River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-11-12
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
Growing Timber.


The American Agrieulturist advises
land owners to grow the best kinds of
timber. 1t costs no mote than ordinary
fire-wood on most of our forest lands,
and it will bring three or four times
as much in the neighboring market.
The time has come when forest culture
should have the careful thought and
attention of every owner of wood
land within easy reach of a market.
We do not believe in the alarm that is
sounded in regard to the extinction OF
our woodlands, and famine OF
timber. In many parts of the country.
where coal has been introduced, the
price of wood for fuel is deprecated,
and forests are increasing without any
effort on the part of the owners, except
to keep cattle out of them. Forest
trees of twenty years growth or more,
wave over fields once devoted to now
ing and pasture. Old chimney stacks
and vacant cellars are obscured by the
rank growth of oaks, hiekories and
ohestnuts, and the underground OF
hazelnuts, and wild grapevines. A
large variety of trees flourish in these
forests, some of them exceedingly
valuable for timber, and others tit only
for fuel, and that of very poor quality
cfn in, nf
ment, is to help "the survival OF the
tittest," by suppressing the less
valuable varieties. 1t sometimes
happens that pitch-pine and white-pine
are rivals for the possession of the soil;
small trees intermingling over large
areas, and struggling for the mastery.
If the inferior pines are cut for tuel,
the white pine will soon take posses
sion Of the soil, and make a much
more rapid growth. Some woodlands
are mainly of chestnut, either seed
lings or sprouts after a clearing, with
an inferior growth Of birch, poplar, or
other firewoOd 1t viii pay to give
the chestnut the whole field. On other
soils, shell-bark hickory and sugar
naples take the lead, with a
minor growth of wood fit only for fuel.
The clearing out of the poorer sorts
will help the hickories and naples. A
second step in the Improvement will be
the thinsing out of desirable sort by
a gradual process. A dozen suckers or
more will sometimes start from the
stump of chestnut tre4. Some of them
will be dwarfed, and perish in the
struggle for the mastery. Others can
be protitably cut for poles, when TWEEN
ty feet high, leaving 0nlF three or four
to grow for railroad timer. There is
great advantage in thinning oaks,
hickories, and the more valuable sorts
of wood. The timber Increases in val
ne with the size. Another sort of i'm
provement is the planting Of seeds, and
in transplanting young trees upon
ground only partially stocked. The
nut-bearing trees, chestnut, hickory,
black-walnut and buttrnut, and the
oaks, are more readily grown from
the nut, than from nursery rows.
There is little difficultyin sprouting the
seed, if we follow the natural method
OF propagation. In any district whore
these trees are plenty, YOU will find the
young ones coming up along the walls
and fences. where the squirrels have
dropped the nuts in gathering their
winter stores. They have had a slight
covering of leaves and lea+mould, have
generally sprouted the frs; season, and
done well. The faiiures IRE generally
due to planting dry seed. Plant the
nuts soon after they are gathered, give
them an inch or two of covering, and
you will be successful. There are hand
books of forest culture that will give
one all the light that is needed to null
tiply these trees. Much of the work
in this kind of improvement can be
done in the winter. Fercing material
can be prepared for keeping cattle out
of the clearings. The poorer kinds Qf
wood can be cut anu marketed, TO make
room for the timber trees Lumber is
valuable crop now. and will increase
in the future.