Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-10-30
TREE PLANTING.
Some Successful, Experiments On the
Billings Farm At Woodstock.

increasingly enormous ueindHuo aio We
ing made upon the country's forest re-
sources that there is danger Of seriously
diminishing, IL not of exhausting the sup
ply of merchantable lumber. The forest
areas of the country are so extensive
that the danger Of exhaustion doubtless
would be remote were 1t not for the I'm
fortunate fact that the forest crop usu-
ally Is harvested in such manner as to
preclude the possibility Of a second crop
of like nature upon the same area
Now If nature by the careless inter-
position of man is prevented from repro
ducing valuable forest trees where they
have been taken away then. the demand
remaining the same. the time Is coming
when forest crop can be profitably re-
produced by artificial cultivation The
question. then naturally arises, has that
time come in the United States? In GER
tain sections of the country II undoubted-
~ has. To bring the point nearer home.
has the time come for artificial planting
In Vermont? AS a special agent Of the
National bureau of forestry, the writer
has traversed the greater portion OF the
State during the summer just passed.
and judging from what he saw he would
answer the question in the affirmative.
On certain areas and under certain con-
ditions artificial tree planting may be
successfully and profitably carried on In
the State.
This conclusion previously formed was
confirmed by an investigation of the ar
tiicial plantations on the Billings es-
tate at Woodstock. Experiments have
been made there with several different
kinds of trees with surprisingly satisfac-
tory results. Notable among these Is the
plantation of European larch which was
made IA years ago. Six acres of very
poor hill pasture were plowed, narrowed
and planted with larches, the rows being
! .tx enaN art
In the rows. The trees were planted In
the spring when two rows OF corn were
planted between each row Of trees and
one hill of corn between each tree In
the row. The corn was fertilized and Gull
tivated as regular corn crop. Corn was
planted on this area for three successive
years but none was planted between the
trees in the row the third year as the
trees had closed in the row. The fourth
year the land was seeded with mixed
grasses. mostly orchard grass, which
was moved for four years. After this
the land was used for pasturage until
the trees killed out the grass.
During the II years since the plantation
was made, the growth of the trees has
been remarkable. They now so complet-
ly cover the ground that the lower limbs
are dying and dropping off, some of the
trees have attained the height of CD feet
averaging eight inches in diameter at
formly with tall symetrcal stems.
The European larch Is closely related to
the larch or tamarack common in the
cold swamps of Vermont. Unlike the ma
tive larch. however, it will not
grow in swamps, but thrives best in
well drained soils. This larch is known
in Europe as one of the most durable
woods. Because it neither burns or
srlinters readily 1T was formerly in great
demand for battleships and 1t is still us
ed In places where great tenacity and
duration are required. Last year 200 of
the largest larches on the Billings farm
were used as piles "A feet long, for fort-
flying a river bank and they were stiff
enough to be driven into moderately
hard ground with 1900 pound pile driver.
Although this tree Is not yet in the mar
ket in this country, 1t would seem that
its position as a lumber product is as
sured.
The manager of the farm very conser-
vatively estimates that If these trees
grow as rapidly during the next 10 years
as they have since they were planted,
they will be worth $500 per acre. The en-
tire cost of the trees at the time of plant
| ing waS about six cents a piece. Tho
corn and hay crops fully repaid the cost
| of cultivation. Since the land before the
operations began was practice ally worth
| less. tree planting on this area would
seem to be a good investment
| Much Norway spruce has been planted
| on the Billings farm, about ten acres
| in all. Although planted for ornamental
purposes. the trees have made such rapid
| growth rs to demonstrate the value OF
| this species for economic planting. The
| trees We're planted p years ago and some
| of them now are over 10 feet high and
| two feet in diameter at three feet from
| the ground. An expert lumberman who
examined the trees estimated that they
| -
acre At the current prices of spruce
| these would be worth from two to three
| hundred dollars per acre on the stump,
| and probably more because they are of
| extra quality and of easy access. AL
| though, If desired, a handsome profit
could be realized by cutting now, yet at at
the present rate of growth, the trees will
more than double in value during the
| next ten years.
| Experiments have been made in plant
| ing white ash, white birch and maple on
the Billings estate Although the plan
tation of white ash has succeeded well,
| as a whole the hardwoods do not flourish
as we'll as the coniferous trees. Such
good results have been obtained from
planting Norway spruce and white pine
that 1t is now the policy OF the manager
of the farm to fill up all waste places with
these trees.
Besides the direct financial returns
there are certain indirect but no less
important results which are worthy OF
consideration. One of these Is the par
that trees play in holding together the
soil and thus preventing excessive ero
sion. Light soils continually are being
worn away by the erosive power of wa
ter. During rain storms the surface
waters, following the line of least resist
ance. are gathered into rivulets Thes'
rivulets are soon worn into gullies, will
each succeeding storm the gullies ar,
widened and deepened, the waters gathe
with increasing force and thus the sol
is carried into the valley below.
Now the pasture in which the larche
were planted had reached this stage. /
was so cut up with gullies that it coul'
{ hardly form a sod, its principal product
being sorrrel and coarse weeds, TIL
> pasture now has been covered with tree
!, for IA years and the transformatio ton Is re
markable. Erosion Is reduced to mini
( mum. The gullies are nearly filled wit
t dead leaves and decayed vegetable mat
ter, and the ground is covered with a
S accumulation of humus an inch or NOR
in thickness. BY artificial tree plantin
Y then, worn out soils in some degree ma
$ be restored to their primitive condition
Y Not only does tree planting improve tn
r soil in which the trees grow. but Its bene
= fetal Influences also extends beyond int
0 | the adjacent territory. There was a dr.
e sandy knoll in a meadow on the Billing
s farm. The waters which fell upon tn
= knoll Immediately ran off or were 500
a evaporated so that not only the kno
Q itself but also the area about its bas
n was kept III a condition so dry as to b