The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-09-09
GOOD TREES TO RAISE,
Some Very Valuable Trees that are Gen
orally Neglected by Farmers.

CoAAAS very tGat are uen-
orally Neglected by Farmers.
During the past few years an enor-
NOUS number of trees have been planted
IN the prairie region of the west. Some
OF them have been good. some bad. and
some of comparative little value. They
have been planted for all sorts of pur-
poses, as for furnishing shade. supply
ing fuel, providing protection against
winds, adding shade, and producing
ornaments for the farm. \ few have
planted hickory, black walnut. butter
nut, and pecan trees for the purpose of
raising nuts, and many have planted
catalpa and other sorts of trees with
view of raising trees that could be work
ed up into fence-posts and railroad ties.
Occasionally an enthusiast has set out
plantations of trees designed for pro-
ducing saw-logs and dimension timber.
As rule, however, people have set out
forest trees for no special reason. They
had been accustomed to them in the
parts OF the country where they had
formerly lived and thought that their
farms looked bare without them. Gen
orally they planted the kinds of trees
that ''came most handy" that could be
raised from seed easily obtained or
propagated by cuttings. Many took the
trees that the nearest nurseryman
was best supplied with and which he
was willing to sell at very low prices.
Observation shows that cottonwood,
white maple, and catalpa trees have
the reasons that have been stated
Scarcely any farmer has planted oaks,
though there are many things in their
favor. Acorns are easily and cheaply
obtained, can be kept without difficulty,
while they germinate rapidly. An oak
tree is highly ornamental, affords good
shade, is hearty and long-lived. The
wood makes good fuel. The common
post oak is highly ornamental in all
stages of its growth The white oak
furnishes most excellent timber as well
as fuel. In England and Austria large
tracts of land are annually being plant
ed to oaks, the acorns being obtained
from this country. Large quantities of
acorns are collected in Missouri every
year and sent to Great Britain. In all
the states east of Lake Michigan the
beech tree is very plentiful, yet no at
tempt has been made to introduce it as
a timber or fuel producing tree in the
far western states and territories. 1t
has much to commend it. 1t is special
ly adapted to thin soils and to rocky
and hilly land. The seed is easily and
cheaply obtained, and it terminates al
most as readily as corn. Beech wood
ranks next to hickory and rock maple
as fuel. while it is more easy to cut and
split
One tree of very great value to farm
ers has wholly escaped the attention of
nulserymen and planters. 1t is the
hornbeam, iron-wood, lever-wood or
American ljgnatn1 Ujtde The wood is
very useful for making beetles, mallets,
mauls, and mortars, and for levers,
stakes, piles. 1t is the strongest wood
found in American forests. The variety
ordinarily found in the woods OF the
-, ,heastern states and Canada is call
ed the hOp-hOrnO beam because tIIU ouuuS
are in catkins that resemble a bunch of
hops, though they are smaller These
catkins ripen during August when
they should be collected and dried
in the shade till the seed can be rubbed
or thrashed out. Persons having friends
living where the hOrnbcam grows can
arrange with them for obtaining trees
for planting With little doubt this tree
would be the best of any that has been
used for supports for barbed fence-wire.
1t has almost as great strength as iron,
while it is not liable to be injured by
animals. The tree seldom grows more
than thirty feet high, and trunks are
rarely found which are more than a Soot
in Il "a, This +1nn yy-pr1l1 hn oft
tive in the west on account of its novel
ty, As it will stand large amount of
abuse, it can be planted on land where
animals daily tramp over the ground.
The common black alder, whose di-
minutive size hardly entities it to rank
with the trees, is after all worthy of at
tention. 1t succeeds best on land too
low and moist to be cultivated or even
to produce new good erase, and on the
borders of lakes, streams, and bays. 1t
can be propagated by seed, cuttings, or
entire plants. Once introduced on a
moist piece of ground it will continue
to grow without further care. As soon
as the small trunks are cut off the roots
will throw up sprouts to take their
places. Alder wood makes very excel
lent fuel for a stove, and furnishes the
best quality of charcoal. Large alders
| make good bean-poles. Those of me-
dunn size are useful as tishing-rods,
while the branches are valuable for pea
sticks. A bunch of alderS in field or
pasture is highly ornamental. The
European alder, which is not as much
inclined to grow in bush form as the
American variety, and which attains a
larger size, is now extensively planted
in parks and private grounds.