The St. Cloud journal., 1875-05-13
TREE PLANTING.
Fro'" the Chicago Tribune.
WHAT TO PLANT.

''> "oA' "~AN 6A""o1, "hN III
timber you do,-keep the ground
well shaded. Plant 4 feet apart be-
tween the rows by six inches in the
rows, and cultivate as long as you can
get between the rows with a horse
when they crowd each other, cut out
| every other one, or the weakest, and
so on until you get the trees four
feet apart. Then take out every alter
nate row, and then, again every alter
nate tree in the remaining rows. Thus
you have your trees 8 feet apart
When you get your plantation so your
trees stand l6 feet apart, you will find
that you have cut a pile Of timber.
and have noble growth left, and,
better, one that has really cost you
nothing, but has given you as good
profit as any other labor on the farm.
Plant that much abused tree, the white
willow, if you can get it. 1t makes
fair rails and fair fuel. If not, plant
the black willow, native of the
West.
Cottonwood and willow will give
you good returns in from to u
years; the silver leaf, the ash leaf,
and the red maple, in from II to 20
years and other trees named will fol-
low in succession after. Ten acres in
every 100 plauted in timber will en-
able you to raise as large crops on the
remaining 80 acres as the 100 acres
would produce without the aid of
timber-if the planted timber be in
the shape of belts 3 rods wide. Plant
at least along the roadsides for begin
ming. Remember, the roots will feed
from the road, as we'll as the field adj
jacent.
HOW TO PLANT.
The first thing you want to know
is, if your trees have been properly
packed; that is, that the roots have
been kept moist, and from contact
with the air as much as possible We
have known an evergreen TO be killed
from exposure Of its roots to the sun
and wind for FIVE minutes; and yet,
if this had been avoided, there are no
trees easier to transplant, or more sure
to live. When you receive your trees
if the roots are dry, set the roots in
water for 10 or II, or even for ~
hours, and then cover them entirely
with fine, moist earth, until ready to
plant. Have the holes already pre-
pared for them before they are taken
from where you have heeled them in,
being sure that these holes are large
enough to receive them without
cramping the roots.
Have some friable earth, damp
but not wet, for putting about the
roots. Set the tree but little if any
deeper-perhaps an inch-than it
stood naturally. Spread the roots,
and pack the earth firmly about and
between them. When the tree will
stand alone, and the roots are COM
pletely covered, shovel in nearly all
the remaining earth, or enough to
fill the hole. Now, if the earth is
rather dry, pour on water enough to
saturate the earth, and when it has
completely dried away, shovel on the
remaining earth, and cover all with
3 or i inches Of earth. If the trees
are large, brace them with three
strands Of wire, wrapping these thick
ly with hay-bands where the wire is
fastened to the tree,-the other ends
Of the wire being fastened to the
stakes driven into the ground at a prop
er distance, so that the wire braces
will form an angle Of say, 40 degrees.
Thus you should lose but very few
trees. Remember, the intelligent su-
pervision of an intelligent man, who
can instruct himself by practical
reading, is better than that of igno-
rant pretenders. These are poison to
trees.
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE.
Ifyou intend planting trees 8 or
4 years hence, because you are not
ready now, it will pay you to buy
now, if you have any nursery-place
where the trees may be set and by
the time you want them, they will
not only be firmly rooted, but will
have grown into good trees. Besides,
such trees are more sure to live.
The transplanting is simple. All
you have to do is to plow one furrow
for small trees, and two turned apart,
for larger ones, and set them in these
furrows, l, 2, or s feet apart, &C.
cording to the size of the trees, the
rows to be 4 to Al feet according to
the size of the trees, or the length Of
time they are to stand. This will give
ample room for cultivation.
If a large lot of evergreens will be
wanted, you may buy. small 2 and 3
year olds, of such propagators as
Robert Douglass, who grow and sell
them yearly by the million. Two
and three year old evergreens may
be planted with dibble, in rows 2
feet apart by about 8 inches in the
rows. This, again, will allow of cul
tivation with small horse or mule.
But such plants had better be heavi-
ly mulched from the first, and per-
haps the second year, since the ground
occupied by 1000 to 5000 trees is but
small area. AS the trees increase in
size, and crowd each other, every 9TH
er one in the row may be removed,
i