Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-06-14
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
FORESTRY.
What to Plant So ~ to Got Trees Quickly.

What to Plant So ~ to Got Trees Quickly.
the Agricultural society by +. 4. Diffenderner
which had been written and sent in by Cas-.
per Hiller> esq, who was unable to be PRESENT.
The question of forest planting has of
late years become a very prominent one in
many sections of our country, and it has
even in our own agricultural county be-
come subject Of discussion. The general
opinion here, however. is that our land is
too high in price and too valuable for gen
cral farming purposes to plant or retain in
forests. This to \ great extent is true.
But there arc many acres in our county
that cannot profitably be cultivated to
farm crops, owing to the ruggedness and
steepness of the land. These steep hill
sides, owing to the wash from heavy rains.
inconvenience of manuring, ETC., yearly
become poorer. If these hilIsides would
have had their mature timber cut out as
needed, the balance taken care of and tho
bare places replanted, they would be the
most valuable part Of the farm. Hundreds
of acres along the COncstOga and Pequea,
and at other places, are to-day not worth
tho taxes which their owners have to pay
yearly OH them. Even now, if they were
planted to the right kind Of trees, they
would in the lifetime of many of the own
ers become as valuable as the farm land.
But il it should take many more years to
become available, it is still the duty Of
every owner of these worthless hillsides to
plant trees for valuable heritage to his
children and children's children. We
toll and hoard to the end of our days, for
what That VIC may have q competency
for our old age. Rather that we can put
our children in good pecuniary circum-
stances. Ii it were not for our great rail-
road facilities, wo would already feel that
our extravaganza and recklessness with
our timbers l,0e brought us merited pun
ishmcnt. The distance of carrying our
building lumber is yearly increasing, and
a generation hence the freight alone will
so advance the prices that those timbcred
hillsides will be treasure to their owners.
Artificial forest growing is by no means
cl,imcrical. Thousands of acres in the
old country arc planted forests. The bare
hills Of Scotland have in less than one
hundred years been clothed with timber
that have increased their value thousand
fold. Land that was worth only few
shillings has in period of sixty years pro-
duced timber which realized over $1,000
per acre. Thousands of acres have been
pItsiItei w III IuC VvCSts StIA lush y
more are planted annually. In Virginia,
the Landreths, of Philadelphia, have been
planting thousands of acres of its wOrnOut
and abandoned. fields, which will in time
help to build up tho state, and make 1t
one of the most desirable in the Union.
They commenced planting in 1872, and
have planted trees by the million. Last
year planting was about as follows : zoo,
600 Catalpa 10000 Ailanthus G,OOO
Abies Douglasi 10000 each of white oak,
hickory and tulip.
Lancaster county has very little exper-
ience i'll forest growing. What few at
tempts made ut it were not especially
noted for success. Why? Mostly for
want of judgment in planting and want
of care afterwards. Example: A grove
was planted to yellow locust from six to
eight feet apart. These trees, after
thirty years, are not over four inches in
diameter and never will be very valuable.
| Trees planted in the same locality, well
cared for, and having room to spread, if
made into posts would realize "a a
piece. 1t is we'll enough to plant thickly
at first, but snch planting must in time be
.iudiciOusly thinned out until the right
mean bc attained. Less than one hundred
trees to the acre, in majority Of cases,
would be better than moro. The trees in
the following list We're. planted by the
writer. They were dug up in the forest
when five or six feet high.