The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-25
A WALNUT TREE FARM.
How N Young Boston Reporter Ac-
quired an Income of $4,000 a

Year.
I'm Loudoun county, Virginia, found a
tract of 100 acres, partly wooded. that
could be bought for 81 an acre. 1t was
near a railway, and the payments could
pc made TO cover a period of years. Be
fore L returned to Boston / had closed a
deal for its purchase.
well, 1 bought this land, sold the stand
ing timber on IL for enough to hire a man
for five years TO live on IL and look after
it. 1 took what was left of my savings
after the first payment and bought black
walnuts. l sent them to Virginia and had
the whole tract literally sown with the
nuts. My man attended to business, and
kept the ground covered by planting
wherever, from ma tural or accidental
causes, the shoots had failed TO appear
or had been destroyed.
1T was not until three years had pass
ed that 1 began to feel at all certain OF
when l saw the forest of the black walnut
saplings and realized that they were all
mine, and would some day bring me in
returns by the hundred-fold, began to
feel independent
ITO cut long story short. things went
well with me, and six years ago l cut
very large measuring on an average
twelve inches in diameter under the bark
had selected only the largest ones, but
/ sold enough standing timber that year to
pay me back all the principal of my invest
ment, with liberal interest added. Since
then have been cutting timber every fail
live in Richmond, but my summers are
spent with my family among the trees on
my Loudoun county estate, and in the fal
] stay personally by and Superintend the
Telling of the timber.
So great Is the demand for black walnut
that to-day II is worth 500 thousand
feet, after II is sawed into boards; and
sold standing, as / sell mine, 1t brings
double what the dressed lumber was worth
when l began my experiment. an
thinking of putting in saw mill, anc
my visit to Buffalo is partly in connec
ton with that idea There Is consd
cradle stream running through my prop
erty that would give me abundant power
and l think 1t will pay me TO manu-
facture my own lumber. 1t is more rea
Oily shipped and commands higher
price.
"By my system of only cutting the larg
est trees each season and Immediately
replacing them with saplings, l have IL
my tree farm a permanent source of in
come. By the time that the trees that are
to-day only saplings have been cut down
these new ones will be large enough t
saw up into boards.
IT take no credit to myself for my
| scheme. 1t is all due to the suggestion
of the old Boston lumber dealer. whit
| lived long enough to see me reap the frs
fruits of the idea. l myself have dom
| nothing but what any young man SINH
| larly situated could have done. In fact
any young man with patience and
| little money can duplicate my success to
| day. All through Virginia are large tracts
| that can be bought for from Sl.25 to s
an acre, depending on the proximity t
| railroads; and if | had any suggestion t
make to a young man about his future
! / would advise him to do exactly VIVA
| have done. 1t is only by such means
| that the rapidly decreasing timber area
of the United States can ever be replac
! ed, and there is little likelihood that com
| petition in this particular line will eve
| be so strong as to make the profits O
such a venture at all uncertain.