth. — Its Foliage and Fruit Described. — Its Ornamental Value. — Specified Vari- eties. — When Introduced into the United States. — Repulsiveness of its Leaves to Insect Ravages. — Description of its Wood. — Use to which Put in Europe. — Use as Recommended by Du Hamel. ^Produce of its Bark. —Bleaching Properties of its Nut. — Its Artistic Beauty. — Ohio Buckeye. — Height. — For what Recom- mended. — Its Uselessness as a Timber Tree. — The Sweet Buck- eye. — Its Attainable Height. — Origin of its Name. — Uses of its Wood. — How Propagated. — Popularity of its Nut-husks. — The Red Buckeye. — Its Stunted Growth. — Its Floral and Odorous Proper- ties. — ^Where Found. — Effect of its Bark on Fish. — Another Use of its Bark. — Its Largest Specimen. — Its Supposed Nativity. — Its In- troduction into Britain, and Ornamental Use. — Results of Grafting. — An Opinion. — The Edible Buckeye Described. Sometimes the t\vo families of buckeyes and horse- cliestiiuts are mixed by persons that do not know the difference between the families, and are called separate trees ; but their general characteristics are so much alike that, for one, I cannot see why a difference should exist at all, and I class them all under one head — First, the HOESE-CHESTNUT BUCKEYE. This tree, which rises to the height of eighty feet, was first known to Europe at Constantinople about the be- ginning of the sixteenth century, and is only cultivated here as an. ornamental tree. It is of very rapid growth in soils that suit it. The fruit or nuts, ground and mixed THE BUCKEYE. 133 with meal, are used as a cure for broken-winded horses. Its leaves are large, dark green, and very beautiful, and make quite a handsome, showy appearance in contrast to its beautiful flowers, which, peeping out in clusters from among the dark-green, graceful foliage, make it one of our most beautiful trees. The fruit ripens about the middle of September, and is enclosed in a thick, prickly husk. The following is a Mst of the horse-chestnuts : Double-flowered Horse-chestnut ; an uncommon variety. Ohio Horse-chestnut, or Foetid Buckeye. Smooth-leaved Horse-chestnut. Variegated-leaved Horse-chestnut. Scarlet-flowered Horse-chestnut. Fern-leaved Horse-chestnut. Pale-flowered Horse-chestnut. Silver-leaved Horse-chestnut. The native country of the horse-chestnut is claimed by some as northern Asia, and by others as India. It was first introduced into this country about the middle of the seventeenth century ; the first tree is said to be stiU standing on the estate of Mr. Lemuel "Wells, of Ton- kers, New York. The horse-chestnut requires a deep, free soil, and wiU only flower in a fully sheltered place. Its foliage is seldom or never eaten by the larvas of insects ; its wood is white and very soft, and wiU only weigh about thirty-eight or forty pounds to the cubic foot ; in Europe the greater portion of the sabots are made from it. Du Hamel and many other eminent authorities recommend its use in the manufacture of water-pipes. The bark yields a yellow dye, and is very bitter to the taste. The nuts are used in Ireland to whiten linen; they are first rasped into the water and allowed to mac- erate for some time, and when applied to the linen the saponaceous matter exudes from the raspings and bleach- es it. The potash of the horse-chestnuts is among the finest and best in use. 134 TEEES XSB TEBE-PL ANTING. To the painter, the magnificence of its stature and the richness of its drapery, especially when clothed in the beauty of its broad, palmated leaves and embroidered with its profusion of silvery flowers, more than atone for exceeding regularity of form, terminating, as it always does if left to nature, in an exact parabola ; its massive and luxuriant beauty contrasts well with trees of a more airy character, and thus produces that breadth of hght and shade so essential to landscape scenery. OHIO BUCKEYE.* This tree reaches the height of forty or fifty feet ; it is one of the first trees to put forth leaves in the spring. It is only recommended for its beauty ; cattle sometimes kill themselves from gorging Avith the nuts. As a tim- ber tree it is a delusion and a snare, and not worth culti- vating. THE SWEET BUCKEYE. This tree reaches the height of from ninety to a hun- dred feet, and from two to three feet in diameter ; it has not the disagreeable odor of the foregoing members of its species, hence the name of sweet buckeye. It loses its leaves early in September, and cannot be used for orna- mental purposes. Its wood is used for log-houses, wooden bowls, etc. It is propagated from slips, seeds, and by grafting. The husks that contain the nuts are not covered by thorny spines, but are quite smooth. THE EED BUCKEYE. This species is little more than a large shrub. It has large, bright spikes of red flowers that have a very pleas- ant odor. It is found widely scattered through all the rich bottom lands east of the Mississippi. The humming- * The introduction of this species of chestnut into, and its extensive growth and rapid thrift in, Ohio occasioned the peculiar appellation of "Buckeye" to that state; which name it still retains, and is familiarly applied to the state and its belongings. THE BUCKEYE. 135 birds seem to enjoy these red flowers, as there are always scores and scores of them around the tree while in bloom. The bruised branches and bark of this tree are used in place of the fish-berry in order to stupefy the fish in small ponds ; it has such an effect on them that they can easily be taken up in the hand. It also takes the place of soap in washing woollen cloth. The tree in the garden of Mr. Landreth, of Philadelphia, is the largest of its species known on this continent, being about twenty -five feet high, with a trunk three and three quar- ter feet in circumference. It is found more especially in the small valleys of Virginia, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and is said also to be a native of Japan and Brazil. Since its introduction from Brazil into Britain, in 1711, it has been extensively cultivated aU through Europe as an ornamental tree. I am of the opinion that better results may be had from this tree by grafting, viz. : A plant of the dwarf species was engrafted on the com- mon horse-chestnut-tree, and produced a beautiful, pen- dulous, low tree ; and it is likely a little care and cultiva- tion would unite the beauty of this tree with the size of some of its larger brethren of less beauty, and so be a gain to both. THE EDIBLE BUCKEYE. This species in its natural state is of low growth, sel- dom exceeding four feet, and is of the evergreen variety ; but with proper or careful management in its culture it attains the height of a moderately tall shrub or small tree. In its native soil this tree produces abundant flowers, which continue to bloom for three months or longer, at a time, too (April and May), when very few trees or shrubs are in bloom, forming one of the grandest floral ornaments of the shrubbery. Its leaflets, from flve to seven in number, are of an oval-obovate form, and vel- vety-canescent beneath, supported on long, slender peti- oles, gracefully disposed. Combined with the feathery 136 TEEES AUD TEEE-PLAUTING. lightness of the racemes of its flowers, they give the plant a showy and elegant appearance. This shrub is in- digenous to the southeastern parts of the United States, where it is usually found growing on the bants of streams or rivulets. It may be propagated either from layers or seed. "When its nuts are used in the raising they should be sown immediately after gathering. A small fruit is produced by this plant which may be eaten either boiled or roasted, like the chestnut of Europe. CHAPTEE XXXI. THE TUPELO. The Tupelo, Black Gum, or Pepperidge. — Its Variety and Allied Char- acteristics. — Their Floral Fi-agrance. — How Kaised, Size, and Eange of Growth. — Texture of its Wood and for What Esteemed. — Its Two- fold Property. — Its Variety of Name. — Description of its Berries and their Sustaining Usefulness. — Its Attainable Height and Places Favorable to its Growth. — Its Uses in Virginia. — The Wild Lime- tree. — Its Resemblance to the Black Gum-tree, and Exception. — Description and Uses of its Wood. — Buoyant Property of its Roots. — The Esteemed Delicacy of its Fruit. — Its Height and Size. TUPELO, BLACK GTTM, OR PEPPEEIDGE. The tupelos are deciduous trees of North America, with characteristics so nearly allied that I have called them only two distinct varieties. They produce an agreeable, fragrant flower early in the spring, and are well described and beautifully expressed by Cowper : "'Though leafless, well atflred, and thick beset With blushing wreathes, investing every spray." This tree is middle-sized, and is found from Massachu- setts to Illinois, and from thence south to the Gulf of Mexico. It is raised from seed generally, but the first year the seed does not vegetate. Its grain is so inter- woven that I am afraid even the patience of Job, famed in Biblical history, would give way under such a task, and he would fall from grace, or, in other words, he would swear, ha-d he been compelled to cut some of the black gum. It is held in high estimation as wagon-hubs, rollers, and cyhnders ; it is also fit for turning-work, and, to my notion, would make first-class ornamental work, as 6* 138 TEEES AND TEEE-PL ANTING. the glue-pot would not have to come into requisition so often to glue together some of the parts in our furniture. It is very hard, to transplant unless removed wholly or carefully root-pruned in the nursery. This tree has quite a variety of names ; some of them are as f oUows : Gum-tree, yellow gum-tree, sour gum-tree, pepperidge- tree, wild pear-tree, etc. The berries of this tree are small, blue -colored, and afford myriads of robins their daily sustenance. It sometimes attains a height of fifty or sixty feet, and is found only in moist or damp places. It is used in Yirginia to make mauls, and in ship-building. THE WILD LIME-TEEE. This tree closely resembles its brother, the black gum- tree, except in its fruit, which is larger, its wood softer, and it has a stone that is deeply grooved on both sides ; its fruit is intensely acrid. It attains a height of seventy or eighty feet, with a diameter of four or five feet at the surface of the earth, and at about six or seven feet a diameter of thirty to forty inches. "When the leaves first unfold themselves in the spring they are downy, but as they gradually spread out they become smooth on both sides. The wood is extremely white and rea- sonably soft when unseasoned, but very light and hard when dry ; and, as it possesses the same beautiful grain as the other members of this species, it is made into bowls, platters, trays, etc. The roots when seasoned are so light that they take the place of cork, and are much used by the fishermen to buoy up their nets. Its fruit is esteemed a delicacy, and is sold under the name of the Ogeechee lime, for the purpose of preserving in sugar, which, when properly prepared, is said to possess a most delicate and delicious flavor. CHAPTEE XXXII. THE JUNEBERRT. Its Noticeable Beauty. — Its Attainable Height. — Its Floral and Fruit Productiveness. — Its Foliage Described. — The Non-distinctive Dif- ference of European and American Varieties. — Its Range of Growth. — Soil and Situation Suitable to its Thrift. — Use of its Fruit. — The Papaw. — Its Stunted Growth.— Its Floral and Fruit-bearing Properties. — Its Limited Latitude of Growth. — Properties of its Wood and Fruit. This tree is only worthy of notice on account of its beauty. It reaches the height of thirty or forty feet ; its flowers are white and are produced in long panicles ; its leaves are from two to three inches m length, of a beau- tiful oval shape, and smooth on both sides. The fruit is about one eighth of an inch in diameter, red in an im- mature state, and of a dark purple when fuUy ripe, and is covered with a bloom. Of this fruit the largest tree rarely yields more than half a pound. It greatly troubles most people to distinguish the European and American varieties from each other, as they have so many points in common ; so much so, that many people class them to- gether and make no distinction whatever. The June- berry, with the exception of the maritime parts of the United States, is spread all over the northern half of the ■Western. Continent, from Georgia to Hudson's Bay. It multiplies very rapidly on the fertile banks of streams and in swampy ground, although it sometimes occurs in dry, rocky places, but then is never of vigorous growth and is rather sickly. Its fruit is used for food in North America. THE PAPAW. The papaw is commonly only a large shrub, but by ex- 140 TEEES AND TREE-PLANTING. traordinary effort it sometimes reaches the height of twen- ty or twenty-five feet, with a diameter of eight inches. It bears a purple flower of great beauty, with an oblong fruit with an egg-custard consistency and taste. It is most too rich for most people. The trunk of the tree is covered with a silver-gray bark, which is finely poHshed and very smooth. It has not been observed north of the Schuylkill Kiver, Pennsylvania ; it is a sure indication of the richness of the soil. It seldom produces shoots of more than five or six inches in length, hence a plant in ten years does not reach above three or four feet in height. Portions of the wood have a rank and foetid smeU. The fruit is eaten by few people except negroes ; a spiritu- ous hquor has been made from it, but it is of little worth, and has a very deleterious effect upon those who are in the habit of using it. CHAPTEE XXXIII. THE CATALPA. Its Scattered Range, Height, and Growth. — Its Flower and Foliage Described. — Occurrence of its Bud and Fall of Leaf. — Its Climate and Thrift. — Its Self-propagating Properties.— Durability and other Properties of its Wood.— Its Seed Described. — Manner of Culture. — A New-England Specimen Described. — The Medicinal Properties of its Bark. — The Poisonous and Medicinal Property of its Flower. — Its Annual Beautifying Productiveness. This tree, which grows to the height of seventy or eighty feet, and has a diameter of from two to three feet, is found scattered from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It has a very beautiful flower, and large heavy foliage which renders the tree liable to be broken by heavy winds. The leaves are late in appearing in spring, and fall as soon as the first frost comes. The catalpa flour- ishes where the winters are not too severe, the young trees springing up and thriving from the seed dropped by the old trees. The wood is very much Mke the butternut, but withstands the weather better, and takes a very high polish ; in some sections the catalpa is worked up into posts, and has been found very lasting and not very sen- sitive to change of weather. The seeds are contained in a long, slender, round pod ; they are folded in a thin, membranous wing, and are flat and very narrow. If planted in the spring and covered lightly they vegetate very easily, and the young shoots transplant readily. Its bark is of a silvery-gray color, and but lightly fur- rowed ; the leaves are heart-shaped ; the flowers white, and marked with yellow and purple spots. In favorable 142 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. seasons they are succeeded by capsules, or seed -pods, which closely resemble those of the common cabbage, but on a larger scale. The first tree of this species planted in New England stands in front of the late residence of Mayor Babcock, in Washington Street, Hartford, in the State of Con- necticut. It is of large size, and when in bloom is one mass of sweet-scented, beautiful flowers. It is over eighty years of age. The wood of the catalpa resembles that of the sjcstr more, but is susceptible of a much higher pohsh and has not the reddish tinge, being a grayish white. If the bark be bruised in the spring a very venomous odor is exhaled. In a thesis at the Jefferson Medical CoUege of Phila- delphia, the bark of this tree was maintained to be a tonic, and more powerfully antiseptic than that of the Cinchona officinalis. It is a very good and sure antidote for the bites of snakes. The honey collected from the flowers is very poisonous, and produces effects closely allied to the effects of the honey collected from the yel- low jasmine. The flowers are also valuable as a rem- edy for asthma. It is usually grown from seed, but wiU readily grow from cuttings. The tree is of very rapid growth until it has reached the height of twenty feet, which it attains usually in about ten years. In free, rich soils the trees continue flowering every year, making a splendid ap- pearance, not only from the large size and lively color of the blossoms, but from the fine pale green of their leaves. CHAPTEK XXXIV. THE HACKBERRY. Its Attainable Height and Size. — Its Appearance and Cliaracteristics. — Description and Uses of its Wood. — Its Odorous Production. — Its Range of Growtli. — The Largest of its Species, Where Grow- ing. — How Propagated.— Its Enemies. — The Red-bud. — Its Stunted s Growth. — ^Its Floral and Seed Productiveness. — How Propagated, — Similarities of its Species, and Distinguishing Features. — Use of its Bark. — Culinary Usefulness of its Flower, Bud, and Pod. THE HACKBEEEr. This tree, whici; rises to the height of from eighty to ninety feet, with a diameter of eighteen to twenty-four inches, and a trunk straight and undivided for a great height, is supported on all sides by great roots that project two feet or more from the ground. The wood splits very easily, and is of a clear white color ; it can- not stand much exposure to the weather. It has been used for inside work, but has been found to warp and become so crooked that its use for that purpose has been discontinued. This is a fine tree, but cannot be safely recommended for cultivation for the sake of its timber, as it is only fit for making flat barrel-hoops. The bark of this tree is of a grayish color, and covered with as- perities which are scattered unevenly over the surface. The flowers, which appear in May, are a small white variety, with a very fine odor. The banks of the Dela- ware, just above the city of Trenton, New Jersey, may be considered as the northern limit of this tree : it is found in narrow stretches east of the AUeghanies, but west of them it exists profusely all over the broad val- leys and rich bottom-lands. The largest tree of this 144 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. species in the United States stood at Springfield, Mas- sacliusetts, and measured fourteen feet around the base. It is propagated best in layers, but great care should be taken to keep the hackberry moth from eating the leaves and the tender young plants. The moth is a brilliant insect, three and a half inches long, half an inch thick, of a beautiful apple-green color, marked in an artistic manner with white, and shaded with pink. THE EED-BUD. This is either a small tree or a large shrub, but usually the latter ; it reaches the height of from twelve to thirty feet. Its flowers are smaU and of a fine pink color; they cover the tree aU over, and present quite a beau- tiful appearance. The flowers are succeeded by a red berry, which contains the seed. The plant is easily propagated by simply sowing the seed in ground scraped over with a rake or a hoe. There is a great similarity between the red-bud of Europe and the red-bud of this country, but they are easily distinguished by the heart- shaped leaves of the American variety, and the less number of leaves and flowers. The bark of the young trees is used to dye wool of a nankin color. The French Canadians use the flowers in salads and pickles, and, from their agreeable acid taste, both the flowers and the buds may be fried in butter and eaten the same as the sihquastrum. The flower-buds and pods may be pickled in vinegar. OHAPTEE XXXV. THE FRINGE-TREE. Its Limited Height. — Its Native Range and Ornamental Value. — Its Floral Productiveness. — Its Variety of Name. — Its Classified Be- longings. — Its Medicinal and otlier Properties — Its Possible Perfect- nessby Grafting. — The Iron-Wood. — Where Belonging. — Height of Tree, Uses and Durability of its Wood. — Manner of Growth. — Its Disadvantages as a Timber Tree. THE FEINGE-TEEE. This tree only reaches from twenty to thirty feet in height, but bears flowers when only four or five feet high. It is native from Pennsylvania to the G-ulf of Mexico, but is quite hardy farther north. As an orna- mental tree it is a perfect success, but it does not remain in bloom for any period of time. It blossoms in June, and has beautiful purple, berry-hke flowers that grow in clusters ; its petals very much resemble fringe cut from white paper. It is known by various names ; among which are snowflower-tree, snowdrop-tree, broad-leaved Virginian snowflower-tree, narrow - leaved Virginian snowflower-tree, and seaside-inhabiting Virginian snow- flower-tree. This latter is a native of l^orth America, and grows in boggy woods by the seaside. The order to which this tree belongs embraces some trees and shrubs that are native to both hemispheres, and are for the most pai-t deciduous. Some are timber trees, some are medicinal, which in general are bitter ; one genus produces a valuable oil, and from others is pro- duced the sweet, purgative manna. As most of the trees of this order might be grafted on one another, it is prob- 7 146 TEBES AND TEEE-PLANTING. able that their flowers might be reciprocally fecundated, in which case some curious hybrids might ^be produced between the privet and the lilac, the privet and the olive, the lilac and the ash, etc. THE lEON-WOOD. This tree belongs to the northern portion of the United States and Canada. It grows to the height of from thirty to forty feet. The wood is very heavy, compact, and durable ; also exceedingly fine grained. It is used for beetles, mallets, wedges, cogs of mill-wheels, etc. It is of very slow growth, and on this account it is ineligi- ble for timber, though it is a great success as an orna- ment, having hght, slender, graceful branches, and a beautiful green foliage. Canes, umbreUa-handles, and fancy carved-work are sometimes made from the wood of this tree. It is by no means common, and hence is not so well known as a great many of its more fortunate but not so worthy brethren ; the only drawback to its culture as a timber-tree is its slowness of growth and small height. CHAPTEE XXXVI. THE BUTTONWOOD, ASPEN, AND POPLAR. The Buttonwood or Plane-tree. — Its Extensive Range and Abundant Growth. — Its General Appearance and Elevation. — Its Peculiar Dis- advantages. — Description of its Seed and Manner of Sowing. — The Aspen. — Its Numerous Species and Resemblances. — Value of its Wood. — Disagreeable Character of its Seed. — The American Aspen. — Where Found and Limited Height. — Description and Uses of its Wood. — Its Common Characteristics. — Large Aspen. — Its Advan- tages. — Uses and Properties of its Wood. — Downy-leaved Poplar. — Its Southern Nativity.— Attainable Height and Size. — Peculiari- ties of its Foliage. — Its Uselessness as Lumber. — The Balsam Pop- lar. — Where Found and its Uselessness. — The White Poplar. -^Its Ornamental Value. — Its other Advantages. — Its Superior Qualities and Chief Uses. — How Propagated and Attainable Height. This tree is common throughout the ISTorthem, Middle, and "Western States. It rises to a height of from one to three hundred feet, with a diameter of from two to eight feet. It is not valuable either as a timber tree or as an ornamental tree, on account of its being liable to warp and crack, and the rapidity with which it decays on ex- posure to the weather. As an ornamental tree it is often attacked by a pecuKar bhght which greatly disi3gures it ; i. e., the bark peels off in spots, leaving the tree with the appearance of a man with the smaU-pox, or a tree that has been partially burned with powder and the discol- ored bark has started to peel off. The seeds occur in balls, are covered with plumy tufts, and are about an inch in diameter. They may be sown when ripe, or kept until spring, soaked in water and then sown, or by cut- tings of the last year's wood. 148 TEEES AND TKEE-PLANTmG. THE ASPEN. There are many species of the aspen, most of which attain considerable size. Their foliage and wood great- ly resemble each other, and most of them are of very rapid growth, but are equalled if not excelled by far more valuable timber trees, and hence in this country are not valued so much for timber, because for the same labor we obtain a much better article. The seeds are covered with a cotton-Uke down, which becomes a great nuisance by being continually blown over everything, so that for shade, when planted near a house, the male tree should always be preferred. AMEEICAN ASPEN. This tree, which seldom exceeds the height of thirty or forty feet, is found in the British Provinces, and in the northern part of the United States. It has a soft, white wood with the grain very much interwoven, and is sometimes used in the manufacture of base-ball bats, as it win dent nearly through before breaking. It is a very short-hved tree. It has the common characteristics of the rest of its family, and should be propagated the same way. LAUGE ASPEN. This tree grows and is found in the same locality as the American aspen, but is much longer lived and a more valuable tree. It is sometimes sawed into square timber and used where it can be kept dry ; it has a great deal of spring and does not easily settle. This tree is cut into rails and the bark peeled off, otherwise it would rot and require renewal every three or four years ; if peeled they last from fifteen to twenty years. DOWNY-LEAVED POPLAE. This species is rather rare in the Forth, but is found from Tennessee southward. It grows to the height of THE POPLAE. 149 from eighty to ninety feet, with, a diameter of three feet. It has a downhke covering to its leaves in their first growth. It has no value as a lumber tree, as it will not stand the changes of weather, and is not used even where it is the most plentiful. THE BALSAM POPLAU. The balsam poplar is rare in the United States, but is common in British America. It is a large tree, but use- less either for timber or fuel. THE WHITE POPLAE. This tree is one of the most common throughout our country, and has been planted as an ornamental tree from time to time, but in a little while, instead of being a thing of beauty and a joy forever, it becomes a nui- sance, from the number of suckers it throws out. It is best for large cities, as it stands the smoke and dust better than most trees. It is the chief of its family, both for fineness, whiteness, and strength ; it is not hable to either split or warp, and affords a good firm hold to nails ; it is chiefly used for bowls, trays, etc. It reaches the height of from ninety to one hundred feet, with a diameter of six feet. It is propagated by suckers, slips, branches, etc. Its disposition to sucker would be no drawback in forest culture. CHAPTEE XXXVII. CHERRY-TREES. Wild Black Cherry.— Its Native Range.— Preferred Use of its Wood. — Its Ornamental Character. — Its Productiveness. — Manner of Preserving and Sowing its Seed. — The Wild Red Cherry. — Its Attainable Height and Size. — Its Qualities Contrasted with the Black Cherry. — Description and Qualities of its Wood. — Its Spon- taneous Growth.- Its Special Property. — The Wild Cherry.— Its Medicinal Properties. ■WILD BLACK CHEEET. This tree is found all over the United States east of the Eocky Mountains. I have not seen much of it in the neighborhood of Iowa and lUinois, although the soil is eminently well fitted for it, but this is partly explained by the great prairie fires that have ravaged these dis- tripts and have destroyed the cherry-trees, while trees of the oak. and hickory genus were not damaged, being much tougher and hardier. It was formerly much used in cabinet-work, and is preferred for many things to the black walnut. I have heard of some of the old houses of Virginia in which all the inside wood-work was made of cherry, and was fairly dark with age. A great many of the old fowling-pieces and pistols have highly pohshed cherry stocks that are not only things of beauty, but also good, serviceable weapons. The wood is not liable to warp, is of a light-red color, and darkens with age. It is a fine ornamental tree, but cannot be kept clear of caterpillars in open ground, becoming even more infest- ed with these pests than apple-trees are. It is never at- tacked by the caterpillar when growing in a grove or in forests. The timber is not of value until it has at- CHEEET-TEEES. 151 tained considerable size. The fruit ripens in August ; the seed should be thickly sown and the trees then thinned out, as they make excellent firewood. The seed should not be allowed to become dry, but be mixed with damp sand, and sown either in the fall or in the spring. WILD EED CHEEET. This tree grows to the height of from thirty to forty feet, with a diameter of from eight to twelve inches. It has aU the good points of the black cherry, but is much inferior in size. The wood is of a light-red color and not inferior to that of the preceding species for cabinet-work. The wild red cherry springs up spontaneously wherever the country has been ravaged by fire. It is the only native species of cherry on which the cultivated cherries will grow and succeed if grafted on. "Wnd-cherry bark is said to have a tonic and stimulat- ing infiuence on the digestive apparatus, and a simul- taneous sedative action on the nervous system and circu- lation. The fluid extract is used in aU cases where it is desirable to give tone and strength to the system with- out causing too great an action of the heart and strain on the blood-vessels. It has also been found useful in hectic fever, some forms of dyspepsia, and irritability of the nervous system. CHAPTEE XXXYIII. THE WILLOWS. The White Willow. — Its Ornamental Value and Elevated Growth. — Manner of Growth and Usefulness. — Its Supposed Worthlessness the Eesult of Fraud. — Description of its Wood. — The Brittle Wil- low. — Its Height, Growth, Karity, and Uses. — Weeping Willow. — Its Ornamental Advantages. — Places Favorable to its Growth. — Largest Specimens, Where Produced.— Grafting of the Kilmarnock and American Willow. — Shining Willow — Its Exceeding Orna- ment. — Its Growth on Careful Culture. — Its Favorite Places of Growth.— How Eecognized. — Peculiar Feature of its Leaves. THE WHITE WILLOW. This is a very ornamental tree, and rises to the height of eighty or ninety feet, with a diameter of from four to six feet. It is rapid of growth, and makes a good wind- break. Some sharpers, quite recently, praised the white willow up to be such an excellent hedge-plant, and cir- culated such extravagant stories of its beauties in that respect, that enormous quantities of shoots and cuttings were sold, and this fraud was carried to such an extent as to injure the reputation of the tree as a wind-break and for fuel. I, for one, however, can testify that in a short time, if grown thickly together, it forms an al- most impenetrable wind-break. The trees are not worth much for lumber on account of not being able to with- stand the changes of weather. The wood is white, soft, and light. It produces long, straight, lithe poles, which are sometimes used for fence-rails. Its most extensive use is in the production of charcoal for gunpowder ; it is also used for tanning purposes. THE WILLOWS. 153' THE BEITTLE WILLOW. This species grows to the height of ninety feet, and is rather rare in some sections of the country. It is used in the manufacture of baskets. A brother species, the Bedford willow, is the most valuable willow of the Brit- ish Isles. WEEPING WILLOW. This well-known tree is cultivated only for ornament, and is found principally on the shores of lakes, ponds, and streams. Long Island produces the largest trees of this family. The American and Kilmarnock willows are grafted on other species, several feet from the ground, as they do not rise to any height if grown from cut- tings. SHINING WILLOW. This is the most ornamental tree of all the willows. If carefully cultivated, it may reach the height of fifteen or twenty feet, but in its wild or native state it is much smaller. It is most frequently found among the moun- tains and along the streams of J^ew England, and is recognized by its leaves, which have the appearance of being varnished. It is never found west of ITew York. CHAPTEE XXXIX. THE SPRUCES. White Spruce. — Its Attainable Height and Size. — ^Its Northern Nativ- ity. — Principal Uses of its Wood. — The Oil Extracted from its Branches. — The Black Spruce. — Atmosphere Favorable to its De- velopment. — ^Its Wild Luxuriance. — Description of its Cones. — Man- ner of Securing its Seed. — The Ked and Blue Spruces. — Their Re- semblance to the White Spruce. — The Norway Spruce. — Its Height. — Peculiarities of its Growth. — Its Age of Maturity and Where Indig- enous. — Its Resinous Extract. — Uses of its Bark. — Importation of Young Trees to England and Uses to Which Put. — Durability of its Wood.— Effect of Soil on the Qualities of its Wood. — Its General Appearance and Persistent Growth. — Its Usefulness as Shelter. — Its Properties Preferable to those of the Black Spruce. — Manner of Saving and Sowing its Seed. — Hemlock Spruce. — Where Indige- nous. — Elevation Favorable to its Thrift. — Texture and Character- istics of its Wood. — Peculiarities of Grain. — Its Beautifying Charac- ter.— Its Value Compared with other Timber Trees.— Balsam Fir. — Its Nativity. — Its Height and Size. — Medicinal Properties and Or- namental Advantages. — Fraser's Fir. — Where Found and General Characteristics. WHITE SPEUCE. This tree sometimes attains the height of sixty feet, with a diameter of from fifteen to twenty inches. It is fomid from the northern portion of the United States to the Arctic Ocean, but is not quite so common as the black spruce in the United States and Canada. Its principal use is for the masts and spars of vessels, and also as a substitute for white pine in floors, rafters, and beams of buildings, as it is much tougher and does not warp or crack. Spruce-beer is manufactured from a con- centrated oil or essence that is extracted from the small branches. THE SPEUCES. 155 BLACK SPEUCE. The black spruce must have a cool, moist atmosphere in order to arrive at its f uU development, and thrives more luxuriantly in wilds congenial to its growth than under the most skilful culture. The cones are smaller and shorter than those of the white spruce, and are produced in great abundance ; they are ripe at the end of autumn, and should be immediately gathered and stored away, as the cones open and the seeds escape. BED AND BLUE SPEUCES. The red and blue spruces are closely analogous to the white spruce, and differ only in the production of the cones — the blue spruce producing cones when only three or four feet high. NOEWAT SPEUCE. The I^forway spruce reaches to the height of from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty feet. It is a beautiful, straight tree, with a diameter of from two to five feet. Michaux claims that it is one hundred years attaining its f uU growth. It is indigenous to the north- ern parts of Europe and Asia, but south is found only among the mountains. It is found farther north in Eu- rope and Asia than any other timber tree excepting the birch. The resin is the Burgundy pitch of commerce. The bark is used for tannery purposes, and trees are im- ported into England while only eight or ten- inches in diameter, where the lumber is used for fencing, roofs of buildings, and many other purposes. Its wood is very durable, more so than any of the spruce family excepting the larch. The wood of the Norway spruce varies ac- cording to the land upon which it is grown ; it is usu- ally very light and elastic. The timber that possesses these qualities in the smallest degree is usually raised on light, poor, sandy soil. To most artistic eyes the Nor- way spruce is not a thing of beauty, on account of its 156 TEEES AND TKEE-PLANTING. stiff, formal appearance, but, clothed in verdure and stand- ing in the middle of a lawn, it has a very pleasing eflfect. It is a splendid tree for shelter-belts, and has been rec- ommended again and again for this purpose. It is per- fectly hardy, is rapid and vigorous of growth, and trans- plants very readily. It is of perfectly persistent growth, and will push its branches over any obstacle until it has attained its full development. The Norway spruce is much preferred to the black spruce, but for what rear son I do not know, as they both have the same qualities, unless it be that the Norway varieties are of much faster growth. The seeds ripen about the first of November, and the cones, in order to obtain the seed, must be dried in the sun or kiln-baked, and then the seed will very readily drop out. In planting, the seeds should be set about four feet apart, and the young trees carefully tended until they have reached the height of from three to four feet ; then transplant, and place in their proper positions ; or the alternate rows may be thinned out, and willows planted in their places. HEMLOCK SPEUCE. This tree is found as far north as Hudson's Bay, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It thrives best in cold places, and is found near the top and on the slopes of some of our highest mountain-ranges. It is of a coarse texture and not very durable, but is much more service- able than the white pine, as it is stronger and gives a better hold to nails, screws, etc. As its cost of manu- facture and transportation is as great as that of white pine, and its market value less, it is not likely to be much used while pine is abundant. There is one peculiarity about the grain of the hem- lock, and that is, in ascending three or four feet it makes a complete turn round the tree, just the same as the rifling of a gun-barrel. It is one of the most beautiful of the evergreen trees, and is cultivated on that account. It is much used for THE FIE. 157 the studding of houses, in-door work, or work of any description that is kept from exposure to the weather. The only way to transplant it successfully is to keep it two or three years in the nursery and tend it care- fully. I do not recommend the hemlock for cultiva- tion, as there are so many more valuable and better timber trees ; for instance, the white, Scotch, and red pines. BALSAM FIE. This is a native of the coldest portions of the continent. It rises to a height of forty feet, with a diameter of from fifteen to eighteen inches ; it tapers very rapidly from the base up ; the wood is white, soft, and of no strength ; the resin is deposited in clumps and blisters on the trunk and branches, and is used for medicinal purposes. It is passable as an ornamental tree, but soon becomes old and decrepit and loses its branches and leaves. feasee's fie. This is a variety that is found from the New England States southward. It has the general characteristics of the rest of its species, but is not so hardy. It has smaller leaves, and more numerous and smaller cones. CHAPTEE XL. THE DECIDUOUS CYPRESS. Its Ornamental Character, Southern Home, and Dispersed Growth. — Soil Suited to its Growth, and Attainahle Height. — Peculiarities of its Growth. — Its Associate Tree. — Description and Properties of its Wood. — Its Usefulness and Indifference to Climatic Influences. — White and Black Cypresses. — Value of the Cypress. — Its Seed. — Manner of Sowing and Cultivating. This ornamental tree properly belongs to the Southern States, but is found scattered aU over the eastern and extreme western sections of our country, also in the more fertile parts of the Mississippi valley. It grows in swamps or wet, moist soil, and reaches to the height of one hundred and thirty feet, and is destitute of branches for a great portion of its height, with a shghtly flattened top. In the bayous of Mississippi and Louisiana we find the cypress and the tupelo growing in about four feet of water, with trunks so thickly interlaced that it is im- possible to swing an axe with any kind of effect among them ; the water from these bayous is the color of brandy, from the roots of the cypress. The wood is hghter and less resinous than that of the pines, is much finer grained and more elastic, and when first cut it is white, but on ex- posure to the air turns of a light, reddish color ; it also stands the changes of climate very well, and wet or dry weather does not seem to affect it in the slightest degree. It is used for posts, shingles, hogsheads, casks, etc. ; many of these articles lasting a lifetime. The cypresses that grow surrounded by water are called white cypresses, and those that grow in dryer land are called black cypresses. The cypress, if carefuUy cultivated, would be of inesti- THE DECIDUOUS CTPEESS. 159 mable value. It will grow as far north as St. Louis. As an ornamental tree, it is much, esteemed on account of its light, graceful foliage. It is very easy to raise either from the seed or from slips. If raised from seed the young plants should be kept covered and shielded from the sun. Transplant the cypress while smaU, as the tap- root strikes very deep wherever the soil wiU permit it. To obtain the seed, store the cones in a dry place and raise the seed that falls from the cone only ; those that remain in the cone rarely, if ever, germinate. CHAPTER XLI. THE AMERICAN ARBOR- VIT^. Its Northern Home.— Its Favorite Soil.— Its Attainable Height and Size.— Uses and Properties of its Wood.— Its Ornamental Advan- tages.— Manner of Planting Explained.— Its Varieties. — Important Varieties. — Its Medicinal Properties. This tree is quite common in the northern section of the United States and the Dominion of Canada, but is only found in the more southern portions of the coun- try as a green-house tree, and then only in a very puny, sickly state. It grows best in swamps, on the rocky banks of streams, borders of rivers, ponds, etc. It usually reach- es to the height of from fifty to sixty feet, with a diam- eter of from eighteen to twenty inches. In the neigh- borhood of the Great Lakes it is called the white cedar, but the name arbor-vitse being more appropriate, I pre- fer to use it. The wood of this tree is light, soft, and very elastic, and withstands the changes of weather for a great number of years ; it is frequently used for posts, rails, telegraph-poles, etc., many of which have been known to last for from sixty to seventy years. It is a very ornamental hedge-tree, and bears training and prun- ing to any extent, so much so that trees that have been trained and pruned with compact foUage keep a much more ornamental appearance than those of more open foliage. For hedge-planting, plant the trees eighteen or twenty inches apart in single rows ; for a wind-break plant from thirty to forty inches apart in a double row, and plant in such a way that the trees of the back row fill the spaces between the trees of the front row. Al- THE AMERICAN AEBOE-VIT^. 161 though eminently a swamp tree, it grows well on most any free, cool, fertile soil, except stiff clays. When planted for timber it should be planted close together. It thrives from layers or cuttings. It produces a va- riety of trees by cultivation from seed, some of which are very beautiful, among which are some with silver-tipped leaves, others of a golden hue, and some dwarfed varie- ties, so that there is a wide field for experiment among cultivators. The following are some of the most im- portant varieties: Siberian arbor-vitse, a tree of very slow growth ; gigantic arbor-vitge, an immense tree found in Oregon ; Nee's arbor- vitjE, a very hardy variety found on the Pacific coast ; Chinese arbor-vitse, of value only as an ornamental tree, and Japanese arbor- vitse, a very ornamental tree, much more so than the American va- riety, as it has beautiful, light, graceful branches and foliage. Regarding the medicinal properties of this tree — Thuja ocoidentalis — a fluid extract of its leaves, pre- pared by Parke Davis & Co., has given excellent results in the treatment of malarial diseases, and the saturated tincture may be given for pulmonary hemorrhage, and also applied to cancerous ulcerations, warts, etc. A salve made with the leaves used to be a remedy employed by the Indians for the rehef of rheumatism, and a poultice of the leaves made with milk has been highly spoken of for the same purpose. By distillation the leaves yield a yellowish-green volatile oil, which has been used as a vermicide, and the distilled water has been praised as a remedy for dropsy. Thus far Thuja appears to have been employed em- pirically only, but it would seem, on reviewing the affec- tions in which it has been of service, that its action may become very useful to the practitioner in the treatment of malignant diseases, especially in diminishing tenden- cies to bleeding, reheving the violence of pain, and caus- ing contraction of unstripped muscular fibres. 7* CHAPTEE XLII. THE YEW. The English Yew. — Its Foreign Origin. — Its Famed Longevity. — Its Symbolic Uses. — The Immensity of its Foliage.— Properties and Uses of its Wood. — Its Latitude of Thrift. — American Yew, or Ground Hemlock. — Its Stunted Growth, and Semi-evergreen Prop- erties. — Effect of Cultivation on its Growth. — Its Artistic Advan- THE ENGLISH TEW. This tree does not properly belong to this country, as it is a native of England, Europe, and Asia. It is famous on account of its length of life, there being many of the yews that are over a thousand years of age. From time immemorial it has been planted as a symbol of grief, in churchyards, most probably on account of its dark, beau- tiful foliage ; some of these trees reach an immense size, not so much in girth, but in the spread of their branches and the thickness of the foliage. The wood is very strong, fine grained, elastic, and unexcelled for durabil- ity. The yew succeeds much farther north in Europe than it does in this country ; its cultivation being very unsatisfactory in this country as far north as Philadel- phia. It should be planted in a shaded situation and carefully tended, and then perhaps it may amount to something, but even this is doubtful. THE AMEEICAN TEW, OE GEOtTND HEMLOCK. This variety always grows in evergreen woods, and is always a straggling, prostrate shrub. Bryant says : " I have seen it in the cold, dark, evergreen forests of New England, the prostrate stem extending ten or fif- THE TEW. 163 teen feet, buried or rooted in the leaves and mould, and throwing up, at intervals of one and two feet, branches from two to four, and even five feet in height. In such situations it retains the dark green of its foliage un- changed through the winter. It bears cultivation well, and is much improved by it, as it grows to a much larger size. "When it is thickly shaded the fohage becomes rusty during the winter, but ordinarily it is of a beau- tiful dark green, and may be trained by pruning into any desired shape. CHAPTEE XLIII. THE BOX-TKEE AND HOLLY. The Box-tree. — Its Foreign Origin. — Its Western Attainments. — Its Usual Height. — QuaUty, Property, and Uses of its Wood. — Adapta- bility of its Foliage to Fantastic Designings. — How Propagated. — Winter Preservation of the Dwarf Species. — The Holly. — Its Va- rieties. — The American Variety Considered. — ^Its Range of Growth and Favorite Soil. — Its Ornamental Perfection. THE BOX-TEEE. This tree, although a native of Europe and Asia, may truly be said to be cosmopolitan. It reaches its great- est height in this country in Philadelphia. "Who has not seen it used as an edging or border for walks, and admired the rich, dark, chrome-green of its leaves ? It usually reaches to the height of from thirty to forty feet, with a very heavy wood — ^in fact, so heavy that it will sink in water — and so closely and finely grained that it is used for the finest kind of mathematical- instrument work, and for the finest kinds of carving. In some of the finest European gardens the bos-tree was formerly pruned into fanciful figures, and, on account of the thickness of its foliage, was especially adapted to this kind of work. The box is best propagated from cuttings from six to eight inches long, which readily root if put in early in the fall in a frame of sand^'^ soil ; transplant to per- manent position in the spring. The dwarf species of the box, used for edging walks, should be carefully covered with snow, or some other covering that should remain aU winter, care being taken not to smother it. THE HOLLY. 165 THE HOLLY. There are two varieties of this tree, the American and the European holly. The American holly is found from Maine to Texas, and from Montana on the north to JS'ew Mexico on the south ; it grows to the height of from sixty to seventy feet, but in the New England States it is only a stragghng shrub. It thrives best in deep, rich loam ; it will grow in dry, sandy soil, but not in cold, wet lands, or stiff clay. The wood of the holly is very ornamental — white, hard, and fine grained — and is esteemed for turning and fancy-work, where that of the box or any other tree of the same character can be used. It is nowhere abundant, and is of very slow growth, but wherever it can be suitably grown it merits more attention than has yet been bestowed on it. It makes a very useful and ornamental tree. CHAPTEE XLIV. THE LAUREL. The American Laurel. — Density of its Growth.— Its Resemblance to the Box. — A Name Derived from its Uses. — Description and Prop- erties of its Wood.— Soil and Climate of Thrift.— Its Seed and Flow- er Described.— Care Necessary to its Baising. — Sheep Laurel. — A Contrasted Difference. — Properties of its Leaves. — The Great Lau- rel. — Region of its Abundance. — Climate and Situation Congenial to its Growth. — Its Attained Height.— Its Floral Productiveness. — The Rose Bay. — Its Elevated Home. — Its Diminutive Height. — Its Beautifying Advantages. — Soil Unfavorable to its Thrift. — The Carolina Laurel Described and Qualified. THE AMERICAN LAUEEL. This shrub grows in such thick and unwieldy masses that it is almost impenetrable, as its thick, unyielding branches interlock with each other; it reaches some- times to the height of eight or ten feet, and some claim that in the Southern States it reaches even higher, but this I cannot vouch for, as I have never seen it. Torrey claims that it attains the height of twenty feet in the Catskill Mountains, and Bryant speaks of laurel that was fifteen feet high and had a diameter of three inches. The laurel very closely resembles the box, more so than any other of the American trees, and in fact it is well fitted to supply its place. It is often called spoon- wood by the backwoods settlers, as they manufacture a great many of their rude kitchen utensils from it ; it is hard, close grained, and takes a fine pohsh. It will survive in most any soil except limestone clays, and thrives best with a slight northern exposure, its leaves being more brilliant and thicker than Avhen exposed to THE LAUEEL. 167 the southern sun. It will not bear transplanting, espe- cially if of any size. The seed is small and requires the greatest skill to raise plants from it. The tree has flowers of a red color. SHEEP LAUEEL. This laurel has smaller leaves and flowers of a deeper red than the American laurel, and continues a longer time in bloom. This also goes by the name of sheep- kiU, as a great many sheep die from the effects of eat- ing its leaves ; but Bryant explains this, and probably he is right, by saying that it is more from the indigesti- ble nature of the leaves than from any poison contained in them. THE GEEAT LAUEEL. This species is found in New England, but much more abundantly farther south ; cool, moist, deeply shaded sit- uations are most congenial to its growth. It is found mostly along mountain torrents, and in these favorable situations reaches the height of twenty -five or thirty feet ; it bears a rose-colored flower with yellow dots on the inside, but sometimes the flowers are a pure white, with very thick leaves that are from four to ten inches long. Although a native of the Northern States, this tree is not cultivated as much as the rose bay. THE EOSE BAT. This tree is a native of the highest summits of the AUeghanies, and is found scattered aU along the moun- tainous region from the Catskills to the lowest edges of the Blue and AUeghany ridges. It is much smaller than the great laurel, as it seldom reaches the height of six feet, and is always cultivated for its beauty ; it does not thrive in soils impregnated with lime ; in transplanting, place in a bed of swamp-muck and rotten Avood. 168 TEEES AND TEEE-PLANTING. THE CAROLINA LAUREL. This species of laurel is indigenous to the Southern States, and is found in abundance in the maritime dis- tricts of Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana. It is an associate of the water oak and red maple, and attains its most vigorous growth the more southern is its field of propagation. It requires a cool and humid soil as an essential to its thrift, and is often found in swamps. Its wood is rose -colored, strong, and durable, with a fine, compact grain. Being susceptible of a brilliant poHsh, its wood is highly valued for the manufacture of furniture requiring a high degree of beauty, and might be substituted for mahogany. Its leaves, which are about six inches long, oval-acuminate, and glaucous on the under surface, diffuse a strong odor, and may be used in cookery. This tree is of elevated growth, sometimes attaining to a height of from sixty to ninety feet. It flowers in May. The female flowers occur in loose bunches, while those of the male occur in long clusters from the axils of the leaves. The varieties of this tree differ distinctly in their characteristics according to the latitude in which they grow. They may be propagated from seed, cut- tings, or layers. CHAPTEE XLY. TIMBER TREES. List of the most Valuable Timber Trees in the United States, and their Suitable Climate. — Coniferous Trees. — Number of Seeds to the Pound of Each Species. The following is a list of the most valuable timber trees in the United States, viz. : 1. White Oak. 11. Pignut Hickory. 2. Bur Oak. 13. Linden, or Basswood. 3. Sugar Maple. 13. Tulip-tree. 4. White Ash. 14. European Larch. 5. Blue Ash. 15. Norway Spruce. 6. Red Ash. 16. White Pine. 7. Black Walnut. 17. Scotch Pine. 8. Butternut. 18. Red Pine. 9. Chestnut. 19. Corsican Pine. 10. Shellbark Hickory. 20. Catalpa. Of this list, Nos. 5, 6, 13, 19, and 20 are best suited to the climate of the southern half of the territory for which this work is designed. Nos. 1 and 9 would prob- ably not succeed in the most northern half of the United States, while Nos. 4, 12, 16, 17, and 18 would be of doubt- ful value near the southern limit. I am mdebted to Mr. Bryant's extremely useful work on trees for the foregoing list, which I think will be invaluable to tree-growers, and I would also like to thank Mr. Douglass for the follow- ing list, or rather table, of the number of seeds in a pound of each of the following twenty species of conif- erous trees : 8 170 TEEES A: