The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-10-12
More Interesting Trees.

dgTtcutturuC EuttOf: - Perhaps you
will be interested in two or three trees
which l have on my farm in the town
of Topsham. Standing in the edge of a
wood composed now mostly of rather
small growth, there is white or canoe
birch (Betula papyracea) which for
merly evidently had clear elbow-room
all about it. AT the ground it has
single stem, which divides at about
four feet high into four prongs, one of
which has been blown off and now lies
upon the ground. The other day l
measured the trunk at three feet above
the ground, the place of its smallest
girth, Just below where it begins to
swell for the prongs, and it measured
exactly thirteen feet in circumference.
Has any one larger "white birch"
than this2 The tree is a splendid, pic
turesque specimen, broad and branch
ing rather than tall Il should not sup
pose it was more than forty or fifty feet
high) and, aside from the one fallen
branch, is in very good state of repair,
and promises to "rule in the green
wood long" By the way, it hardly
seems to me that this canoe birch is APP
preciated by the Vermont people. The
farmers hereabout sell hundreds of
trees of it to the bobbin factory, and
act as if it were good radiance to
have them gone. As an ornamental
tree there is nothing to surpass this
birch, but you could not make Yer
monter believe it if you argued with
him to the day of judgment
Standing in my pasture, on the
southwark slope of a pretty steep hill,
are some wild black cherries (Prunus
ceraSuS) which are bigger than any
ever saw elsewhere. One of them meas
ures 103 inches in circumference five
feet above the ground, and another 1Oo
inches at the same height. That would
make them nearly three feet thick.
Both of them show signs of age. l
have a superflnity of those wild cherry
trees on my farm. Some of them would
make some beautiful sticks of timber,
and aside from these two old patriarchs,
which l have mentioned, and which |
shall preserve from sentimen) ought to
be got rid of for the good of the fields.
Can you tell me whether there is any
market for this sort of timber? Isn't
the wood of the black cherry good for
furniture, stair-railings and that sort of
thing? Why do the Vermont farmers
seem to have no idea of cutting good
timber trees and putting the wood I'M
der cover in sheds until they have
chance to sell it? Is the market so
poor that valuable timber is likely to
rot on their hands if treated in this way?
Furthermore. why are the farmers
hereabout determined to cut no wood
for fuel except good growing trees?
Why do they sniff in scorn when you
show them fallen branch of maple,
still sound, which would work up into
cords of excellent frewood, and drive
around or over it, swearing vocifer-
ously at their horses or oxen meantime,
in order to get at good growing tree
to cut it DOWN.
You see L am a native Vermonter,
born and brought up on farm, who
drifted away and into other pursuits;
who has travelled over a great part
of the United States and seen all
sorts of people and all sorts of
ways; who has bought farm near his
native spot, with intense and senti-
mental loyalty to everything in it; and
| would like to know, from some wise
and experienced man like you, why it
is that my old kinsmen make such poor
use of their natural opportunities.
don't mind if you treat me scornfully;
am used to that from the agriculture
lists observation-disclosures l must say it is
good-natured sort of scorn. One
thing | must give my neighbors credit
for; they have an appreciation and lik-
ing for the sugar maple, and occasionally
actually plant it in their dooryards.
When they sweep away young thickets
from the roadside, spelling the beauty of
the way, they leave here and there
young maple, trimming it up rather cru
ely. But / have not seen young maple
orchard hereabout, unless it seemed to
have started up from neglect of the
ground. Lots of farmers have let their
sugar places get past their usefulness,
and have no young trees to take their
place. The cattle and sheep are pas
tured in the maple groves, and keep
down the young growth.
Enough of these observations AS
to fruit trees, notice that all along the
Connecticut slope in Orange county,
about the same varieties of apples
thrive as in Massachusetts. My brother,
in Bradford, has Baldwin and Porter
trees that have borne well for fifty
years. The people here seem to be
getting very tired of the Duchess apple.
Can you tell me the pedigree of the
Peach apple, which is a great favorite
all about here? l have one which has
borne a most prodigious crop of very
beautiful and very palatable apples this
fall. They will not, however, keep
more than forty-eight hours, and my
family have practically had to live on
apple sauce, pie and pandowdy in order
to keep up with them, and then we
can't do it. The tree is beautiful and
ornamental in high degree, with
spreading, irregular and picturesque
branches, like tree in Japanese
picture. 1t is a good tree, it seems to
me, to have one or two of; to have
more would be a calamity. 1 have
good many other things, chiefly pertain
ing to trees and fruits, that | wish to