The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-06-29

AGRICULTURAL EDITOR: Il was
much interested and pleased by the
request in your paper, a few weeks ago,
for information in regard to the notable
trees OF Vermont. Certainly, every
place, almost, must have trees that
have a well-known local reputation for
being curious, very large, or in some
way singular and interesting. Others,
doubtless, could be brought TO notice,
by little searching and labor, that may
now be nearly or quite unknown, for
this is the land of forests. That many
of the finest trees of Vermont have
been needlessly and often thoughtlessly
destroyed, goes without saying. No
work of Arbor day can restore those
grand old trees to the present genera
ton. 1t is customary to sharply attack
the money-desiring logmen for the
wanton destruction of forests, but this
is not fair. A tree that has got its
growth should be removed that others
may grow, unless it has some peculiar
value which entities it to the right to
live. Historical trees have this right,
and so have all trees that for any cause
are of worth to the owner or society,
for every one has right in such trees
which can not be ignored. / hope to
see many speak out and tell what they
know so well about the trees of Yer
mont. Many individual fruit trees are
worthy of a newspaper notice. There
is much variety in Vermont forests.
One part of the state is quite different
from some other part in this respect.
| remember with what boyish admra-
ton and wonder l first looked at some
enormous cedar trees in Orleans county.
They were as large as the hemlock trees
of Essex county, where mnch of the
cedar is small, and very liable to be
hollow-hearted if it attains much size.
But, you say, this article is entitled
Maple Trees" So it is, and / expect
to parade my ignorance little before 1
get through. For, though l have lived
and worked amid the glorious maple
trees of Vermont, l really know but
little about them. l never found any
one that could really tell how many va
rieties OF maple we have in Vermont.
Nothing is easier? Well, fear you
will get puzzled if you watch them
closely for few years. think it would
be easier to dig Greek roots (for here
the tools are all prepared and the way
carefully worked by those who have
gone before us) than TO dig maple
roots-or rather, to try to know more
about them than an easy banding of
them into few divisions-rock naples,
soft naples, Connecticut river naples,
dwarf naples, etc. Very well; but
supposing you try to collect all the diff
ferent kinds q mean really different
kinds) of blossoms you can find on the
maple trees this spring. These flowers
are not always within easy reach, and
perhaps that is one reason why we know
so little about them.
Still, if any one is going TO study our
maple trees, he can not afford to be in
different now; for these trees show that
they are not alike while in bloom, more
than at any other time of the year.
Right here are two maple trees famil-
iarly known as "soft naples" They
seem Just alike, except in the spring
Then their blossoms are essentially un-
like. What really is the difference be-
tween those trees? This is one of the
curious questions to which l never
found an answer.
This study of our maple trees may
be more practical than we think. There
are sugar orchards which, in appear
ance, resemble rock naples, yet they
are very inferior as gar-producers.
If we ask anything about them, we get
for an answer, "Well, they are a sort
of bastard naples" Again, nearly
every farmer has one or more maple
trees that excel all others in sugar-mak-
ing time. What makes these trees so
much above the average?
o. S. RICE.
SCOTS, n. H.