The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-01-08

IL would be advisable to have 4 portion
of the ground quite moist mot wct) for
the cottonwood, white willow; elm, etc.
The batternut, black walnut, black ash,
etc., will do best on a very rich, moist
black soil, while the oak, maple, white
ash, European larch, etc., will do much
better on high, dry, undulating or roll
ing ground. Prepare this ground for
forest tree culture just as you would for
a premium corn crop of one hundred
bushels per acre. Lay it out in rows
four feet apart each way IS you would
for corn. Be sure to get the rows
straight. At the intersection Of the
rows plant the seed and the cuttings.
Keep the ground clean. This you can
do with horse and cultivator. If the
ground is new and clean very little hoe
ing will be required. The cost for cul.
tivating will be the same as for corn.
DO not cultivate too late in the season.
Late cultivation encourages q late
growth, which is likely to freeze off the
first winter. 1t is sometimes advisa.
bic just before the ground freezes in the
fall to go through with corn plow and
turn burrows against the rows of young
trees for protection. You are now
through for the first year. The next
spring repeat the same work with the
horse, cultivator and hoe. Keep it up
occasionally till harvest, and if you
have selected a new, clean piece of
ground, the cost and labor of raising
your own timber is nearly completed.
True, you will have some trimming,
perhaps some little replanting, but not
much, only little pleasant recreation
now and then.
After the second season, if you have
done your work well, the young trees
will be up large, strong, straight and
thrifty, shading the ground so that the
grass will not trouble them, and the an.
nual shedding of Their foliage will fur
nish a natural mulching which will rem
der further cultivation unnecessary.
"But," says somebody, ''this is crowd
ing them too thick; the Congressional
tree planting act only requires that
they be planted twelve feet apart each
way. We can break strip one or two
burrows wide every twelve feet and
plant in them, and break the interven.
ing strips and put it in other crops as
We can get around to it,
Now, Mr.. Editor, l have no p ,ticnce
with this sort of nonsense. You can't
raise timber in any such mongrel style.
You may succeed in raising few short
bodied, big.topped shade trees, but you
are not going to make railroad ties,
bridge timber, fencing, or much fire.
wood, by any such lop-eared, shift
less methods. If you intend to
or have any desire to grow timber
worth one hundred dollars an acre.
within ten years from date Of planting,
don't commence with row Of trees, a
row of potatoes, a row of corn, row of
beans, and then another row of trees.
If you must have succotash, don't mix
in forest trees, give it a separate patch.
If the succotash tree planters don t
lik my style, they are under no obliga-
tiors to follow it.
| To raise timber "what is timber" "
straight as gun barrel and forty feet
to the limbs, dense growth is indis-
pensible. After three or four years
you will find by planting four feet
apart each way, that this first indis'
pensible prerequisite condition Of sue
cess has been obtained, and that now
, you can begin to 'thin out" using
, your own common sense and judgment
1 in the gradual thinning out process
> leaving the straight, thrifty trees, and
= / %
/ promising into fence poles and fire
, wood. After five years, ten acres
\ properly managed will yield fence poles
, and fire wood t'tiN you can't rest. .
You will now find out you must hav'
roads through your timber. Chol
, them out.
In planting, stick row of white vii
: low or cottonwood, wherever you viii
j. need a wagon road. When large enough
: for fencing or fuel which will be il
= four or five years-chop this row dow
+ clean to the ground Don't be afrai
e of hurting it. 1t will sprout up an
grow the following season, and the fiftl
year will yield more than double tn
8 wood it did At the first chopping. @
/. course you must use your own naturs
It sense OF the fitness of things, in plan,
J ing and thinning. Trees like the whit
l. oak, ash, sugar maple, larch, and a
q others designed to stand 4 lifetime
3 should be allowed on the original ca
culation, plenty Of room for their fu
4. development, say twelve feet apart eac
81 way, which will give about three hu,
y dred full grown trees per acre.
'e course you will keep thinning out fro
IS time to time as these permanent tre
re become larger. The proceeds
<, this thinning out process wi
10 more than pay the entire cost Of IL
ei whole work, and At the end Of fl,
years leave ysu witha grove Of timb
worth not less than $3.50 per acr
n. which is just so much net profit. l a
"a bound to convince. the prairie farm
h. that he can raise = crop Of trees wi