The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1929-05-30
100000 TREES PLANTED
IN STATE DURING YEAR
Forestry Department Has Just
Closed Successful Season

The State Forestry Nursery, es-
tablished in 1915 for the purpose OF
growing trees suitable for planting
waste lands in profitable tree crops,
and also for furnishing trees for
planting along highways, has just
closed a very successful season ac-
cording to F. W. Besley, State forest
er. More than 100000 trees for for
est planting have been distributed at
cost in twenty-five counties of the
State. Caroline county heads the
list with $4,000 trees; Garrett county
comes next with $4,000, closely fol-
lowed by Dorchester county with 49,
600; Hartford with $4,000, and Fred
erick with $1,000, showing wide and
growing interest in the matter of re-
forestation. The principal species
used were loblolly pine for the Costal
Plain section, and red pine and white
pine for the Piedmont and Western
Maryland sections.
Comparatively few hardwoods were
planted, as the pines are very much
better for forest planting, except I'M
der certain conditions, where black
locust, tulip poplar, ash, and other
hardwoods have been used. The larg-
est individual planter is F. F. Nicola,
who owns a large tract of land on
Meadow Mountain in Garrett county
Here $1,000 red pine were planted
this spring from stock furnished by
the Forestry Nursery, and under the
supervision of the Forestry Depart
ment.
The Department estimates that
there are 100000 acres of idle land in
Maryland better suited for timber
growing than for any other purpose
In order to get this land to produce
profitable crop, it must be planted
with trees at the rate of about 1,OOO
trees to the acre. This will require
approximately 1S0,000,000 trees, and
in order to speed up the reforestatior
program, it will be necessary to en-
large greately the output of the For
est Nursery. Next year it is planned
to increase this output as the demanc
develops, as it promises to do from
present indications.
Large trees, suitable for roadside
+ planting are being grown at the Nur-
sery and distributed at cost for that
purpose. During the last season, ap
proximately 1892 trees of this class
were sent out, going into nineteer
counties, sufficient to plant both sides
of 1870 miles of highway. OF this
number, SGT trees were furnished free
for specific demonstrations of road
side planting in the vicinity of Cum
berland, Frederick, Cheltenham, Up
per Marlboro, Linthicum Heights
Cambridge and Point Lookout.
Interest in roadside planting is JUS
developing, and in the next few year;
as people are able to visualize the i'm
provements' which result from plant
ing trees along the highways, this in
terest will rapidly increase. The
chief difficulty is that so many of oul
highways have such narrow right
of-way that planting is not practi
cable, but there are sufficient stretch
es throughout the State to require
10000 trees. A survey of roadside
conditions along 1880 miles of mair
state highways made last summer
showed that approximately 400 Of
the distance was suitable for roadside
planting, and this, probably, is fail
average for all of our main highways
where the right-of- way is 40 feet OF
more.
NH1