Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-12-30
Agricultural.


uOn OF tne TOTAL area OF tho territories That
have been in progress Of settlement for the
last forty years is wood or timber land.
There was an obstacle that our ancestors had
to remove before this state became habitable
that would have been of great value distribut-
ed on the prairies of the West. The early
settlers of Vermont found an almost unbrok-
en- forest extending from Massachusetts, TO
Canada the only interruptions to its contin-
uity were an occasional natural meadow Of a
few acres, or the bare rocky summit of a
mountain peak all the rest was covered with
dense forest in full maturity-the growth of
centuries.
Except TO supply limited home demand,
for which a few of the best timber trees in
the most convenient situations were natural
ly selected the heavily wooded forest was Of
no value to the early settlers, but rather an
incumbrahce to be levelled with the axe and
removed with fire. Could we have now an
uncleared half of every farm with the growth
of heavy timber still standing upon II as 1t
stood before the axe had mutilated it, the val
ne of the timber alone would in most cases
be much greater than the present value of
tho entire farm. We can form some idea Of
what the original forest might have been by
the remains of pine stumps, which, resisting
the decay that has obliterated all traces of
other species, are still found of enormous
size. Within mile of the place where we
are writing, several of these relics of old
growth pines nearly five feet in diameter,
may be seen, and larger ones are not uncom-
mon.
We once measured an old growth spruce
that was eleven feet in circumference five
feet above the ground. Its age was estimated
at aboV two hundred years. red oak, re-
Gently cut, was three feet and four inches in
diameter across the stump, and was found by
counting the rings made by the annual growth
to be only eighty years old. The age of a
hemlock with trunk three feet in diameter,
standing near the oak and cut at the same
time was found to be about 145 years, as in
dictated by the number of rings. Another
oak having fine, straight body which was
two feet in diameter twenty feet above the
ground, had been growing about the same
length of time as the other or about so
years. From these observations it appears
that the red oak, under favorable circum-
stances, will grow into valuable timber tree
twenty inches or more in diameter in about
forty years. and that it reaches its best con-
dition and greatest value for lumber in some.
thing less than a century from the acorn. The
oak is exceeded in rapidity of growth by some
other kinds of timber, but the hemlock and
spruce are of slower growth. 1t may be taken
to be an average tree in the time it takes to
reach maturity.
Any facts in relation to the time required
for the growth Of the various kinds of valua-
BILE timber trees should be of interest to the
readers of the PHOENIX, when it is considered
that in many of the towns of Windham coun-
ty there are thousands of acres on the noun
tains andrough hillsides, which having been in
pasturage for half century or more, are now
reverting to their original forest condition.
The same is doubtless true of a large number
of farming towns throughout New England.
In this county, the young growth of trees
that is encroaching on the old pastures is
most noticeable in the range of towns just
east of the mountains extending from Wind
ham and Londonderry to Massachusetts line
In all these towns wood has been growing oil
the same time the quality of the timber ha,
deteriorated; or, rather, much of the bes
has been culled out and used. Pine, excep
in few localities, has been nearly exhausted
in this range, though it was once abundant, al
is evident from the fact that it was almos
the only material in the woodwork of the frs
frame bouses-those old fashioned, low
structures with the immense chimneys Of
stone and brick in the centre. Very few o
these old houses still remain in their origina
form. May some of these relics of our an
cestors be preserved; there will come a tim,
when these old houses, if allowed to star,
and only kept from decay, will be priced iol
the associations which they recall.
While these old houses were built of pine
for the last fifty years spruce has been tn
principal building timber used in these towns
and the best quality of spruce is in turn be
coming scarce and so of the best qualitie
of other timber. The lumbermeH are contin
ually searching the woodlots and selecting tn
best trees, and, consequently, the best quail
ty of timber is used faster than it is supplied
by the new growth, though there is NOR
land in wood in most of the towns of thi
county than there was forty years ago. 1t i
doubtful if rough, mountainous, unproduc
tive or exhausted land can be put to any bet
ter use than to allow it to grow up again +
forest. However poor land may be, if it wi
grow wood and timber trees, it has at least
prospective value. If the present owne
realizes nothing from it, it may be a good in
heritance for his children. As the countr
becomes more populous, the demand for lun
Der will increase while the supply will dimin
ish. An acre of poor land, if covered wit
choice tmber-growing trees, may in time be
come more valuable than the best of land 70
the ordinary purposes of tillage.
Where second growth of wood has SUI
ceeded an exhausted field or pasture, if tn
land is again cleared and burnt over, its pre-
ductiveness will be in a measure restored, b,
cause the trees have drawn up from the sui
soil the elements of fertility and deposite
them near the surface, where they becon
available for grass or cultivated plants, an
because the leaves, twigs and branches thl
have accumulated and decayed beneath IL
trees have drawn something from the atmo
phere, in some way improving the soil. MUG
has been written about restoring the fertili
of exhausted pasture lands but at the presel
price of farming property here, it would har
ly pay to restore run-out pastures not till
bic, by applying fertilizers but they mig
be renovated by allowing them to grow up
brushwood and cutting and burning it on Il
land, though this would not be advisable,
many cases, till the young trees had grow
large enough for wood or timber.
Packing Butter.
Mr.. Y. A. Willard, in the report of the We
mont Dairymen's Association, has this to 81
in regard to the proper packing of butter
'Butter. TO keen well for any considernL