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THis; ital ths) Hee rot i \ i Ay pharta tes oie the rete ie : iin hia jet pase ; : j ith sieht: apt t as spied tartiter 5 , “ tf siti if ; h “ etlaeeth red] tear, rh . 7 ey jae wren a} ' a a f ee rate ee the ts | “ “ Os ee oo eda : wt eres snih atte itis $rem ett Caterer hs > Mitt c Pogetayerater? bee (| nea meroreren pitt Braraeassy abe enT ‘ Oe MRS Coble | Besesrapeigest sth? . ateee Rata Poreel bist ues hegre ny + Piaparereibiptadbstbstite: 383 asst wel g ee eh teen TerS 5 STAs wih elke 3: ee yt) MD) 0 apd g Teeth inte a ay: opie a SOME er bye ge ae zi ; ' ty ore ot Osh rs { : : seejy eevee . hee sy aera at $15 weitere + a4 Sith gt a bent? ‘ 4% ror enee + teh etage th yey wel . L941 ee ee ae Tie HO1 4O ALISH3AINN G 69 i ll, 1 teal ings er by the internet t Archive a 4 $ . * ‘ " ft ae wna at Lo vA FORESTRY IN MINNESOTA. BY SAMUEL B. GREEN, PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE AND FORESTRY, THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. ea “PUBLISHED BY THE GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY OF MINNESOTA. ViBKRARY —— “FACULTY OF FORESTRY #902 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO pge! .7 g/l ST. PAUL, MINN.: PIONEER PRESS COMPANY, 1902. “hi ec 6 eG hos > oo ay a ad pul =T os ~ et Copyright, 1902, by SAMUEL B. Green. 4 » bat > Bra hk See AAS yA ‘ fe “nd ' ‘ : 3 =) i y , 4 é x o> * , " [ - ; » : ' ye : - . i> . rit4 < s J ' 1 af at 7 a ee J PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. This book has been prepared especially for the classes in forestry in the School of Agriculture of the University of Min- nesota. It is really a compilation of the lectures and mimeo- graphed notes that I have found useful in my experience in teaching the elementary principles of forestry. The word for- estry is here used in the broad sense in which it is often used in this section and includes much that, strictly speaking, would come under several allied heads. In the use of botanical names I have followed, so far as possible, those given by Dr. George B. Sudworth in his “Nomenclature of the Arborescent Flora of the United States,” which has been adopted as the standard for the Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations. .Oth- erwise the Index Kewensis has been followed. But where these names are different from those comrhonly used by horti- culturists in current literature the more familiar term is also generally given in brackets. ' I have received many kind suggestions and criticisms from Dr. Otto Lugger, St. Anthony Park; Hon. L. R. Moyer, Mon- tevideo; and Messrs. John S. Harris, La Crescent; Clarence Wedge, Albert Lea; F. H. Nutter, Minneapolis, and J. M. Underwood, Lake City. Professor Conway McMillan has fur- nished many specimens for drawings. My assistant, Mr. W. A. Wheeler, has given much careiul attention to the revi- sion of the manuscript and has corrected many errors that would otherwise have crept in. I am especially indebted to all these parties who have aided me in this work, and I wish to extend my sincere thanks for their interest and kindness. In the preparation of this book I have freely consulted the “Silva of North America” (Prof. C. S. Sargent); “Illustrated ri Ry = Meee (Prot, De: Thome). i St. Anthony Park, — Ps July 29, 18098. — University of eee « ic a “, 3 ' += 4 # i oy q <1 ~ ‘ - rr SP <- » iv - rt es, (Ga. we ee hes > Fr ad 5 iss 2 hd i. ‘se r ; ite * ' *. ’ ' * She * ‘ \ 7 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. The first edition of 10,000 copies of “Forestry in Minne- sota’” was published by the Minnesota Forestry Association and has been received with much favor. It is now probably used in more than fourteen of the agricultural colleges as their chief text book on this important subject and it is also used in a number of normal and high schools in this and other states, either as a text book or as supplementary reading. ‘The first edition is practically exhausted, but the demand for it continues to increase, and it is this demand, and the fact that it concerns a subject closely related to the development of this state, which has induced the Board of Regents to publish it as a portion of the report of the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota. . This edition covers all the ground reached by the first edi- tion, but it has been improved by the better classification and extension of the matter in Part I, and some additions and cor- rections to Part II. I think it greatly improved for the pur- poses of a text book, for which it is primarily intended. Since the publication of the first edition the world of science and especially the state of Minnesota have lost two helpful men in the death of Dr. Otto Lugger and J. S. Harris, each of whom assisted in preparing the first edition of “Forestry in Minnesota.” To me this is a personal bereavement, and I extend to their wives and children my most heartfelt sympathy and best wishes. In this revision I have had the loyal and painstaking help of my assistant, Mr. T. L. Duncan, and the chapter on Forest Mensuration has been almost entirely prepared by him. The drawings, with few exceptions, have been made under my direction by Miss M. M. Cheney. The half tone illustra- tions are mostly from photographs taken in the division of Horticulture and Forestry. Figure 32 is from a photograph ic pce = ‘ a js | = IFoy a ca se =e pas ; | z : i a > é Neng e pe Bey = > on UE oN ether i alan 6 PREFACE TO SECOND > EDITION. — loaned Nee Professor John Gifford, wine 9 is from H. B. Figure 32 from W. H. Rau. By permission of Houghton, flin & Co. the typical botanical figures of plates 14, 15, 21, 2 23, 24, 26, 31, 35, 43, 45, 49, 55 and 63 have been redrawn fro the “Silva of North America.” | The typical botanical figures plates 1, 6, 7, 10, 20 and 25 are redrawn from “Baume » Straucher des Waldes.” Plate 52 is redrawn from Flora vor Deutschland, Oesterreich u. d. Schweiz. . SAMUEL B. OREN. . January 30, 1902. CONTENTS. PART I. ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. Chapter I. The Tree. Chapter IT. The Forest. Chapter ITI. Forest Influences. Chapter IV. Tree Planting on Prairies. Chapter V. Forest Regeneration and Treatment. Chapter VI. Propagation. Chapter VII. Nursery Practice. Chapter VIII. Forest Protection. Chapter IX. Rate of Increase. Chapter X. Forest Mensuration. Chapter XI. Forest Problems in Minnesota. Chapter XII. Wood and its Uses. Chapter XIII. Durability of Wood. Chapter XIV. Forest Economics. . + -PART II, TREES OF MINNESOTA. Pinaceae. Pine Family. Pines, Larches, Spruces, Hemlock, Douglas Spruce, Firs, Arborvite and Junipers. Juglandacee. Walnut Family. Walnut, Butternut and Hickories. Salicacee. Willow Family. Willows and Poplars. Betulacee. Birch Family. Birches, Alders, Hornbeam and Blue Beech. Fagacee. Oak Family. Chestnut and Oaks. 8 CONTENTS. Ulmacee. Elm Family. Elms and Hackberry. Moracee. Mulberry Family. Mulberries. Rosacee. Rose Family. Wild Crab, Mountain Ashes, Serviceberries, Thorns, Wild Plum and Wild Cherries. — Leguminose. Pea Family. Honey Locust, Coffeetree and Locust. Aceracee. Maple Family. Maples and Boxelder.. Hippocastanacee. Buckeye Family. Horse Chestnut and Ohio Buckeye. Rhamnacee. Buckthorn Family. Buckthorn. Tiliacee. Linden Family. Basswoods. Elaeagnacee. Oleaster Family. Russian Olive. Oleacee. Olive Family. Ashes. Bignoniacee. Bignonia Family. Catalpa. Caprifoliacee. Honeysuckle Family. Sheepberry. PART Il, FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. GLOSSARY. INDEX, PART I. ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. CHAPTER I. - THE TREE. A tree is a woody plant with a single stem more or less branched and taking on what is commonly known as the tree form. The most evident parts of a tree are roots, stem or trunk, branches, buds, leaves, flowers, fruit and seed. The Stem, Branches and Roots are made up of inner bark, outer bark, sapwood and heartwood. ‘The outer bark, sap- ag wood and heartwood re made up of concentric circles termed annual rings. During each period of growth two new rings are formed—one on the outside of the sapwood and another on the inside pf the outer bark and as we sel- /---------f dom have more than one sea- son of growth each year but one ring is formed on the wood in a year; so that by st eee & counting the rings of wood in the stem we can determine Figure 1. Cross-section of Woody VEry closely the age of trees. -Stem— diagram showing (a) outer bark, (6) inner bark or bast, (c) cam- In ‘aid i Sat nab tens ba have bium, (d,e,/,g and hk) annual rings two periods of growth in one of wood, and (z) pith. : year, as in 1894, when the drouth of midsummer ripened up the wood of the trees by the first of August and the rainsof autumn started a new growth, and caused some tfees and shrubs to flower in October, but such occurrences are very uncommon and the extra rings formed , aye pe 12 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. are readily detected by their being smaller than adjoining rings. and less distinctly defined. The age of trees could be told by the rings of the outer bark nearly as well as by those of the wood were it not for the fact that the outer layers of bark fall off as the tree grows older. In some experiments the bark of rapidly growing branches was peeled back in the spring for a few inches, the wood cov- ered with tin-foil and the bark replaced. At the end of the sea- son there was found a ring of wood outside of the tin-foil, thus showing where the annual growth of the tree was made. The Bark covers the whole exterior surface of the trunk, branches and roots and serves as a protection. It is made up of two parts, the outer or corky layer which is dead bark and the inner or live bark.. These vary much in appearance and thickness on different kinds of trees. For instance, on the White Birch the corky layer is pure white, very thin and tough, while on our White Pine it is very dark brown and often an inch or more in thickness and quite brittle. The Sapwood is the portion of the wood next to the bark. It varies much in thickness in different species and in trees of the same species; the most rapidly grown trees contain the largest amount. It is the most active portion of the wood in the growing tree, and contains considerable plant food and more water than the heartwood. The Heartwood is the wood in the center of the trunk and is generally distinguished from the sapwood by its more com- pact structure and darker color, though in some cases it may be lighter colored than the sapwood. It is also harder and more valuable for fuel, shrinks less in drying, and is more dura- ble in contact with the soil than the sapwood. There is very little movement of the sap in the heartwood. The Roots furnish water and nourishment that the plant receives from the soil, but only the young roots have the power of taking up the soil water; the older roots are most useful in holding the tree in place. It is common to classify roots into surface roots and tap roots, depending on their shape and the depth they go in the ground. Some trees have nearly all surface roots, as the Birch and Spruce, others have nearly all tap roots, which often go-to a great depth on dry land, as those of the Bur —-_ —- ¥ THE TREE. | 13 Oak, White Oak, Black Walnut and Butternut. Most of our trees have a combination of the two kinds, as the Maple, Hack- berry and Ash. Seedling trees of most kinds have a decided tap root when young, but in many species it ceases to grow down. ward when a few years old. This is true of the Red and Scarlet Oaks, which often have a tap root extending four feet in depth Figure 2. Characteristic Root Formation. On the left two Hackberry, on the right two White Birch, each 2-year seedlings from same seed bed. ‘The first with a divided tap root, the second without tap root. before the tree has attained a corresponding height aboye ground, but after about five years large lateral roots develop and the growth of the tap root nearly ceases. Root growth is relatively less-to the extent of ground occu- pied in moist and fertile soil than in dry and poor soil, but the roots are proportionately more branched. In wet seasons the root development is less for a given plant than in dry seasons, because the roots may get their needed food and water from a small area. Nursery trees grown on moist rich land have a more compact root system than those grown on poor land. At the Minnesota Experiment Station a small Bur Oak growing on dry, gravelly soil had a tap root that was evidently 20 feet long, while on moist fertile clay land in the same section such trees probably seldom have tap roots more than six feet long. Buds are placed regularly on the young branches and are 14 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. said to be either alternate or opposite. When they occur on the stump or on roots they are not arranged in any regular order. , There are two kinds of buds—flower buds, which develop into flowers and fruit; and leaf buds, which develop into leaves and branches. These can generally be distinguished from each other by their shape and size and by cutting through them and noting their construction. Flower buds are generally more lia- ble to injury from climatic changes than leaf buds. The Leaves of our trees vary much in size and shape. They are simple when composed of but one piece, as the leaves of the Oak, Maple and Birch, and compound when composed of more than one piece, as the leaves of the Locust, Ash and Black Walnut. Leaves are made up of a framework filled in with cellular tissue and covered with a thin skin. This skin has very many small pores in it called stomata, through which the plant takes in carbon dioxide from the air and gives off oxygen and water. ; . All our trees shed at least a part of their leaves each year. All the broad-leaved trees and the Tamarack shed their entire — foliage yearly, while our so-called evergreen trees lose a part of their leaves each year. The length of time leaves remain on this latter class of trees varies from two or three years, in the case of White Pine growing in very severe locations in this section, to perhaps eight years, in the case of Red Cedar favora- bly located. The time that leaves remain on the branches of evergreens depends to some extent on the location and age of the individual tree. | 3 The following table gives- the approximate length of time that leaves of conifers remain on trees in Minnesota: ~ —————SCO OO ee _—_—— -t ——— THE TREE. LENGTH OF TIME THAT LEAVES OF CONIFERS REMAIN ON TREES IN MINNESOTA. Botanical Name. Common Name, Year of Falling. PINUS SEVOBDUS Wc cccveceeeerees sees PURGES ALCS: avec n cesta n ctseacts PURGE FESTROSR a vies om «aes sede alee PINGS AIUAKICGIG o)535)55/. nite sds oa ees Pinus ponderosa scopulorum ...... BOOMS SUTOOMPES Cees ics is Wak ce esis Pinus laricto austriaca a | ere Pinus montana pumtla.... 1... +++: FRE ae TOVROAAG 6 Saw ob os ORS ax LOPEZ CRT OPER ag ksh eieis 28 Bes PILEA CORAAENSIS SEED. 6 ey vo sivets PRCA INOUVIANG: 309, cnt de pin icisdie eos PCL ID RRC LNS. Serna ssc ji eosin xe Paced: En ZClMGRAN1 ooo ovine yaueeene PACA AS COUSB S55 oF LS Ses sends os PSUR A COM AOCHSIS occ aos. setcs.es ts « Pseudotsuga taxtfoliad....... 2.4... GRUICS. DITISAIMED ae Cha ak axe hr aces ss AL OLES: CONCHGH su osiceige sae tas wv ass FRUJQ°OCCLAENIAUS: 6 on 85.) N das sees Juniperus virginiana .....-. Juniperus communis ey White Pine........++. Western White Pine. Norway Pine......... Jack Pin’ eywi whe. Bull Pine Deactehasses vase Scoteh Pines o. 05-801 Austrian Pine........ Dwarf Pine......3... Tamarack: .i.caceer: European Larch..... White Spruce ... Black Spruce......... Blue SPruce....... 0573 Engelmann Spruce .. Norway Spruce ...... Hemlock *.c.cis neers Douglas Spruce ...... SAISAN Ite 6 eo nner White Bit iss 2s emase oe ATDOLVILZE: 2.52.65 cs00. Red Cedar... sscie Dwarf Juniper....... 2d and 3d. 5th and 6th. 4th and sth. 2d and 3d. 3d and 4th. 3d. 4th and sth. 5th, 6th and 7th. Ist winter. Ist winter. 4th and sth. 4th and sth. 6th and 7th. 5th and 6th. 5th. 2d and 3d. 5th. = 5th. sth. 4th and sth. 5th and 6th. 5th and 6th. _ Flowers are parts of the plant especially modified for the reproduction of the plant by seed. Both sexual organs may be located together in the same flower, as those of the Bass- wood, Mountain Ash and Cherry; or in separate flowers on the same plant, as those of the Birch, Oak and Black Walnut; or they may be separate on entirely different plants, as in the Willow, Poplar, Boxelder and Ash. 16 _ ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. The Fruit, botanically defined, is the seed-containing area derived from a single flower. As used in nursery practice the term is generally applied to seeds having a fleshy covering or an adjoining fleshy part. The Seed, botanically defined, is the ripened ovule, baits as the term is used in nursery practice it often includes the ovary and other parts that may be attached to it. What is commonly called the seed of Maple, Ash, Elm, Walnut and Basswood is really the fruit. Distribution of Seeds. The seeds of plants are distributed in various ways, the most common of which are (1) by means of floats or wings which buoy: the seeds up in the air or water. and (2) by animals. The seeds of Ash, Arborvitze, Boxelder, Catalpa, Elm, Maple, Pine and Spruce have wings which allow them to be blown great distances by the wind, especially when they break loose from the upper branches of high trees during severe winds. The seeds of the Honey Locust are not shed from the pod until after it has fallen, and as the pod is ten inches or more long and spirally twisted it may be blown long distances on level ground or snow crust. The seeds of the pop- lars and willows have a cottony float attachment which buoys them up in the air. In the case of the Basswood, the parachute- like bract attached to the seed cluster aids in spreading the seeds by carrying them through the air or along the snow crust. ‘The seeds of Mountain Ash, Wild Black Cherry, Hawthorn and oth- ers are largely distributed by wild animals which eat the fruit and allow the seeds to pass through the alimentary canal unin- jured or carry off the fruit and spit out the seeds. Many seeds or seed vessels have bur-like or sticky coats by which they adhere to animals and are thus carried considerable distances. Very often bodies of water aid in the distribution of seeds, since all that are spread by the agency of the wind and most of those that have fleshy coverings will float on the surface of the water and may in this way be scattered. Shapes of Trees. Different species of trees naturally develop different shapes. Some, like Spruces, Tamarack and Balsam, have a decided tendency to form a strong stem and to take on a conical form in preference to the development of a crown or head; while others, like the Basswood, Oaks, Maples and Boxelder, develop their crown in preference to their stem. ee ee a oo F — ee ee ee — se |. CC Ptt=‘—™S = - THE TREE. 17 The actual shape of trees depends on the space they have to grow in, on the soil, situation, and on the age of the trees. Where trees have plenty of room to grow, and their natural development is not interfered with, their individual character- istics are most apparent. : TREE GROWTH. Assimilation. Plants are made up of various tissues and these are formed of numerous cells. The material of which the cells are composed is largely carbon. This carbon is derived from the carbon dioxide of the air which enters into the leaves and under the action of light, air and water is there decom- posed; the oxygen is given off and the carbon is retained, and, combined with water obtained from the roots, forms starch, sugar, gum and other plant foods. ; This process of food making is called assimilation and can be carried on only in the green parts of the plant, and in these only when exposed to light and air. Hence, foliage, air and light at the top are essential prerequisites for tree growth, and, other conditions being favorable, the greater quantity and bet- ter development of foliage and the more light this foliage has at its disposal for its work, the more vigorously will the tree grow. In general, therefore, the growth of wood may be reduced either by the removal of foliage, which reduces the working surface, or by shading, which somewhat checks the activity of the foliage by hindering light action. Transpiration. The flow of sap in trees is not well under- stood. Ina general way it may be said that the sapwood trans- mits the water from the roots to the leaves, where a part enters into the assimilated.sap and goes to build up the plant, and the remainder, which is by far the greater part, passes off as vapor. The amount thus transpired varies greatly with the species, age of the tree, amount of foliage at work, amount of light at its disposal, climatic conditions and the condition of tree growth. The amount of water transpired is so large in comparison to ‘the amount retained in the tree that while an acre of forest may store in its trees 1,000 pounds of carbon, 15-or 20 pounds of mineral substances and 5,000 pounds of water in a year, it may 2 r 18 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. have taken from the soil and given off to the air from 500,000 to 1,500,000 pounds of water, or from one-quarter to one-half as much as agricultural crops. It has been estimated that the leaves of deciduous trees transpire one-sixth to one-third as much water as an equal surface of water. Large deciduous trees undoubtedly give off as much as a barrel of water a day in dry summer weather. Coniferous trees transpire much less water than most deciduous trees, frequently not over one-sixth as much. Mineral Substances are taken up in small quantities and consist mostly of lime, magnesia and potash. They are carried to the leaves, where they are used (perhaps also on their passage through the tree), with a part of the water, in food preparation. The main part of the mineral substances taken up remains as the .water transpires in the leaves and young twigs, and is returned to the soil when the leaves are shed, and when the tree is cut and the brush left to decompose and make humus. The Soil of Woodlands is Improved from year to year if the leaves and litter are allowed to remain on the ground and fire is kept out, since the mineral matters taken up by the tree are largely returned to the soil in a more soluble form and the amount of humus is increased. For this reason there is little need of alternating woodland crops. Almost any soil can furnish a sufficient quantity of mineral substances for the production of a crop of trees, provided it is moist and the leaf mould is not removed. Good soils will con- tinue to furnish mineral matter in sufficient quantity, even if a portion of the leaf mould is carried away. If, however, this removal is continued annually for a long period, any but exceed- ingly fertile soils are likely to become exhausted, just as land on which field crops are grown-cannot produce crops forever without manuring. The Yearly Round of Life in a Tree. In the spring the | tree starts into growth and feeds on the plant food stored up the preceding year; the leaves unfold and commence furnishing plant food. These two sources of food push the growth along very rapidly in the spring and early summer. By the first of July the food stored up the previous season is exhausted in many trees, and growth is entirely dependent upon the food fur- lira TREE GROWTH. 19 nished by the leaves. The growth at this time is generally much slower than in the spring, and as the capacity ‘of the tree for building up plant food increases it commences to store up starch, sugar and other foods in its cells with which to start growth the following spring, and the cell walls become thicker and firmer. This maturing of the tree is termed the ripening -of the wood, and when completed the tree is ready for winter. Our hardiest trees generally ripen their wood early in the autumn and then cease growing, although probably some food is being stored up so long as the leaves remain green on the trees. Rest Period of Plants. With very few exceptions all plants require an occasional rest period for their best development. Some species get it naturally by being dried and others by being frozen. And even when plants are kept under growing condi- tions "’ year round they have periods of rest and of excite- ment. uring the rest period the plants undergo very few changes, and yet there is undoubtedly some growth during mild weather in winter, and, as evaporation must be going on most of the time from twigs and buds, water must be supplied from the roots. The Amount of Water Lost by Trees in Winter. Aiter many careful experiments, A. L. Knisely, M. $., concludes that a Soft Maple standing 30 or 35 feet high with a trunk 15 to 18 inches in diameter near the ground, exposing from 750 to 800 _ square feet of bark surface, may lose daily by evaporation from 6 to 7 pounds of water when dormant. An apple tree 30 years old and 15 inches in diameter at the base, exposing from 800 to 1,000 square feet of bark surface, may lose daily while dormant from 10 to 13 pounds of water. These figures are from results obtained during winter weather in New York, where the relative humidity of the air is higher than in Minnesota, which would lessen evaporation. It is probable that during our winters here ‘the evaporation from trees will greatly exceed that in New York, and that greater evaporation is nearly always responsible for some trees being tender here and hardy in New York and other places with similar conditions. We know that in this section after a prolonged period of severely cold weather, the twigs of Soft Maple, Apple and some 20 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. other trees have a decidedly shrivelled appearance, which disap- pears after a few days of mild weather. Soft Maple trees stand- ing on dry land will sometimes in the spring appear to have been ~ dried out and to have become partly or entirely dead... It is probable that during our coldest weather very little, if any, moisture can be suppl ed from the roots, which may account for this shrivelled condition. . Second Growth. Sometimes warm, moist weather in late autumn will cause trees to start a strong second growth in October, which draws on the stored plant food and perhaps exhausts it, and winter sets in before the tissues have again become hard and stored with food. In such cases trees are liable to injury. No characteristic of hardiness is more impor- tant in plants than that of early maturity of wood. One part of the tree may start into growth without regard to the conditions of the other parts. For instance, a branch brought into a warm room in winter without severing it from the tree will grow for some time. Sun scald is probably due to the bark on the side most exposed to the sun starting into growth very early, after which a sudden freeze destroys th _ young cellular tissue. . CHAPTER II. “ THE FOREST. Forest is a Term variously applied in this country. As here used it applies to all collections of trees except such as are grown for fruit. It may, then, apply to a piece of land on which seedlings have only recently been planted, or to what is termed brush land, or to land heavily stocked with trees. TREE GROWTH AFFECTED BY LIGHT CONDITIONS. So Important is Sunlight to the Growth of Trees that it is sometimes said to be the purpose of trees to convert sunlight into wood. Practically all trees make their most rapid growth in full sunlight There is, however, quite a difference in the power of various trees to get along with small amounts of direct sunlight. It is the object of good forestry to grow as much good timber as possible upon the land, just as good agriculture consists in growing the largest amount of farm crops upon the land. An acre of land covered with trees of the same species, it is estimated, will lay on the same amount of woody fibre whether the stems are large or small, the amount of wood formed each year being in direct ratio to the amount of foliage covering the land that is in good active condition. It is known that some trees will do very well in the shade of other trees. This gives a chance to grow trees in a sort of two-storied fashion, having the land nearly covered with the foliage of one set of trees which require the full exposure to sunlight, and underneath the land covered with the foliage of trees which will endure the shade of those above them, just as pumpkins can be grown under corn. On account of this peculiarity of trees, foresters have divided them into two classes, one of which’ is called light demanding and the , 29 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. other shade enduring. The words tolerant and _ intol- erant are also used as distinguishing the peculiarity of trees in, this respect, and they are perhaps better terms. Trees that are known as tolerant generally have a thicker mass of foliage than those that are intolerant of shade. This simply means that their lower leaves can withstand the shade of their upper leaves. While it is not an absolute rule that tolerant species have a thick mass of foliage and intolerant trees open foliage, yet it is so generally true that where the characteristics of a tree are known it serves as a very reliable indication. Most trees are much more tolerant of shade when young than when old. Among our tolerant trees may be mentionéd the Spruce, Oak, Balsam, White Cedar, Red Cedar, Hornbeam and Hard — Maple. Among our intolerant species are _ Poplars, Cotton- wood, Willows, Soft Maple and Birch. Of our native pines, the White Pine is much more tolerant than either the Jack or the Norway Pine, which are quite intolerant of shade and soon succumb if they are protected from the full sunlight. Trees Protect One Another and are Mutually Helpful, and many trees that are quite hardy on the limits of their growth when grown in groups, will fail if grown singly, as for instance the Hard Maple in exposed parts of Minnesota. ‘Trees also interfere with one another and struggle for light and soil conditions, and the weaker trees are destroyed. So true is this that where the land is thickly seeded with even-aged -trees, they may all become weak and sickly because: of hindering one another. On the other hand, this crowding of trees forces them to take on an upward growth and kills out the lower branches. Trees growing under such conditions make long timber free from knots, which is therefore most valuable. SOIL CONDITIONS. Water Supply. Water is the most important element in soils for tree growth, and the greatest attention must be given to its conservation and distribution through the soil. ‘Trees do not grow to best advantage in very wet or in very dry soil, although some can live and almost thrive under such unfavora- ble conditions. There is very little land, except in the arid SOIL CONDITIONS. 23 region, but that will support some form of tree growth. The soil best adapted to all kinds of trees is one that is moderately but evenly moist, porous, deep and well drained; yet with a subsoil compact enough to transmit the subsoil water from below upwards without its being so solid that it cannot be easily penetrated by the roots. It does not matter about its being stony if it has these qualities. On land’ that is very wet in this section, as the muskegs of northern Minnesota, which are covered with Tamarack and Spruce, the trees never get to be of large size. In the case of one Spruce grown on such land, 73 years was occupied in growing a tree 1% inches in diameter, and a Tamarack under similar conditions formed a diameter of only 1 I-10 inches in 48 years. We also. find that growth is extremely slow on very dry land. On very open porous land the water sinks quickly out of reach of the roots, and where the soil is too compact it cannot be penetrated by the water or by the roots, so that on such soils trees generally suffer for moisture a part of the year. Relation Between Trees and Soils. The growth of trees and the kinds growing on land are good though not infallible indexes to the value of the soil for agricultural purposes. For instance, land on which Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Hackberry or Hickory grow to large size is of good quality for grasses, grains and other agricultural crops, while Black Oak is gener- ally abundant on dry, gravelly ridges and sandy soil. Where White Pine in this section is the prevailing tree the land is gen- erally of good quality. Norway Pine will endure more drouth than the White Pine, outgrows it, and becomes the prevailing tree on drier land, while the Jack Pine is the most abundant on the very dry sandy lands of Northern Minnesota. In the more humid climate of the eastern states the White Pine grows on very sandy soils. Mechanical Condition of Land in Forests. The agri- culturist aims to keep the soil porous, yet moderately compact, that the roots may penetrate it easily and the subsoil waters may be readily transmitted upwards to the roots of plants. He aims to prevent the soil from becoming too compact and from the loss of water from evaporation by cultivating the surface soil, and to keep out standing water by drainage. The forest et ee ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. grower cannot rely upon such methods, because they are too. expensive or entirely impracticable. He may indeed plow for his first planting and cultivate the young trees, but after a few years cultivation will become impossible and the effects of the first preparation will be lost. He must therefore attain his object in another way, that is, by mulching the soil. The shading is done at first by planting very closely, so that the ground may be protected as soon as possible from sun and wind. The shade should be maintained well throughout the life of the tree, even if more planting is necessary to accomplish it, and if in later life the trees get thin in the tops or die out, it may become necessary to plant underbrush to protect the land. Undergrowth in Forests may be rather injurious in pre- venting the proper development of young trees, but it is gen- erally very beneficial in retarding evaporation from the surface soil, in retaining the snow in the spring and in killing out grass and weeds. Forest Floor is a term used to indicate the culo on the ground in forests. This is made up of the fallen twigs and leaves which remain on the ground, where they slowly decay and form a cover of rich mould= or humus. This protective covering serves a most useful purpose; it permits the rain and snow waters to penetrate the soil without at the same time mak- ing it too compact, thus keeping the soil granular so that the air can enter, and in the best condition for conducting water, while.at the same time it prevents washing away of the land and too rapid or excessive evaporation from the surface; the humus is also an active agent in aiding decomposition of the mineral substances in the soil. Subsoil. Tree growth is less dependent on the condition of the surface soil and more dependent on the subsoil than is the growth of agricultural crops. For instance, in the case of drift- ing sand overlying a moist subsoil, it has been found that where pains are taken to get the young trees. started they will often do well although such land is poorly adapted to agricultural crops. ‘There are many acres of land in Minnesota and Wis- consin that have such conditions, and they should seldom be entirely cleared of trees. Washing of Soils. ‘The soils most likely to wash badly SOIL CONDITIONS. 25 are those that are fine grained without much adhesive power, such as fine sand and some kinds of clays. When, however, such soils have a forest growth on them they are protected from washing by the forest floor, tree roots and the humus in the soil. Soil which contains large quantities of humus does not wash much, since the particles of organic matter bind it together; thus we find that newly-cleared timber land which contains large amounts of humus may not wash much for a number of years after the clearing, and then commence to wash very badly. The washing away then is due to the humus hav- ing become used up and there being nothing left to bind the soil particles together. In such cases the application of organic matter will help very materially. For this purpose manure, straw or other material may be applied, or crops like clover and the grasses, which leave considerable organic matter, may be grown on the land. Crops that leave very little humus in the ground, such as nursery stock, which is dug out bythe roots, are most harmful in exhausting the. humus in the soil, and land used for this purpose needs heavy manuring with stable manure and an occasional seeding down to grass or clover. Alkali Soils. In the prairie portions and occasionally elsewhere in this section, we have a kind of soil in which there is a superabundance of carbonate and sulphate of soda. This kind of soil seldom extends over large areas and generally occurs in places. lower than the surrounding land. In some places the alkali occurs in such abundance as to coat the surface of the soil with a white crust. On such land very few agricul- tural crops or trees grow well. The leaves of the trees growing there generally take on a yellowish color and the wood does not mature well in the autumn. Such land should be drained so that the surface water at least can run off. In this way the alkali can generally be washed out in a few years. It is seldom advisable to plant trees on these places, but if this seems desira- ble, as is sometimes the case on prairies, the best trees to plant are probably the Cottonwood and White Willow. 26 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. a EFFECT OF SLOPE AND ASPECT ON TREE GROWTH. ‘ The slope of the land affords drainage and so affects the growth of trees, but trees will grow on any slope, even on precipices, if they can find room for their roots and the soil is somewhat moist. The direction of the slope usually has a very marked effect on the growth of vegetation: This is especially the case where high ranges of hills and other local conditions modify the climate. | A Northern Slope receives no full sunlight; the sun’s rays fall obliquely in the morning or toward evening, according to the angle of elevation. The winds it receives in winter are colder than those received by the southern slope, but the few winds which strike it during the growing season are not strong, hot or very dry. As the vegetation is a little delayed on a northern slope, there is less danger from late spring frosts than on a sunnier aspect, and, as the snow melts slowly, there is a better chance for its waters to soak into the ground. In con- sequence of these facts trees are less liable to suffer from drouth on the same kind of land with a northern than with a southern exposure. The trees keep a more regular form and growth is more uniform and certain. It will generally be found that where timber is cut off from a northern slope growth renews itself very quickly, for tree seeds are most likely to a undei the conditions found there. An Eastern Slope receives the sun in the cool morning hours when the temperature and light are moderate. It is not exposed to our hot, dry winds nor to the intense heat of the sun. ‘The soil retains its moisture fairly well and trees make a good growth. For trees it ranks next in value to a northern slope. A Southern Slope receives the most direct rays of the sun, and the full force of our hot, dry winds and beating rains during the growing season. Consequently vegetation is more liable to injury by late spring frosts, because of starting earlier in the spring, than in any other location. The soil is most liable to erosion from beating summer rains and dries up most quickly after the spring rains. The trees grow irregular in form, the seeds seldom start well on southern or western slopes, ASPECT. 27 and when once cleared tree growth is often difficult to renew. As proof of the importance of these conditions as affecting tree growth we have the commonly observed fact that the south © and west sides of steep hills and mountains are more likely to be bare than any others. This can be very plainly seen on the bluffs along the Mississippi River in Minnesota. A Western Slope receives the sun’s rays obliquely, but in the warmest part of the day, and in this section gets the full force of our hot dry southwest winds. The effect of such an exposure on growth is about the same as the southern slope. CHAPTER IIL. FOREST INFLUENCES. Upon careful observation it will be found that a single large. spreading tree growing in an open field appreciably affects climatic and soil conditions in the following ways: | (1.) During the day the ground under a_tree is protected from the sun’s rays and is therefore cooler than soil not protected. As a result of this protection, the air under the tree is cooler than the air in the open, and, as it is constantly in circulation, tends to cool the air in the immediate vicinity of the tree on sunny days. (2.) At night a tree retards the: radiation of heat from the ground under it. This tends to equalize the temperature of not only the soil and air under the tree, but that in the near vicinity. Therefore, though a tree may reduce the temperature of the soil and air on sunny days or during a short period of warm weather, it may, on the other hand, increase the temper- ature at night or during a short period of cool weather. For example it may be noticed that vegetables growing near trees are frequently uninjured by autumn frosts which destroy those growing in the open. (3.) A tree aids in +itdininns water in the surface soil to the leeward by breaking the force of the wind, and thus retarding evaporation, for it is known that evaporation increases with the rapidity of the air currents. It retains the water in the surface soil under the tree by shading the soil and thus retarding evap- oration. The large amount of water which is transpired by a tree is largely drawn’ from the subsoil, and this increases the humidity of the surrounding air without drawing on the water of the surface soil. But some kinds of trees take up so much of the water from the soil as to preclude the growing of crops. in such places near them. FOREST INFLUENCES. 29 (4.) The leaves that fall to the ground form a mulch which pre- vents the drying out of the soil. They check the flow of water over the land, thus preventing the washing away or compacting of the soil by heavy rains, and giving the water a better chance to soak into the ground. — (s.) A tree protects from the destructive force of severe winds. A single tree or group of trees may seem to have little effect on tornadoes, but large groups of trees may possibly prevent their. formation or greatly lessen their violence. Protection from severe winds may greatly affect the growing of plants, since on account of the winds many plants that may be suc- cessfully grown when protected by shelter belts cannot be grown on the open prairie. This protection, when present, serves to lessen the fuel necessary to warm dwelling houses and also lessens the food eaten by animals. It also keeps the surface soil in fields from being blown away. In these five principal ways a single tree affects the condi- tions of climate and soil in its immediate vicinity. To be sure, some of them are not so very evident where a single tree grows in an open field, but where trees are growing in groups or on largé tracts of land all of these factors are important in modify- ing climate and soil conditions, and will be referred to at greater length. | INFLUENCE OF FORESTS ON WATER SUPPLIES. It is very evident that the proper disposition of water upon the land is the tost important factor in the growing of crops, and it is equally evident that nature’s changeful and wasteful ways of supplying water to crops are not the best ways of so doing, for we know that not only in the arid regions, but in gen- eral wherever irrigation is used, crops are produced in greatest abundance and certainty. This once recognized, then the proper distribution of the available water supplies becomes a question of immediate interest. Human effort can, to a limited extent, direct the laws of nature that influence climate and soil condi- tions, and it becomes necessary that we have a clear understand- ing of the forces that are at work in nature in order that we may know where we may or may not expect to be successful in directing them. In order that we may better understand this 30 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. subject, I quote the following extract on forest influences from the report of the Forestry Division of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1889, with a few changes in the nature of abbre- viations: “The water capital of the earth may be regarded as consist- ing of two parts, the fixed capital and the circulating capital. The first is represented not only in the waters on the earth but also by that amount of water which remains suspended in the atmosphere, being part of the original atmospheric water-masses which, after the rest had fallen to the cooled earth, remained in suspension and is never precipitated. | “The circulating water capital is that part which is evap- orated from water surfaces, from the soil, from vegetation, and which, after having temporarily been held by the atmosphere in quantities locally varying according to the variations in tem- perature, is returned again to the earth by precipitation in the form of rain, snow and dew. There it is evaporated again, either immediately or after having percolated through the soil and been retained for a shorter or longer time before being returned to the surface, or, without such percolation, it runs through open channels to the rivers and seas, continually returning in part into the atmosphere by evaporation. , Practically, then, the total amount of water capital remains constant; only one part of it—the circulating capital—changes in varying quantities its location, and is of interest to us more with reference to its local distribution and the channels by which it becomes available for human use and vegetation than with reference to its practically unchanged total quantity. “As to the amount of this circulating water capital we have no knowledge; hardly an approximate estimate of the amount circulating in any given locality is possible with our present means of measurement; for it appears that so unevenly is the precipitation distributed that two rain gauges almost side by side will indicate varying amounts, and much of the moisture which is condensed and precipitated in dews escapes our obser- vation, or at least our measurements, entirely. Thus it occurs that while the amount of water calculated to be discharged annually by the river Rhone into the sea appears to correspond to a rainfall of 44 inches, the records give only a precipitation over its watershed of 27.6 inches. FORESTS AND WATER SUPPLY. 31 “We.must therefore enter into our discussions acknowledg- ing ignorance of one of the most important factors, at least as to its numerical or quantitive value. “The distribution of the circulating water capital is influenced by various agencies. The main factor which sets the capital afloat is the sun, which, by its heat and the air currents caused by it, and by the rotation of the earth, produces the evaporation which fills the atmosphere with vapor. Anything, therefore, that influences the intensity of insolation, the action of the sun, or obstructs the passage of winds, must influence the local dis- tribution of the water capital. The great cosmic influences which produce the variability of all climatic conditions, and therefore also of the circulating water capital, are the position of the earth’s axis to the sun, by which the angle and therefore the ‘heat value of the sun’s rays vary in different parts of the earth and at different times of the year; the distribution of land and water areas, which produces a difference of insolation because the water has less heat capacity than the land, and which also influences the direction of air and sea currents; the configura- tion of the earth, by which the density of the atmosphere is made unequal, and in consequence of which differences of inso- lation and of air temperature are induced. Thus we have not only climatic zones, but also continental .climates and mountain climates in opposition to coast climates and plain or valley cli- mates. e “While this classification of cosmic climates satisfies the climatologist, there are many local climates to be found within the range of the cosmic, and the local climatic conditions are those which affect human life and human occupations most sen- sibly. “The same causes, different only in degree, which modify the cosmic climates, making a classification of the same possi- ble, effect further modifications and give rise to local climates; these causes are different in the degree of insolation, obstruction to air currents, presence of water surfaces, or moisture-laden, air strata. “Among the factors which thus modify the cosmic climate and help to produce a local climate differing from other local climates, the soil cover, and especially the presence of forest areas, is claimed as one that, under certain conditions, is potent: 32 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. and this factor, being under the control of human agency more than any other possible modifier of climate, must therefore be of greatest interest to us. It is clear, from what has been stated so far, that the influences of the forest, if any, will be due mainly to its action as a cover protecting the soil and air against insola- tion and against winds. ‘That the nature of a cover, its density, thickness, and its proper position has everything to do with the amount of protection it affords, everybody will admit. A mos- quito net is a cover, so is a linen sheet or a woolen blanket, yet the protection they afford is different in degree and may become practically none. It will also be conceded that it makes a great difference. whether the cover be placed before or behind the wind. Just so with the influence of the forest; it makes all the difference whether we have to do with a deciduous or conifer- ous, a dense or an open, a young low or an old high growth, and what position it occupies with reference to other climatic elements, especially to prevailing winds and water surfaces. In the following discussions, when the word forest is used, unless ECT ER ES stated, a dense growth of timber is meant. “The question of forest influences on water supplies can be considered under three heads, namely—influence upon precipi- tation or distribution of atmospheric water; influences upon conservation of available water supplies; influence upon the dis- tribution or ‘run-off’ of these supplies. INFLUENCE UPON PRECIPITATION: “Whether forest areas are, or are not, capable of appreciably increasing precipitation within their limits or on neighboring ground is still a matter of dispute, and the complexity of the elements which must enter into the discussion has so far baf- fled solution based upon definite and strictly scientific observa- tion. Yet new evidence is accumulating all the time which apparently shows that under certain conditions forest areas obtain larger precipitations than open grounds, that is, they may increase at least the amount of precipitation over their own immediate and near lying areas. [In Mwmnesota popular opinion inclines to the belief that there is a close connection between the existence of forests and the rainfall of this section, and that with the disappearance of ELEMENTS OF DISSIPATION. 33 our forests will come a much more rigorous climate and a decrease in rainfall. But the records of the weather bureau do not show that there is any connection between the two or that there has been any apparent change in the general climate or amount of rainfall due to the removal of our forests. The flow of water in most of our rivers, and in many cases the flow of water from springs, and the height of the water table in the land, have been most seriously affected by the removal of our forests and should be regarded as the ways by which our water. supply is to suffer most severely from deforestation.] ° J DISPOSAL OF WATER SUPPLIES. “Given a certain amount of precipitation in rain or snow over a certain area, the disposal of the water after it has fallen, and the influence of the forest cover on its disposal, require our attention. For the sake of convenience we can divide the ele- ments which need consideration in this discussion into elements of dissipation, elements of conservation, elements of distribu- tion. “The difference in effect between the first two classes of ele- ments will give us an idea of the amount of available water sup- ply or run-off resulting from precipitation, while the third class bears upon the methods of distributing the available water sup- ply. , ELEMENTS OF DISSIPATION “Elements of dissipation are those which diminish the avail- able water supplies; they are represented in the quantity of water which is prevented by interception from reaching the ground, in the quantity dissipated by evaporation, in the quan- tity used by plants in their growth, and in that used by trans- piration during the process of growing. Interception. The amount of rainfall and snow which is prevented by a forest from reaching the soil varies considerably according to the nature of the precipitation and to the kind of trees which form the forest, as well as the density and age of the growth. “A light drizzling rain of short duration may be almost entirely intercepted by the foliage and at once returned to the atmosphere by evaporation; if, however, the rain continues, 3 34 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. although fine, the water will run off at last from the foliage and along the trunks. “Altogether for the rainfall conditions of Austria, Prussia and Switzerland, where measurements have been made, a dense forest growth will on the average intercept 23 per cent of the precipitation; but if allowance be made for the water running down the trunks, this loss is reduced to not more than 12 per cent. 7 “The amount of interception in the open growths which characterize many of our western forest areas would be consid- erably smaller, especially as the rains usually fall with great force, and much of the precipitation is in the form of snow. Although branches and foliage catch a goodly amount of this, the winds usually shake it down, and consequently but very little snow is lost to the ground by interception of the foliage. “There is also a certain amount of water intercepted by the soil cover and held back by the soil itself, which must be sat- urated before any of it can run off or drain away. This amount, which is eventually dissipated by evaporation and transpiration, depends, of course, upon the nature of the soil and its cover, especially upon their capacity to absorb and retain water. “The water capacity of litter depends upon its nature and of course its thickness to a certain degree, but is much greater than that of soils. “Altogether an appreciable amount of the precipitation does not run off or drain through the forest cover, but is retained by it; yet, while this is apparently a loss, we shall see further on that this moisture retained in the upper strata fulfills an impor- tant office in checking a much greater loss due to evaporation, and thus become an element of conservation.” Evaporation. ‘The loss by evaporation after the water has reached the ground depends in the first place upon the amount of direct insolation of the soil, and hence its temperature, which again influences the temperature of the air. The nature of the: soil cover, the relative amount of moisture in the atmosphere and the circulation of the air are also factors determining the rate of evaporation. The importance of evaporation as an ele- ment of dissipation may be learned from the experiments of Prof. T. Russell, Jr., of the U. S. Signal Service, made in 1888. We learn from these that the evaporation on the western plains «ere WIND-BREAKING POWER OF FORESTS. 35 and plateaus may, during the year, amount to from 50 to 80 inches, nay, in spots, 100 inches, while the rainfall (diminishing, in reverse ratio) over this area is from 30 to 12 inches and less. “Thus, in Denver, where the maximum annual precipitation may reach 20 inches, the evaporation during one year was 69 inches. ‘This deficiency of 49 inches naturally must be supplied by waters coming from the mountains, where the precipitation is large and the evaporation low. (On Pike’s Peak alone there may be 45.6.minus 26.8 or 18.8 inches to spare.)” Evaporation from the soil is dependent upon its covering, and this is important, as the soil in forests is always covered with dead branches, leaves, etc. In some experiments which were carried on in Germany during the months of July and August, 1883, to determine the amount of evaporation from different soils, it was found that from 1,000 square centimeters of bare ground 5,730 grams of water were evaporated, and that from the same area of similar soil covered with two inches of straw 575 grams were evaporated. This shows that the naked soil evaporated more than ten times as much as the covered soil. It is evident then that the soil covering has an important function in preventing evaporation. Wind-breaking Power of Forests. If the loss by evap- oration from an open field be compared with that of a forest- covered ground, as a matter of course it will be found to be less in the latter case, for the shade not only reduces the influence of the sun upon the soil, but also keeps the air under its cover relatively moister, therefore less capable of absorbing moisture from the soil by evaporation. In addition, the circulation of the air is impeded between the trunks, and this influence upon available water supply, the wind-breaking power of the forest, must be considered as among the most important factors of water preservation. Especially is this the case on the Western plains and on those Western mountain ranges bearing only a scattered tree growth, and where, therefore, the influence of shade is but nominal. The evaporation under the influence of the wind is dependent not only on the temperature and dryness of the same, but also on its velocity, which being impeded, the rate of evaporation is reduced. 86 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. Interesting experiments for the purpose of ascertaining the changes in the rate of evaporation effected by the velocity of the wind were made by Prof. T. Russell, Jr., of the Signal Service, in 1887. The result of these experiments (made with Piche’s hygrometers whirled around on an arm 28 feet in length, the results of which were compared with those from a tin dish con- taining 40 cubic centimeters of water exposed under shelter) show that, with the temperature of the air at 84 degrees and a relative humidity of 50 per cent, evaporation at 5 miles an hour was 2.2 times greater than in a calm; at 10 miles, 3.8; at I5 miles, 4.9; at 20 miles, 5.7; at 25 miles, 6.1, and at 30 miles the wind would evaporate 6.3 times as much water as a calm atmos- sphere of the same temperature and humidity. Now, iit is considered that the average velocity of the winds which pha Se sweep the Western subarid and arid plains is _from 10 to 15 miles, not rarely attaining a maximum of 50 and more miles, the cause of the aridity is not far to seek, and the function of the timber belt or even simple windbreak can be readily appreciated. Professor King has found in experiments made in Wiscon- sin that the influence of even a thin stand of woodland on the rate of evaporation was considerable. In one experiment made in the month of May the instruments were so placed as to meas- ure the evaporation to the leeward of a scant hedgerow six to eight feet high, having in it a few trees twelve feet high and many open gaps. It was found that at 300 feet from the hedge the evaporation was 30.1 per cent greater than at 20 feet, and at 150 feet it was 7.2 per cent less than at 300 feet. The experiment was made during a moist north wind. It is sufficiently evident, therefore, that even a thin hedgerow exerts an influence that can readily be measured. In fact the presence or absence of protecting belts of trees under the conditions often existing on our prairies may make a difference between a good and a poor crop. All who are acquainted with our prairie sections know that great damage is often done to wheat, corn and other crops by the hot southwest winds which we are likely to have during the growing months. In Kansas and Nebraska during the sum- mer of 1894 immense tracts of corn, fully tasselled out, were killed by such winds. At the same time it was noticed that where corn was protected by trees or slopes of land, or where WIND-BREAKING POWER OF FORESTS. 37 the humidity of the wind was increased by passing over bodies of water or clover fields, the injury was greatly lessened. What the possibilities of evaporation from hot and dry winds may be can be learned from statements regarding the “Foehn,” which is the hot wind of Switzerland, corresponding to the “chinook” of our western country. The change in temperature from the normal, experienced under the influence of the Foehn, has been noted as from 28 degrees to 31 degrees Fahr., and a reduction of relative humidity of 58 per cent. A Fcoehn of twelve hours’ duration has been known to “eat up” entirely a snow cover 2% feet deep. In Denver a chinook has been known to induce a rise in temperature of 57 degrees Fahr. in twenty-four hours (of which 36° degrees in five minutes), while the relative humidity sank from i00 to 21 per cent. The degree of forest influence upon rate of evaporation by breaking the force of winds is dependent upon the extent and density of the forest, and especially on the height of the trees; for according to an elementary law of mechanics the influence which breaks the force of the wind is felt at a considerable ele- vation above the trees. This can be practically demonstrated by passing along a timber plantation on the wind-swept plains. Even a thin stand of young trees not higher than five feet will absolutely calm the air within a considerable distance and height beyond the shelter. : Professor ‘King found that an oak grove 12 to 15 feet high exerted an appreciable effect in a gentle breeze at a distance of 300 feet. In a strong wind the effect of such a grove would be felt at a much greater distance to the leeward. At the Dominion Experiment Station in Assiniboia Dr. Saunders found on one occasion that windbreaks exerted an appreciable influence at from 50 to 8o feet to leeward for every foot in height, but this was during a very severe wind. It may probably be laid down as a general rule that windbreaks will exert an appreciable influence for at least one rod for every foot in height. It may not be necessary to state that the damage done to crops by the cold, dry winter winds is mainly due to rapid evaporation, and that plants are liable to suffer as much by win- ter drouth as by summer drouth, 38 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. This is certain—that since summer and winter drouth, that is, rapid evaporation due to continuous dry winds, is the bane of the farmer on the plains, rationally disposed timber belts will do much to increase available water supply by reducing evap- oration. Evaporation, of course, goes on much less rapidly within than without the forest. How great this difference is in this section we have no exact figures to tell, but it is certain that it is much more than in Bavaria, where the following result was obtained: In an experiment which was carried on to determine the amount evaporated from April to October it was found that from a certain area without the forest 40.8 centi- meters were evaporated, within pine wood 15.9 centimeters and within deciduous woods 6.2 centimeters. This shows that the evaporation was six and one-half times as great in the oes field as in deciduous woods. Transpiration. Another factor by which forests dissipate water supplies and which has been referred to (page 17) is transpiration. The quantity of water so used is as variable as the amount of precipitation, and in fact within certain limits depends largely upon it; that is to say, a plant will transpire in proportion to the amount of water which is at its disposal. Transpiration is also dependent on the stage of development of the plant, on the nature of its leaves and amount of foliage, on temperature, humidity and circulation of the air, on intensity of the sunlight, and on temperature and structure of the soil and on other meteorological conditions. Rain and dew reduce transpiration; wind increases it. . The amount of transpiration. depends considerably upon the thickness of the leaves; therefore the surface of the foliage is not a reliable measure, but should be compared with the weight. In some European experiments carried on during the period of vegetation, the amount of water transpired by the different species per pound of dry matter in the leaves was as follows: TRANSPIRATION. 39 Pounds of Water. TeipOthy BIl LANGOM: carla ti cee hd cc oleae. bie th 600 to 700 Vo, RE eo OR aD pA cee ie Veal eae 500 to 600 ROM iis ad Pie achdois baled inere Facies 3 Okie we Caos 450 to 500 ETSO oe a Teed ee hr a tye cle eiy Dov Led Re eres 400 to 450 MURUEP GAT UME AtARS dea wom ahs aa eave ore oy Pate TE 200 to 300 SEPNee Bier SCOTCH Pies + is «ay ainct ibe eae 50 to 70 15 | are seats bP NMAN Bes SRA aeies eet ta AL ALT: 5 30 to 40 Rs PAROS Skid bd eres eA oa ocd Mating ane a 30 to 40 Average, deciduous trees..............00c0e00e 470 Average, evergreen {6ees....... 5. enews waves ete 43 This shows that there is a great difference in the amounts of water transpired from deciduous trees and evergreen trees. In this case the deciduous trees transpired about eleven times as much as the evergreens. “The variability of transpiration from day to day is of wide range; a birch standing in the open and found to have 200,000 leaves was calculated to have transpired on hot summer days 700 to 900 pounds, while on other days its exhalations were prob- ably not more than 18 to 20 pounds. But while trees transpire large amounts of water, our agri- cultural crops and other low vegetation transpire much larger amounts to the same areas. A small factor in the dissipation of water supplies is the amount of water that is retained in the plant itself. As before mentioned this may amount annually to about 5,000 pounds per acre. The water in fresh cut woods forms a large part of their weight. In hard woods, such as Ash, Oak, Elm and Birch, it forms 38 to 45 per cent, and in soft woods 45 to 55 per cent or more. ELEMENTS OF CONSERVATION OF WATER SUPPLIES. In discussing the elements of dissipation as to the degree of their effect under forest cover as compared with the same ele- ments at work in the open field, we have seen that the shade, the low temperature, the relative humidity, the absence of strong air currents and the protective and water-holding capacity of the forest floor are all factors in the conservation of the water supplies. We have also seen that the quantity of water lost by evaporation, the greatest source of dissipation, may be more 40 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. than six times as great in the open as in the forest. The only other conservative effect of forests on water supplies is their effect in retarding the melting of the snows. ‘This acts as an important function in the prevention ot freshets by giving the snow a longer time to melt, so that the snow water has a bet- ter chance to sink into the ground. It is of course more evi- dent in evergreen than in deciduous forests. On the grounds of the Minnesota Experiment Station, where the woodland con- sists of a low growth of Oak, the snow is often retained in the woods a week longer than in the open. This often allows the - snow water from the fields to almost whdlly run off before it has begun to flow from the woods. Then again the daily flow of snow water from the woods is much shorter than from the open fields during spring weather, when we have warm days and cold nights, for it begins later in the morning and stops earlier in the afternoon. Under the dense shade and mulch of the cedar swamps of northern Minnesota the snow and ice often remain until the beginning of summer. The Indians claim there has never been a time when they could not find ice for their sick in the cedar swamps of that section. This retarding effect on the melting of snows in the spring and in preventing the run-off is of far greater importance in the case of streams that rise in the high mountains than in Minnesota and Wiscon- sin, where the land is more nearly level. Where streams have their sources in mountains, as those of Colorado and other Rocky Mountain States, the cutting away of the forests causes a heavy flow of water early in the spring and little water in the summer, when it is most needed for irrigation purposes. ‘This has become so evident that the Chamber of Commerce of Den- ver, Colorado, recently petitioned the President of the United States to reserve such land in forests and administer it at public expense, and-in their petition used in part the following lan- guage: “The streams upon which the irrigation system of Colorado depends are fed by the springs, rivulets and melting snows of the mountains, which in turn are nourished and protected by the native forests. Where the forests have been destroyed and the mountain slopes laid bare most unfavorable conditions pre- vail. The springs and the rivulets have disappeared, the winter snow melts prematurely, and the flow of the streams, formerly eh Bat DISTRIBUTION OF WATER. 41 equable and continuous, has become fitful and uncertain. Floods and drouth alternating clearly indicate that the natural physical conditions of the region have been unduly disturbed. In winter and early spring, when heavy masses of snow have been accumulated on treeless precipitous slopes, snow and land slides frequently occur with disastrous result to life and prop- erty.” THE DISTRIBUTION OF WATER. The distribution or “run-off? of the water is often a more important factor in its economy than the quantity available. It is influenced by the surface conditions of the soil cover, by the porosity and structure of the soil and by the slope. There are two kinds of run-off, the surface run-off and the under- ground run-off or percolation. The former is likely to do injury by eroding the soil, while the latter is generally beneficial to vegetation in the formation of springs and in raising the water level in the soil. It is evident that the less surface drain- age and the more underground drainage the greater the spring- water supply and vice versa. We are, therefore, interested in determining the factors that increase underground drainage and reduce the surface flow. It is plain that whatever retards the flow of water over tlte land aids it in sinking into the soil. We find this exemplified in swamps, where the soft, rough ground retards the surface flow, and in forests, where the foliage checks the water in its descent to the ground and the forest floor retards the surface run-off. Theoretically such a cover should promote the flow of springs and maintain the height of water in wells, and in practice we find that this is often the case. In some cases springs had entirely disappeared after the clearing of near-by forests, but have commenced their regular flow since the trees have been allowed to grow again. Springs in turn influence the flow of water in rivers, so that forests about the headwaters of streams often have a most potent effect in maintaining their flow. There is in fact no influence of the forest that is of greater importance in the distribution of water supplies than its effect in retarding the run-off, even though its effect in pre- venting evaporation is very important. 42 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. FOREST INFLUENCES ON WIND AND HAIL STORMS. We have seen that the wind-breaking power of the forest is a very important factor in retarding evaporation, and in prevent- ing the drifting of sandy soil and snow. In the forest the air may be rather still while in the open a piercing gale may be blowing; in consequence there are no blizzards in a wooded country. Tornadoes of great force have occasionally broken down wide areas of timber in this section, but instances are very rare in which they have continued for long distances through forests, and it is probably true that forests have a tendency to prevent their formation and perhaps entirely break up those of lesser violence. M. Becquerel is said to have found by careful study that in some parts of central France hail storms show a marked disinclination to enter forests, and yet occasionally they do so, but nothing of this sort has been noticed here. FOREST INFLUENCES ON FOGS AND CLOUDS. The influence of forests on fogs and clouds has frequently been mentioned. The fog seems to linger in the woods after it has cleared off elsewhere. Trees act also as condensers and gatherers of dew, hoar-frost and ice; the latter phenomenon is especially remarkable in the so-called ice storms, where the accumulation of ice on the trees is so great as to break them down. The load of ice on some large trees is probably a ton or more. In this case the tree acts simply as an inorganic body. IMPROVEMENT OF LAND ON WHICH TREES GROW. As has been shown, trees add large amounts of soluble min- eral matters to the soil through the fall and decay of their leaves. In the same way they add large amounts of humus to the land, which helps to keep the soil porous and yet makes it more retentive of moisture and gases. The roots of trees often penetrate deep into the soil and bring up plant food that would not be reached by agricultural crops. A part of this is returned to the surface soil by the yearly fall of the leaves and in the twigs and branches that are left on the ground when the tree is cut down. The roots deepen the soil, and by their decay fur- nish plant food to the soil and leave channels through which WHY THE PRAIRIES ARE TREELESS. 48 water and air may enter the subsoil. It has been estimated that after a sandy soil in New England is so exhausted that it will produce nothing but red mosses it may be renewed to its pristine vigor and productiveness by the growth of trees on it for thirty years. WHY THE PRAIRIES ARE TREELESS. This question has been answered in many ways, but often, it would seem, by persons not acquainted with the principles of forestry. It seems that the best way of getting a clear under- standing of this matter is to consider two extremes of tree growth. Eastern Minnesota has a rainfall of perhaps 26 to 35 inches and a comparatively moist air, and at least during a part of the year is well adapted to the growth of the hardier kinds of trees. Here we find the White Pine, Basswood, Oak, Elm, Poplar and other trees attaining large size. Western Dakota has a very light rainfall, mostly in the spring, and a very high rate of evaporation. Trees can scarcely be made to grow in this section without irrigation, and the low vegetation, the grasses, which require a less amount of water, replace the trees. It is evident that between locations having such extremes of tree growth there must be a place where the trees give way to the lower forms of vegetation. Such a meridianal zone is found in central Minnesota, and though it has probably changed with fluctuating rainfall its gerieral location has remained practically the same for many years. The location of this zone was proba- bly gradually driven eastward, for many years previous to set- tlement, by the practice of the Indians of burning over prairies in order to furnish good pasturage for the buffalo. Of late years, since the prairie fires have been largely prevented, the tree line has moved westward and gained a little on the prairies. When left to itself the western limit of this tree zone would not make very great progress westward, but with man’s assistance in cultivation and various other ways it may be extended much farther towards the arid regions than if left to natural conditions. So we find that, while great sections of the interior of this coun- try are treeless on account of lack of water, trees planted on them and properly cared for may often grow thriftily. But trees planted on our prairies always require more care to make them 44 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. do well than those planted in sections of greater rainfall, and we should not expect them to grow as large as in the timbered sections without irrigation. RAINFALL AND HEIGHT OF WATER TABLE IN THE LAND. A few years ago it was argued by many friends of tree plant- ing that it was practicable by the planting of trees to increase the rainfall and prevent evaporation in the great continental plain sufficiently to materially change the climate. The large rainfall and the good crops produced for a number of years in the drier portions of this area after considerable planting had been done seemed to endorse all that the most enthusiastic of tree planters claimed. But it must be very evident to any care- ful student of the subject that such small plantings as were made, even had they been maintained, could scarcely have had any appreciable effect on the general climate of so vast a territory. It is very evident, too, from a study of the annual rainfall, that it has fluctuated greatly in this section, and that we have perhaps not recorded the least or the greatest amount for any one year. There are some facts that seem to show plainly that there must have been a time when the water level of our lakes was much lower than it is now or than it was during the very dry years from 1890 to 1895, when the rainfall in most cases pro- duced no flow in the streams. ‘There is a lake near Devils Lake, N. D., where in 1890 the old overland trail leading west termi- nated abruptly on one side of the lake and was taken up again in the continuation of its direction on the opposite side. The trail is clear and distinct, showing it to have been of compara- tively recent use. It is a reasonable inference that when this trail was in use this lake was dry. There are places near the shores of Devils Lake where upright stumps are standing sub- merged in water. The same phenomenon has been noticed in other places. These are almost certain indications of a time or times when the beds of these lakes, where the stumps are, were out of water or very nearly so for a sufficient length of time for the trees to grow. The climate must have been very dry, and the great continental plain, or at least portions of it, must have bordered pretty closely upon a desert, and the “Great American Desert’ may have been a reality. It would seem, then, HOT WINDS. 4 or that the knowledge we are gaining of the unknown past, as well © as the records of more recent years, point to the recurrence of great fluctuations in the annual rainfall of this section, and it seems probable that such changes follow series of years, and that the recedence of our lakes may be followed by periods of higher water. But the influence of the cultivation of the soil on water sup- plies must be taken into account in this connection, for it is undoubtedly true that man has changed the conditions of the soil sufficiently to greatly influence the run-off. The breaking up of large areas of prairie sod, with its low rate of evaporation, and the planting of such land to agricultural crops with a rela- tively high rate of evaporation, has resulted in a loss of soil water. Then the cultivated soil takes up more water than the sod-bound prairie slopes, so that it does not have so good an opportunity to collect in lakes and swamps, which often supplied the water of wells. And further, the straightening and cleaning out of water courses, and the draining of swamps in the effort to get arable land, has had a similar effect on subsoil water sup- plies. HOT WINDS. The hot winds of the plains which so often cause serious injury to farm crops in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas have been ascribed to the arid “staked” plains, whence, taking a north- easterly direction, they draw all the moisture from the vegeta- tion with which they come in contact. The view has also been presented that they have their origin on the Pacific Coast, ascend the Rocky Mountains, lose their moisture and descend on the eastern slopes. But all theories that ascribe their origin to a distant source are inadequate to explain their phenomena. | For instance, all who are acquainted with these winds know that they blow only during very dry weather, when the earth is heated very hot, that a good rain speedily brings them to an end, and that they blow only during the daytime, commencing about 9 A. M. and continuing until sundown. This daily move- ment is often constant for several weeks, showing that there is evidently some connection between them and the course of the sun. For these reasons and others which would require too 46 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. much space to give here, the best authorities unite in attributing them to local origin. Mr. George C. Curtiss describes the process of the produc- tion of a typical hot wind as follows: “The necessary condi- tions are those of the ‘warm wave,’ namely, a diminishing pres- sure to the northward, producing southerly winds which initially elevate the temperature above the normal. A cloudless sky favors an intense insolation, as a result of which the dry ground is soon raised to an extreme temperature, and the air is heated from it by radiation, reflection and conduction. The resulting . diminution of density due to the rise of temperature furnishes impetus to previously existing horizontal currents, and by 10 o’clock in the morning the hot wind is fully developed. Hun- dreds of miles of hot dry earth contribute to maintain and feed the current, and, gathering strength as the sun mounts higher, the hot wind sweeps over the defenseless prairie. Neither hills nor forests rise in its path to break its power or dispute its sway, and, with no enemy save the tardy raincloud, the fetid blast sucks out the life-sap of the growing grain. It will be readily seen then that each of the states, Kansas, Nebraska and North and South Dakota, develops its own hot winds and cannot charge them to the account of its neighbors.” The local origin of these winds at once suggests the desira- bility of frequent windbreaks on the prairie farms, as offering the most practical way of breaking them up. Irrigation of large areas will also undoubtedly do much to prevent them. CHAPTER IV. TREE PLANTING ON PRAIRIES, The subject of tree planting in this section naturally divides itself under the two heads of prairie planting and forest planting. The former relates to the limited planting of trees on our prairies for ornament, protection and use. and the latter to the care and management of timber lands and the planting of trees for profit from their growth. Our people are very generally impressed with the importance of prairie planting for protection and orna- ment, but are too prone to regard the care and management of timber lands for the production of timber crops as a matter of little concern and very impracticable. (The subject of the regen- eration of forests is treated in the chapter on Forest Planting and Treatment.) PRAIRIE PLANTING. Whatever the ulterior object of prairie planting, the subject oi protection to the buildings, their occupants and the cattle in the field should always be first considered. Our crops in this sece tion are most liable to injury from the southwest wind of sum- mer, which dries them out, and the northwest wind of winter, which blows the snow from the land, causing it to lose the snow water. It also causes a loss of evaporation, which goes on even in winter from the bare ground, and from exposed crops, causing them to winter-kill. The same winds are also the most uncom- fortable to the occupants of farm buildings, and are most likely to cause dust storms, which should be especially guarded against. ~Windbreak is a general name given to anything that gives protection from wind. On the prairies it is often applied to a single row of trees planted for protection. Shelterbelt is a term more often used to signify several or a large number of rows of trees, but the term is often used inter- changeably with windbreak. Grove is a term that refers to comparatively large bodies of trees which may be planted for shelter, fuel or other purposes. 48 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. Protection to Buildings may be furnished by a few rows or a grove of trees. It is generally best to locate the buildings in a grove, or grow one up around them, so that protection may be afforded from every quarter to the best advantage. The garden should also be included in the grove or shelterbelt about the buildings. Distance ofthe Trees from the Buildings and Roadways. Of whatever the protection consists, it should not be close to the buildings or to any paths which are used in winter, for the snow drifts which always form to the leeward of such protection may © become a great. nuisance under such: circumstances during win- ters of great snowfall. The windbreak had better be placed about one hundred feet back from the buildings, and if shade is wanted it can be obtained from scattered trees near the buildings, which will not drift the snow. The same rule applies to the planting of trees on the north side of a roadway. The drifts of snow which would be formed to the leeward of a windbreak so ‘planted would take longer to thaw in the spring, and would keep the road muddy and in poor condition after those that were not protected had become dry and firm. A row of trees is very ap- propriate by the side of a street or roadway and affords a pleas- ant shade, and if not planted too closely together will not drift the snow sufficiently to be an objection, Protection to Crops by Windbreaks. The objection to windbreaks close to driveways may also be made against their use in fields, for they often keep the land for a short distance to leeward wet and in unfit condition to work after the rest of the field has become dry. This is an objection where spring grains are grown, but to winter grains it is an advantage. On the other hand, the protection of a windbreak may give a much need- ed or beneficial covering of snow to crops on the leeward side. The protection from dust storms and drying winds has alréady been mentioned. The important question is how to get the ad- vantages without the disadvantages. In many sections the dis- advantage of having the snow linger on the field near the wind- break may be overcome by leaving a strip of land near it in permanent meadow, or use it for a rotation that does not take in crops that require very early planting. But even with spring- planted grains it is more than probable that windbreaks properly WINDBREAKS. 49 planted are an advantage when their benefits are considered. for a series of years. It ofttimes happens that low windbreaks are more beneficial than high windbreaks in holding the snow on the land, for the high windbreaks often form a great drift that may remain late in the spring, while the low windbreak nowhere forms a large drift, but spreads the snow for long dis- tances. Professor Budd says that in parts of the great conti- nental plain of Russia, where the climatic changes are much the same as in this section, the use of low windbreaks in wheat fields is very common. Height of Windbreak. From the preceding paragraph it will be seen that low windbreaks may often serve a better pur- pose than high ones in protecting fields. Exactly what is meant by a low windbreak may be an open question, but for the pur- poses of this discussion a low windbreak may be considered one under twenty feet in height. In Russia and at the experiment station at Indian Head, Manitoba, windbreaks of Artemisia tobolksiana, which seldom grows more than eight feet high, are often used. About farm buildings windbreaks cannot be too high, and for this purpose the largest, longest-lived trees should be used. . Kinds of Trees for a Windbreak. In too many instances too many tree planters on the prairies have put out exclusively quick-growing, short-lived trees, such as the Cottonwood and Lombardy Poplar, and after fifteen or twenty years they have found their trees dying and nothing coming on to take their places. The quick-growing kinds are very desirable as a pro- tection for the near future, but they are often short lived and should never be planted alone. Among them should be planted a sufficient number of long-lived and perhaps slower-growing kinds, to afford protection in later years, when the short-lived kinds have died out. The soil and location have much to do in determining the longevity of varieties; for instance, the Cot- tonwood and Lombardy Poplar are generally short-lived trees when planted in this section, but when planted. in locations where their roots reach the permanent water level their period of life may be considerably lengthened, and they may then even be regarded as long-lived trees. In starting a grove or windbreak on the prairie in this sec- tion, there is probably no better tree to begin with than the 1 50 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. White Willow. It is quick-growing, rather long-lived in most situations, makes good summer fuel and renews itself very rap- idly from the stump. The Green Ash would probably rank next Figure 3. A young White Willow windbreak on dry prairie at Coteau Farm, Grown entirely by mulching after being well started. as a pioneer tree. The White Elm is also very valuable for this purpose, but generally should follow the White Willow. The Cottonwood may sometimes, though very seldom, be the best to use, but on average prairie land it would be better if - the White Willow or Green Ash were always planted instead. After a good windbreak has been secured it is safe to plant out the hardy coniferous evergreens and such trees as the Mountain Ash, European White Birch and other similar orna- mental trees. Wind protection is beneficial to all trees and necessary for many of our best ornamental kinds and often makes the difference between success and failure in growing them. Distance Apart. In the planting of groves we should aim to get the land shaded by the trees as soon as practicable, and to keep it covered with a canopy of leaves. The United States government recommended the planting of trees four feet apart each way, with the idea that when so planted they would quickly shade the ground and consequently keep out grass and retard evaporation. Some successful plantings have been made on this plan, but when planted so closely together the branches grow into the rows after a few years and cultivation must be discontinued. In this section, where we have so much very DISTANCE APART. 51 bright sunshiny weather that grass can grow under foliage that. would kill it out in a more humid climate, we find that trees planted four feet apart each way seldom afford sufficient shade to kill the grass under them for many years. This is especially true of such trees as the Cottonwood, Lombardy Poplar and White Elm when planted alone, as they have open foliage that does not furnish a dense shade. Among tree planters who have had a large experience in prairie planting there has been a tendency of late years to plant two feet apart in rows eight feet apart, and some of our most successful planters prefer even more room than this between the rows. When plantings are made 2x8 feet the same number of trees are required for an acre as when planted 4x4 feet, but the former distance has the advan- tage over the latter in that the space between the rows can be cultivated for perhaps ten years or more, by which time most trees will have formed a dense shade and be able to take care of themselves. Where a much greater distance than eight feet is allowed between the rows we generally fail to get forest con- ditions for many years, and to that extent fall short of an impor- tant requisite in prairie planting. The distances given here might need to be modified to suit different varieties and local climatic conditions. Clear Plantings. Most of the plantings on our prairies consist wholly of one kind. In some cases good results are thu’ obtained, but they are seldom as satisfactory as plantings made up of several different kinds. One of the greatest drawbacks to plantings made up entirely of one kind is the fact that drouth, insects or fungous disease may destroy the whole planting at one time, while in a judiciously mixed planting this could hardly occur.’ Mixed Plantings, when properly made, have the following advantages: (1) They make possible the growing of species that form a protection in the least possible time, and still have coming on in the same grove longer-lived and better kinds to take their places. (2) Many kinds that are somewhat tender are helped very much by being grown among the hardier kinds until well established. In this case the protecting trees are called nurse trees. The Scotch Pine is seldom a success when standing alone on our Western prairies, but when partially pro- tected by some deciduous tree it stands very well. The same 52 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. is generally true of Hard Maple in this section and of Catalpa and Black Walnut in Southern Minnesota. (3) In good mixed plantings the ground is more likely to be properly shaded and protected from winds than it would be in clear plantings of such thinly-leafed species as the Cottonwood or White Elm, which do well and afford good shade when mixed with Green Ash Figure 4. A good tree claim. Planted by Mr. Gardner, of Lyons county. Located on high prairie. Soil very dry. Has planted about 3o acres in trees. or Boxelder. (4) Mixed plantings are most interesting and ornamental. (5) They attract more birds by their better pro- tection and the greater variety of food offered. (6) While the chance of injury to some of the species by climatic changes, dis- eases and insects is increased, the possibility of total loss from any or all of these causes is reduced to the minimum. The Most Important Constituent of a Prairie Grove of mixed trees in this section should be some well-known dura- ble kind, as the Elm, Ash or Boxelder, of which there should be a sufficient number to completely shade the ground when the others are gone. On the outside, especially on the north and west, it is often a good plan to put at least a few rows of White TREES FOR MIXED PLANTINGS. 53 Willow or possibly Cottonwood to furnish a quick protection: The rest of the grove should consist of hardy sorts, and may include some of the evergreens and such fruit-bearing trees or shrubs as the Wild Plum, Wild Black Cherry, Russian Mul- berry and Juneberry. These latter furnish food for the birds and may often be a help in supplying the home table. The plan of planting with a view of providing some food for birds is not mere. sentiment, for they protect our gardens from many insects, and if we furnish an abundance of Russian Mulberry they will not trespass much on our strawberries or raspberries. It is the author’s opinion that in all our prairie planting we should pay more attention to using our native fruits and Rus- sian Mulberry as plants of secondary importance. List of Trees for Mixed Plantings. Some suggestions may be found in the following lists, but several other trees might often be used to give a variety or a tasteful display. For Porous Moist Soils in Southern Minnesota. White Elm, Black Walnut, Green Ash and Hard Maple in equal quan- tities with a scattering of the fruit plants. The Hackberry may wholly or in part take the place of the White Elm, and the Box- elder the place of the Green Ash. The White Willow, Bass- wood and Soft Maple would also do well in such a location. One of the main kinds might be replaced by the White or Nof- way Spruce, Douglas Fir or White Pine. In fact such land as this will grow any of the trees adapted to this section. For High Prairie Soils in Southern Minnesota. Green Ash, Boxelder, White Elm and White Willow in equal quanti- ties, with scattering of fruit plants. Basswood might be used to a limited extent, and White Spruce, Red Cedar, Norway Pine, White Pine or Scotch Pine might be used in the place of one of the main kinds. For Moist, Porous Prairie Soils in Northern Minnesota. White Willow, White Elm, Boxelder, Basswood and Green Ash in equal quantities, with a scattering of fruit plants. In some localities it might be best to use Cottonwood on the out- side of the grove. Hackberry might take the place of part of the White Elm and White Spruce, Arborvite, Norway Pine, Red Cedar, and some other conifers might be used to a limited extent. 54. ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. For High Prairie Soils in Northern Minnesota. Cot- tonwood, White Willow, Boxelder and White Elm in equal quantities, with a scattering of fruit plants. White Spruce and . native Red Cedar might also be used in a small way. Lists of trees commonly planted, arranged in the order of their hardiness: Deciduous trees—Green Ash, White Willow, White Elm, Boxelder, Basswood, White Poplar, Hackberry, Soft Maple, Canoe Birch and Yellow Locust. Evergreen trees— Red Cedar, Dwarf Mountain Pine, Jack Pine, Bull Pine, White Spruce, Austrian Pine, Scotch Pine, Douglas Spruce, Norway Pine, Norway Spruce and White Pine. Size of Trees. In the case of deciduous trees it is gener- ally best to start with one year old thrifty seedlings, although trees two years old may often be used to advantage. The Oak, Walnut and similar trees are better started from seeds where they are to remain, and the White Willow should be started from cuttings. Seedling Elm, Ash and Cottonwood may often be pulled from some river bank or lake shore, or bought of nursery men at a very low figure, or they may be raised from seeds. White Willow cuttings can generally be obtained from some neighbor or from nurseries. In the case of conifers, transplanted seedlings should be used. Whatever the source of any stock that is to be planted, it should be thrifty and vigorous and not weak or diseased. Methods of Planting. The methods used in prairie plant- ing are much the same as for transplanting in the nursery. In every case much pains should be taken to have the soil in the best condition. It is generally better to delay planting for a year than to attempt it in poorly prepared soil. Tree plantings have been made on our prairies by sowing tree seeds broadcast in autumn after first carefully preparing the soil, but the plan is seldom successful. A start can, however, be made from seeds by. planting the seeds in hills either alone or with corn or beans. In the latter case the tree seedlings often do very well and do not interfere with the growth of the crop. The seedlings are culti- vated in the spring after the crop is removed and as they are in rows this is a very simple matter. The common and generally most successful plan with trees that can be easily transplanted is to start with seedlings and plant in rows. The simplest and easiest way of doing this is to furrow one way, mark out the CULTIVATION AND THINNING. 55 ~ other way and plant the trees in the furrows at the intersections, If Black Walnut or any of the oaks are wanted in a mixed plant- ing it is generally best to plant the other species first and put in the nuts or acorns afterwards. Where it is desirable to plant seedlings or cuttings to fill vacancies, a pointed stick or spade may be used to make the hole. Whatever method is used in planting, it is most important that the soil be packed firmly around the roots, so they will not dry out. If the soil is dry it cannot be made too solid around the roots. If cuttings are used they should be made about 14 inches long, and in planting be pushed into the loose soil in a slanting position, leaving only one bud above the surface, as recommended in the planting of cuttings. Cultivation should be commenced shortly after planting and ' be repeated often enough to keep the top three inches of soil loose, so as to form a dust blanket to retard evaporation during dry weather. The soil should never be allowed to become baked hard after a rain, but the crust should be broken up with a horse cultivator as soon after a rain as it can be worked. Cultivation should be discontinued after the first of August, in order to encourage early ripening of the wood. The weeds that grow after this time of year will do no harm. One of the best tools for early cultivation of small seedlings is Breed’s Weeder, which may be worked both ways and clearis out the weeds to perfection. The ordinary corn cultivator is also a good implement for this purpose. Later cultivation should consist of working the soil with-a one-horse cultivator or plow. If the horse implements are properly used there will be no necessity of hand hoeing, for the few weeds that grow in the rows of trees will do no injury to them. Some planters sow oats among the young trees for protection when cultivation ceases, but if field mice are abundant it may be best not to do so. Late in autumn of the first year or two after planting some soil should be turned towards the trees with a plow, to protect them. ae R Thinning. In growing prairie groves we should always aim to have the tops of the trees just touch one another without serious crowding, but still have the soil shaded and protected from wind. In order to bring this about, the grove must be thinned occasionally, for although the trees would thin them- 56 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. selves if left alone it would be at the expense of growth and per- haps cause serious injury. Trees that are crowded together may suffer more from drouth than those that have plenty of room for their roots. This is especially true of tender trees on dry land. If the trees begin to crowd one another the poorest should be removed, but this should be done carefully and never to such an extent as to let in the sunlight, which would encour- age the growth of grass, weeds and side branches. Thinning may be done at any time, but if the wood taken out is to be used for fence posts or poles it would be better to cut in winter and peel at once to aid it in curing. The Blowing Out of Small Seedlings planted in prairie soil is not uncommon where they are in very exposed situations. The movement of the young seedlings by the wind keeps the soil loose around them, which the severe winds blow away. Occa- sionally by such means the roots may be left three or four inches out of the ground the first season. In such very severe loca- ‘tions it is often a good plan to mulch the soil with straw or sim- ilar material until the seedlings are well established, after which they may be cultivated, or the mulching process may be contin- ued until they will take care of themselves. The Proper Location of the Buildings on a Farm is a very important matter and seldom receives the attention which its importance demands. The position of the buildings determines the location of the drives and of the shelterbelts if any are to be planted. There are many factors which should enter into the study of this question, among the first of which is the lay of the land. Good drainage and good water are the first requisites for the location of a home, after which come con- venience and beauty. It is very desirable that the first location be made just right, since when other improvements and build- ings have been commenced it can seldom be changed without much extra expense. In the case of most of our farms the sub- ject of plans is conspicuous by its absence, as small cramped grounds about inconveniently arranged buildings bear abundant evidence. In figure 5 is shown four plans suggestive of the proper loca- tion of the shelter belts about farm buildings located on level prairies, and varying according to the location of the main high- way. Five acres in the form of a rectangle, 25 rods wide and 32 LOCATION OF FARM BUILDINGS. 57 rods long, are included in the land about the buildings, and this: has a shelter belt five rods wide on the north and west sides, and on the south side two rows of trees ten feet apart, with the NORTH. _ Figure 5. Suggestion for laying out the grounds about the buildings on prairie farms, showing arrangements adapted to a highway located on four different sides. Size 30x37 rods, enclosing five acres, exclusive of shelterbelt on north and west sides five rods wide. Rows of trees indi- cated. See figure (6) for further details and suggestions. trees one rod apart in the rows. Within this enclosure are all the farm buildings, orchard, fruit and vegetable garden, barn- yards, etc. The house should be within 100 feet of the road, and the stock buildings at least 100 feet from the house and garden. About the buildings and garden some supplementary wind- 58 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. breaks and ornamental trees and shrubs will be needed for wind protection and for beautifying the place. This arrangement gives plenty of room for the buildings, barnyards, garden and orchard, and, while all the land enclosed may not be needed for these purposes, the remainder is well adapted to the growing’ NORTH. aereeeeee-- 37 rods-* oon me ewe ee cen acer mnewcomcccesescossccoesd eee Ah ee ee hee ene Se He eee em ee ee eee tte SH ctw a teh meet ee eee hee seer seed re ee ee . ee oe hee whee ek eek Be = > ; re . - . . F A " . x “ “ 7 * ; P Small : > Pe = 2 : 2 z ‘ Frust e 3 5 N ‘ ; 3 = 2 1 ‘ .- . . - at ‘ ‘ - - - < he (F 4 Pi a ie hs (eis) ce CSE foe ea « < . - ' ‘ 0 4 - - * - a 7 . < *. « blat = » . “ oO }* - « «~ « om ] Cuttings should be planted at an angle of about forty-five degrees, leaving only one bud above the sur- face of the ground and the soil should be packed firmly around Figure 12. Planted cuttings, showing angle and depth at which to plant cuttings. them. Those set in a slanting position settle with the soil and remain firm, while those set vertically may become loosened by the settling of the soi, near them, leaving too much of them exposed above the surface, unless very great care is exercised in planting. The rows in the nursery should be about four feet apart, and the cuttings about six inches apart in the rows, though 88 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. a much less distance may sometimes be sufficient. In packing the soil over the cuttings great pains should be taken to get it very solid around the lower end, and if the soil is very dry, the firmest pressure of the full weight of a man over the base of each cutting is not too great; in fact, when the soil is dry it cannot be made too firm over the cutting. When the soil is moist, how- ever, only enough pressure should be used to bring the par- ticles in close contact and close up the air spaces. The Cultivation of Cuttings should commence shortly after they are planted, and the top soil should be kept loosened to the depth of about three inches, which, while not disturbing the solid soil around the base of the cuttings, prevents evapora- tion from the soil. Time of Planting Cuttings. Spring cuttings may be planted at once where they are to grow. Autumn cuttings may be planted out at once, provided the land is not wet, but when planted at this season they should be covered with soil turned toward them with a plow. In the spring this covering should be raked off before the buds swell. The ground being warm in autumn often causes autumn-planted cuttings of some kinds to root before cold weather sets in, and if made up before the first of October they may thus score quite a gain over spring-planted cuttings. If not desirable to plant in the autumn, the bundles of cuttings may be kept over winter, buried in moist soil, prefer- ably that which is somewhat sandy, where there is no standing water; but much care should be taken to keep them from dry- ing out. To this end the bundles should be buried so as not to touch each other, and have two or three inches of soil packed in between them. If they are kept-in a cellar, moist sawdust will be found to be good material to keep them in. The amount of growth made by cuttings varies much, accord- ing to the kind of plant, size of cuttings, soil, etc. The most of our willows will make a growth of three or four feet, on good soil, in one season, from ordinary cuttings. The Solar Pit. There are many trees that will not grow from cuttings unless they have their rgots started a little before planting. This is most easily accomplished by means of what is called the “solar pit,” which owes its success to the fact that cut- tings root first at the warmer end. It is made and used as fol- LAYERS. 89 lows: The bundles of cuttings are heeled in as recommended. In the spring they are taken out, and buried close together, with the butt ends uppermost, in a warm sunny spot, and covered with about six inches of soil. A hotbed frame, with sash, is then put over the spot, to warm the soil. Sometimes, instead of using sash, the soil over the cut- tings is covered with a foot or more of fermenting manure. In either case the soil is warmed, and the formation of roots ; encouraged. In using the solar Figure 13. The solar pit, - . showing bundles of cuttings pit the rooting process should in place under glass. not be carried so far as to permit roots to show plainly, as they are liable to be broken off in planting out; but the cuttings should be planted out as soon as they show signs of healing over on the butt end. This healing- over process is called callousing, and in many plants neces- sarily precedes the formation of roots. LAYERS. Layers are portions of the branches of trees, shrubs or vines which are covered with earth without being separated from the parent plant and there take root and grow. These are cut off from the main plant in autumn or spring, and form new plants. Almost all trees and other plants can be rooted in this way, but, while some root very easily, others require so long a time to do so as to make it impracticable with them. The growing of trees from layers is seldom rentinda in this country; but in some European nurseries it is a common means by which to increase special varieties of trees. For this purpose what is commonly known as mound layering is often used. This consists simply of drawing the soil up around the sprouts that come from the stump of a tree, covering the base of them about a foot in depth. It may be done at any time of the year after the sprouts are two or more feet high, but preferably in the spring. After the sprouts have become well rooted they may be removed in spring or autumn and treated the same as seedlings. Layering is sométimes practiced in European forests to fill up vacancies, and a similar method is often employed in nurseries. 90 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. GRAFTAGE. Graftage refers to the growing of one plant on the stem, root or branch of another plant. There are several forms of graftage, which are generally known as grafting, budding and inarching. It is a common practice to use graftage in the growing of the different varieties of fruit trees, and it is also used to some extent in the growing of some of the varieties of ornamental trees that cannot be grown from seed. ‘Trees that are grown by any form of graftage are seldom as long-lived as those grown on their own roots, and these methods should be avoided when it is practicable to do so. These methods are not much used in common practice, and consequently are not discussed at length here. Inarching is a rather unusual way of growing plants. It works on the principle that when the growing stems, branches and roots of the same or closely allied plants are held closely together for some time they become united. Such unions of roots are frequently found in woodlands; in some cases the roots of the same trees, and in others the roots of different trees, become grown together. Occasionally also trees are found grown together by their branches or stems. Inarching is some- times used for growing the Cutleaf Birch, in which case the sprouts from a stump of a Cutleaf Birch, or the twigs from a small tree laid on the ground, are tied to small Birch seedlings, which have been grown in pots and plunged to their rims in the ground near the tree. In doing this the bark is removed for about two inches at the point of contact of the twig and seed- ling, which are then tied firmly together. It should be done by the middle of June, but will often be successful if done even a month later. They should be kept together until the leaves fall, and then the branches from the parent tree should be cut away, leaving the seedlings with the twigs grown fast to them. These should be carefully heeled-in over winter, and in the spring the seedlings should be cut off just above the union, so as to throw all their strength into the adopted twig of the Cutleaf Birch. This method may also be used to replace lost branches on trees or vines. CHAPTER VII. NURSERY PRACTICE. Nursery. ‘This term is applied to a plot of land used for raising plants that are intended for planting elsewhere for their final growth. Soil and Cultivation. The best soil for a general nursery is a deep, rich, reasonably level, retentive upland. It is cus- tomary to grow most of the nursery crops in rows, so that they may be readily cultivated. The land should be plowed deeply — when the crop is planted, and the surface soil kept loose and fine during all the early part of the growing season, or until about the middle of July. If the land that has to be used for a nursery is rather shallow, it should be gradually deepened by plowing from year to year, and, if inclined to dry out, the addi-+ tion of large quantities of organic matter, together with constant cultivation, will do much to remedy these defects. The cultivation of a nursery or young forest plantation, pro- vided the latter is planted in rows, should consist in keeping the land stirred to the depth of three inches, thus giving a dust blanket, which will protect from drouth. After the first of August much cultivation is likely to encourage a late autumn growth, which should be avoided; but a moderate quantity of buckwheat or oats may be sown then, and be allowed to grow the remainder of the season, to serve as a winter protection—to hold snows, and prevent the heaving out of the young seedlings by frost. GRADES OF NURSERY STOCK. Nursery stock of different kinds has come to be known by such convenient names as seedlings, transplants, street trees, for- est-pulled seedlings, etc. 92 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. Seedlings are young plants, grown from seed, that have never been transplanted, and are generally designated by their size or Figure 14. A bunch of Green Ash Seedlings. age. They form the cheapest class of nursery stock, and are — used largely for starting windbreaks. Transplants are seedlings that have been at least once trans- planted, and are designated by the size and number of times they have been moved. They are higher in price than seedlings, but with some kinds of trees they are much more likely to grow, — and may be well worth the extra price. Evergreens, especially pines, will seldom do well unless once transplanted before being set in a permanent place. Street Trees include the trees of large size which are used for street, shade and ornamental purposes. To be of the best quality they should have been transplanted two or more times and have received some attention in the way of pruning so as to give them a good form. Such trees vary much in quality and price, but the best are necessarily rather expensive. Forest-pulled Deciduous Trees of small size can often be obtained at a very low price, and may be as desirable as those that are nursery grown. Forest-pulled Evergreen Seedlings may also be desirable, but too often they have poor roots, or have been so injured by poor handling that they are generally worthless. Forest-pulled Shade Trees sometimes grow very well, but they are always inferior to good nursery-grown trees. ‘They are greatly improved by having their roots shortened two years before they are to be removed, and when so treated grow very well. TRANSPLANTING. Transplanting is Simply the Removal of the Plant. It may be to some permanent place, as a park, lawn, or street, or it may be done for the purpose of improving the root system, . 2 —— =<. — a ee eS SO TRANSPLANTING. © 93 and to give the tree more room to grow. By shortening the - long roots the root system is made more compact and better able to withstand subsequent removal. This may be done by transplanting, or by cutting around the tree with a spade or tree digger. It is especially desirable to do this to trees that are not easily moved on account of their long branching roots, such as the Birch, or to those that have tap roots, like the Oak and Walnut. It is on account of their having had their roots short- ened so they can all be moved with the tree that nursery-grown trees are generally superior to others. In Transplanting it is Important to take up a sufficient amount of roots to support the plant, and as a rule the more roots the better. the conditions for growth. Very long. roots Figure 15. Extra good roots on a forest- grown Elm, used as a street tree. should be shortened unless the tree is removed to a permanent place, in which case all the good roots should be left on the tree. All bruised or broken roots should be cut off in either case, and the top of the tree shortened to correspond. In transplanting trees they should be set one or two inches lower than they for- merly stood, and the roots should be spread out in the holes without crowding. It is customary to plant many kinds of shal trees in furrows made with a plow. Very Large Trees (those over six inches in diameter) are sometimes successfully planted in winter, by taking them up with a ball of earth. This is done by digging a trench around the tree, late in the autumn, deep enough to cut most of the Ts _ - = - 7. * 94 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. roots, but far enough away from the tree to leave a large ball of earth. The trench is then filled in with a mulch of some kind, and when the ground is frozen the tree is moved, with the ball of earth attached, to the hole which has been previously prepared and kept free from frost. After Trees Have Been Moved, or had their roots short- ened in some other way; they should generally not be transplanted again for,at least one or two years, during which time they will have overcome the injuries done to their root system. The time which should thus elapse will vary with the kind of tree, and also with the amount of injury done. Where the injury is severe a much longer time will be required for recovery than where it is slight. Time to Transplant. Planting of trees should always be done when they are dormant, or just as they start into growth in the spring, which is generally from the middle to last of April. If for any reason it is desirable to risk the moving of trees late in the spring, after the leaves have started, they should be cut back severely, all the leaves removed, and great pains be taken to secure all the roots and to prevent their drying out. Very hardy deciduous trees, as the Elm, Cottonwood, Boxelder and Ash, can often be successfully moved in the fall, if the ground is moist at the time of removal, but great care must be taken to work the soil in very compactly between the roots, so that there will be no large air spaces among them. If the trees are’large, it is a good plan to stake them, so they cannot be blown about by the wind. The more tender trees should not be transplanted in this section in autumn, and even the hardiest kinds should never be moved at this season unless the soil is moist. Transplanting Evergreens. When seedling evergreens are two years old they should be transplanted, and this should be done about once in three years afterwards, until they are moved to their permanent places. As evergreens are very sensitive to being moved, this requires more care than with most deciduous trees. The most important point is to not allow the roots to have even the appearance of being dry. They may be trans- planted in the spring, as soon as the ground works easily and the roots have white tips, and they may be safely transplanted even up to the time that the new growth shows about an inch, but at TRANSPLANTING. 95 this late time more care must be taken in doing the work than when it is done earlier. Evergreens can sometimes be moved successfully in August, or even in the autumn, if they are to be carried only a short distance and the conditions of the weather and land are favorable; but this is not a time for general plant- ing, and it is seldom advisable to do it at this season. The Very General Error is Current that June is the best time to plant out evergreens. ‘They may be transplanted at this season successfully if the conditions are just right in every par- ticular, but they are much more liable to failure than. when the work is done earlier in the season. At whatever time of the year evergreens are to be moved, the work should be done in such a manner as to protect the roots from having even the appearance of being dry, for if dried ever so little the probabili- ties of their living are much lessened. The kind of treatment that would be considered all right for apple trees might be fatal to evergreens, as they are much more susceptible to injury from drying. In addition to the above precautions to be taken when mov- _ing evergreens, it is desirable to shorten back the limbs about one-third, to compensate for the loss of roots. Of course this shortening should not be done in such a way as to disfigure the | tree, but, when the roots are in any way severely mutilated, the whole top makes more of a draft on them for moisture than the roots can supply. This pruning is not so necessary in the case of young seedling evergreens or nursery-grown trees that have been recently transplanted, for when they are moved their root systems are not seriously injured. Very Small Evergreens and Other Small Plants are - often set in trenches made with a spade, as shown in figure 16. For this method the soil must be loose, and yet sufficiently com- pact so that it can be cut with a spade and not crumble before the plants can be set out. The beds are made about six feet wide, and a board of this length and six inchés wide should be used. The soil is thrown out with a spade (A) to the depth of about six inches, but no wider than necessary to just take in the roots. The plants are then placed in position by hand, and a little soil pushed against them to hold them in place. (B) ‘The trench is then half filled and the soil firmly compacted by the feet. The remainder of the soil is then put in and leveled off, the 96 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. board is changed to the other side of the row first planted and the planting is continued in the same way. (C and D) Such close planting as this is only desirable when it is intended to give special care to the plants, as by shading or watering. Plants should not remain more than two or three years in so. close a bed before they are transplanted. When it is desirable to set out small seedlings in rows, instead of beds, a tight line may be used in place of the board. . Heeling in. This term is applied to the temporary covering of the roots of trees with earth to keep them from drying out after they are dug and until they are planted. If they are to be kept for only a few days, comparatively little care is needed in Figure 16. Successive steps in planting young evergreen or other very small seedlings. (a) Board in place and trench partly opened. (b) Seedlings in place and partly covered. (c) New trench partly opened. (d) New trench with seedlings in place. covering; but if they are to be kept for several weeks, or over winter, especially if the weather is dry, great care must be taken to work the fine soil in among the roots and to pack it solid. A good way of doing this is as follows: Select a dry, mellow piece of ground, and dig a trench just large enough to take in the roots of the trees when laid close together in a single row. Place the trees or seedlings in this trench. in an upright position, a few at a time, and cover the roots firmly and deeply with soil taken from close in front of the first trench, thus making a trench for the next row. In this section, if Maples, Cherries and other trees not of the greatest hardiness are to remain heeled in all winter, it is a good plan to bend the tops down and cover with PRUNING. . 97 t, earth. ‘This is only necessary for winter protection. The neglect to properly heel in nursery stock as soon as it is received is undoubtedly a frequent cause of failure. Trees and cuttings will sometimes get so dry in shipment that the bark shrivels. In such cases the best treatment is to _ Figure’17. Heeling-in. Various siages of the operation: Row of trees with roots covered; row bent down and the tops covered. bury them entirely for a few days, which will often enable them to recover. Soaking in water will answer the same purpose, but. unless very carefully done is likely to injure the wood. PRUNING. Pruning should be avoided as much as possible, and yet be done sufficiently to secure the effect desired. If it is begun early in the life of a tree no large branches need ever be removed, the most desirable pruning being the directing of the growth by | pinching off the buds that would develop into undesirable branches; but this is impracticable on a large scale, and for this reason, in ordinary practice, it is often necessary to do more extensive pruning. ; The Purpose in Pruning Trees is to give them forms that are desirable for the purpose intended. For example, a tree for the lawn or windbreak may be most desirable when covered with branches even down to the ground, while street trees should have a trunk free from branches for eight or ten feet from the ground. Many of the evergreens, and some other trees used for 7 98 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. ornament, naturally take on so regular and desirable a form that it is not necessary to prune them, except perhaps to pinch or cut off an extra leading shoot that is likely to make a forked top, while the White Elm, Soft Maple, and others need occasional pruning to remove or shorten awkward branches, at least while the tree is young and growing rapidly. The Proper Time for Pruning is determined by the effect of the operation upon the health of the tree. Dead branches may be safely removed at any season. The removal of live branches during the growing season lessens the leaf sur- face, and hence checks growth. Pruning when the tree is dor- mant results in a more vigorous growth in the remaining branches. Wounds made by pruning just as trees are starting into growth do not heal over as readily as those made earlier in the spring, or during the period of active growth in June. Wounds made in autumn or early winter generally heal over well, but are more likely to cause bad injuries than if made at the close of the winter. These considerations and practical expe- . rience have brought about the following conclusions as to the best time for pruning: ' Large Branches are Most Safely Removed during the latter part of winter, before growth starts. Small branches may be safely removed at this time, or during the growing season, preferably about the middle of June; but such very hardy trees as the Elm, Ash, Boxelder, White Willow and Cottonwood may be safely pruned at any time in autumn, winter or spring, while the Mountain Ash, Apple, Plum and Wild Cherry are lia- ble to injury if pruned at any but the most favorable seasons. Among the Directions to be Followed in Good Prun- ing are the following: (1) Do not’cut off a single branch unless you have a good idea of what you wish to accomplish and the probable effect of so doing on the tree; better not prune at all than to do it without considering the consequences. (2) Avoid doing very much pruning at one time, especially on small street trees, which, if they have all their branches removed from the trunks to their final height, are likely to make too much growth at the top for the trunk to support well in high winds. A better way is to remove a part of the lower branches and PRUNING. 99 shorten back in summer those that are to be removed later; by such treatment a large part of the strength of the tree goes into the top without increasing the size of the lower branches, which may be removed in a year or two without injury to the tree. | (3) After pruning paint the wounds with good white lead paint, to keep the wood from decaying and the injuries from thus becoming permanent. This is not so necessary on very hardy trees as on those that are somewhat tender. (4) Where branches rub together it is generally best to remove one of them. (5) Where bad crotches are being formed by the develop- ment of two leaders, severely check the growth of one of them by shortening it, thus throwing more sap into the other and making it the leading shoot. (6) Prevent the formation of long side branches by shorten- ing those that are liable to become too long. This is especially desirable with the Soft Maple, which has a tendency to form long branches that are likely to break off unless occasionally pruned, (7) Where trees have lost their leaders, prune so as to develop one of the side branches into a leading shoot. ‘This the tree always attempts to do itself, but a little judicious pruning, will greatly aid it. (8) Every species of tree and shrub has its own natural form, and in pruning do not try to make all of them of one shape. Study the natural form of each kind of tree, and encour- age the development of this form. (9) When trees are full of frost the wood cracks very easily; therefore do not prune in very cold weather, for bad wounds may then be easily formed. Treatment of Crooked Trees. It is common to have some trees in the nursery that are of vigorous, healthy growth, but so crooked as to be nearly worthless. The proper treatment for most of our shade trees when in this condition in the nursery, if anything is to be made of them, is to cut them off at the sur- face of the ground, early in the spring, and then select one of the good, strong sprouts that come from the roots of each tree, train it into a straight stem, and cut away the others. Treated in this way well-formed trees may soon be grown. Such treatment may also be desirable with small street trees that have their stems 100 / ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. hopelessly injured. However, trees that to the novice may seem hopelessly crooked may only have crooks in them that will be outgrown in a few years. STREET TREES. Success with Street Trees is perhaps more dependent on good soil about the roots than on any other one factor. If the land is so very sandy or gravelly as to be subject to drouth, at least two cubic yards (two full two-horse loads) should be taken from where each tree is to be planted and the same amount of good clay or loam substituted for it. If in subsequent years the trees outgrow the limits of the material supplied, more of it should be added, and if this consists largely of stable manure, so much the better, provided it does not come into contact with the roots of the trees. It is important to do this work thor- oughly, for one tree well planted is better than a dozen poorly set out. Kinds of Trees. ‘The best trees for street planting in this section are the White Elm, Hackberry, Green Ash, Basswood, Boxelder and Soft Maple. All of these trees do well in good soil, and with the exception of the Soft Maple they all do well in rather inferior land. Evergreens may sometimes be used to advantage along narrow drives, but they are seldom desirable as street trees. The trees planted. should be about two to four inches in diameter near the ground, eight or ten feet high, and of thrifty growth. Much larger trees are sometimes set out, but it is not advisable, as a rule, to plant those that are over four inches in diameter. Smaller trees are often planted and do well if properly cared for, but.need more attention in directing their growth than those that are larger. But small, thrifty trees are much better for street planting than large stunted trees. In all cases it is more important to have plenty of good roots than a large top, as a top can soon be developed if the roots are good. Distance Apart. ‘The distance between trees depends on the kind planted and the quality of the land. On rich land in this section the trees named should be put forty feet apart, in fairly good soil about thirty feet, and in poor soil twenty feet apart. This gives sufficient room for good development, but where a quick effect is wanted it is a good plan to set the trees STREET TREES. 101 much thicker than this, and use Cottonwood, Willow or similar fast-growing trees to alternate with one of the kinds named as desirable, with the expectation of cutting out the less valuable when it shall have commenced to crowd the more desirable kinds, . ; Planting. Provided the soil is in the proper condition, the next consideration is the proper planting of the tree. The prep- aration for this should consist in digging a hole of sufficient size to take in the roots without crowding. If the subsoil is very solid clay, it should be thoroughly loosened up, and where prac- ticable it is a good plan to dig a trench to the loose soil over a water pipe or sewer, for by this means the roots get into loose soil, and drainage is secure, which is often much needed on such ‘and. Sometimes a very stiff hardpan can be broken up to advantage by exploding a small dynamite cartridge in a deep hole made with a crowbar. Before Setting the tree, it should have all broken and dead roots cut off. It should then be set an inch or two deeper than it had been growing, the discoloration above the roots indi- cating the depth at which it had stood. If, however, good drain- age cannot be secured, the tree can be planted less deeply, and then have a mound made around it. Fill in about the roots* slowly, being careful (should the tree have a great number of fibrous roots) to work the earth well in among them and under the butt of the tree. Fine soil, free from large stones, should be used for this purpose. Pack the soil in firmly, if reasonably dry, with the heels, or, better still, with a rammer, making it as solid as possible around the roots. The object in doing this is to leave no air spaces about them. It is not a good plan to put water into the hole before the tree is set, but it may be put in when the roots are just covered and allowed to soak away before the remaining soil is put in. Asa rule, however, little is gained by watering if the trees have not leafed out and the moist soil is packed firmly around the roots. Water is most needed after growth starts. Mulching. Newly planted street trees are much helped by a mulch of straw, hay or well-rotted manure. The latter is best, as it also furnishes plant food, but hot manure is liable to injure the trunk if piled against it. These materials prevent the soil , 102 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. from drying out, and this is especially beneficial if the trees are artificially watered. Watering should be done thoroughly or not at all. One good watering should keep the ground moist for two or three weeks, in ‘the driest weather we have, if the land. is heavily mulched when the water is applied. For a good watering in a dry time about one barrel of water should be given to each street or lawn tree. A hollow should be made around the tree and covered with mulch before the water is applied. This same amount of water might be applied at the rate of one or two pail- fuls a day, and not be of the least benefit to the tree, if applied to — the bare surface of the ground. f a NN ; AM) f S\\ Wi Nay pues ae "TSS SPE Figure 18. Soft Maple Figure 19. Soft Maple Figure 20, Soft Maple not pruned since it was once pruned showing several times pruned planted out. Liable to close head that is not preserving a main cen- break in its crotches at liable to break down, A tralaxis. A good form. any time. A bad form. good form, The Pruning of Street Trees at the time they are set out is an important matter. If the trees are very tall and slen- der, it is a good plan to cut them off at about ten feet from the ground, and trim off all side branches, as shown in figure 21. For trees that have been pulled from the woods this is generally the best treatment, while for nursery-grown trees that have had plenty of room to develop a good top it may sometimes be best to trim so as to leave part of the top. If the trees are trimmed to bare poles before planting, some little pruning will be ee ee ee ee eee STREET TREES. 103 required each season for a number of years to develop good tops, while if they had well formed tops in the nursery and were shortened back at planting time much less attention will be necessary. In a row’ of Elms or other trees there will often be found peculiar individual shapes. Some of the trees will take on desirable forms, while others will be spreading and awkward, and perhaps have a tendency to crack in the branches. In some cases a little extra pruning will bring such unfortunates into shape, but often they are incorrigible, and are best replaced by other trees with better forms. Protection should always be given street trees as soon as they are set out, and this should consist of something that will pro- tect them from sun-scald, gnawing of horses and whittling by thoughtless boys. A good temporary cover is afforded by wrapping aes the trunk with gunny sacking or similar Figure 21. Elm street Material, but a more desirable protection is, tree properly trimmed afforded by a slatted wooden frame or box for planting out. for each tree, CHAPTER VIII. FOREST! PROTECTION. INJURIES TO TREES. The causes of injury to tree growth are many and various. some affecting principally the cultivated trees in windbreaks and shelterbelts, and others affecting the forest plantations and large areas of timber. Some injure or destroy the trees or tree seeds, and others do damage to the land on which they grow. Saw-Flies and Tent-Caterpillars. At present perhaps the most serious injuries to cultivated trees in this section result from the neglect to take precautions against leaf-eating insects. such as saw-flies and tent-caterpillass. Figure 22. Elm tree that has been planted five years and was pruned to a bare pole when set out, These injuries may be largely prevented by the use of Paris Green, in a liquid form, ap- plied by means of a force pump, using the solutions from a barrel carried in a wagon or on a stone boat. An ordinary spraying noz- zie should be used, with a sufficient length of hose to reach up into the tree. In order to reach the tops of the trees it may be neces- sary to have a raised platform on the wagon, and to attach the noz- zle to the end of a long bamboo pole. In most prairie groves this is practicable, but with very high trees it is very difficult if not entirely impracticable, ee INJURIES TO TREES. 105 Borers and Lice. These sometimes cause serious injury, but it is seldom practicable to combat them successfully. It is generally better to avoid them by planting the kinds that are least subject to injury from their attacks. Where lice are injuri- ous, kerosene emulsion or strong tobacco water are good reme- dies. In the case of small trees that can be easily inclosed in a tent, the best remedy is tobacco smoke. Figure 23. White Willow windbreak seriously injured ‘by successive + attacks of saw-fly larvee. A common source of injury to willows. Mice and Rabbits. Seedlings and small trees of some k’nds are liable to injury from rodents, such as mice and rab- bits, which gnaw the bark near the surface of the ground, and perhaps girdle the tree. They are most likely to do this when the ground is covered with snow, for this furnishes them with a protection under which they can do their mischief without fear of being molested. In the case of small seedlings such injuries may be largely prevented by plowing a furrow or set- ting boards on edge. around the seed bed. If, after each snow- fall, the snow is trodden down so as to make a solid path between the seedlings and the grass or woodland whence the mice come, they will be kept out, as they will not try to work through the solid snow. Seedlings that are badly girdled in winter should be cut off at the surface of the ground, to encour- age sprouts from the roots. To prevent the gnawing of larger trees, paint the trunks with a cement or lime wash made rather 106 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. thick and containing Paris Green in the proportion of one table- spoonful of Paris Green to a pailful of the wash. If skim milk is used in mixing the wash, instead of water, the material sticks better. Trees that are gnawed badly may often be saved by coat- ing the injured surface with grafting wax, blue clay, or other similar material, soon after the damage is done, so as to prevent the seasoning of the wood, and thus give it a chance to heal over. Where the injury is close to the ground it should be cov- ered with earth. as The Pocket Gopher. Trees are sometimes injured by pocket gophers eating the roots. Trapping or poisoning may be resorted to, or bisulphide of carbon may be used to suffocate them in their burrows. Birds. Most of our birds are helpful in various ways, such as distributing seeds and in destroying injurious insects, and -such small injurious animals as mice and gophers. They also add to the beauty of our woods and fields, and to our pleasure and recreation. But some kinds are provokingly injurious by eating the seeds we wish to gather, or by digging up newly-sown seeds. Where they are troublesome on seed beds, they may be kept away by covering the bed with wire netting, which will also serve to keep away other animals. If only birds are trouble- some, mosquito netting may be used, or the seeds may be given a light coating of red lead and dried in land plaster or flour before sowing. The sap-sucker does considerable injury to some trees by making holes in the bark for the purpose of securing insects which go there to feed on the sap. They are sometimes so very injurious that it is necessary to destroy them. The Apple, Box- elder, Maple, and most other trees, are subject to their injuries. Cattle. The pasturing of cows, horses, sheep and other ani- mals in the woodlands is generally a poor practice, as these ani- mals browse off many of the young seedlings, especially those of deciduous trees, such as the Oak, Basswood, Cherry and others, though they seldom eat coniferous trees. They also com- | pact the ground, and destroy many small seedlings by their con- tinued tramping, especially when present in large numbers. This is especially true of sheep on the Western forest reserves. Deer, moose, elk and other similar animals are likewise injurious in INJURIES TO TREES. 107 forests, and when abundant may do much damage, though on account of their comparatively small number they do but slight injury. . Severe Winters. These may injure many kinds of young seedlings, which when two or three years old will be perfectly hardy. Seedlings of such kinds should be dug at the end of the first season’s growth, and be heeled in over winter, or protected by a mulch or earth covering in winter. . Alternate Freezing and Thawing. Seedlings are often thrown out of the ground by alternate freezing and thawing, and V be S \ as Figure 24. H&avinc our sy Frost. (a) Tree in natural position. (b) Drawn up by alternate freezing and thawing. in this way have their roots broken. This is most likely to hap- pen where the ground is bare; if covered with leaves or grass, or shaded in other ways, this seldom happens. ‘The best pre- ventive is to mulch the surface soil with leaves or other simi- lar material, but as mice generally like to live in such places poi- son should be used. It should be placed under the mulch, in tin 108 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. cans laid on their sides, so they may be readily found in spring and will not be liable to poison the birds. When seedlings are thrown out of the ground by frost they should be pushed back and have the earth pressed against them as soon as the ground is thawed in the spring. Late Spring Frosts are common in the low lands of this section. They injure the trees by killing the new spring growth after it has started several inches. A large number of trees are seriously injured in this way, and are classed as frost tender trees, and those that are not liable to this injury are termed frost hardy trees. Among conifers the spruces and balsams are much injured by late spring frosts, while our pines and the Tamarack, Red Cedar and Arborvite are seldom if ever injured in this way. Deciduous trees recover from such injuries more quickly than evergreens. Among the deciduous trees most lia-_ ble to injury from this cause are the Ash, Mulberry, Oak, Maple, Basswood, Black Walnut, Butternut and Boxelder, though they do not ali suffer in the same degree. Among those that are not sensitive to late frosts are the Elm, Willow, Poplar, Birch, Hack- berry, Wild Black Cherry and Mountain Ash. On account of this liability to injury from late frosts, it is customary to study the probability of damage from this cause in given locations, and to plant accordingly. It will often be found that in certain low spots there is greater liability to late frosts, while there is very little injury from this cause on the higher lands. It is customary among European foresters to protect young seedlings of some kinds, particularly Beech, from late frosts until they get up off the ground. For this purpose Birch twenty or more feet high are encouraged at intervals of thirty or forty feet, and the frost tender plants, such as Beech and Spruce, are set out between. The result of this arrangement is that the Birch, which is frost hardy, quite successfully protects the frost tender trees below it. After the frost tender trees are well off the ground, as ten or fifteen feet high, there is comparatively lit- tle danger from this source of injury, and the Birch is removed. Sleet Storms occasionally do much damage by breaking the limbs. Little can be done to relieve the trees, but preventive measures may be taken. If no large crotches are allowed to form in trees, and growth kept as near as possible to one cen- tral shaft, or the longer branches shortened so as they will not INJURIES TO TREES. 109 exert too great a leverage, the losses may be reduced to a mini- mum. ‘Trees having brittle wood or weak crotches, as the Soft Maple, are much more liable to this injury than those~ with tough wood, as the willows, oaks and elms, and need more pruning on this account. Evergreens are likely to be broken Figure 25. Trees heavily loaded with ice after a sleet storm. by heavy snows that freeze on the leaves. This may be pre- vented on lawn and shade trees by shaking the snow off from them before it freezes. Frost Cracks are a rather infrequent injury caused by the cracking of trees from center to outside, due to uneven contrac- tion in very cold weather. -It is generally accompanied by a loud report. Such cracks are often eight or ten feet long, and occasionally longer. They generally close up again when the wood thaws out, and during the following summer grow over, 110 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.: only to burst open again the next winter. This alternate burst- ing open and growing over may continue for many years, until. very conspicuous and peculiar wounds are formed. In such cracks insects and rot-producing fungi find favorable lodging places, and as a result trees are seriously injured, and are liable to decay in the trunk. There are no practical remedies for such injuries. Wind. Injuries from wind are common where thinning is done to a great extent at one time about shallow rooted trees, such as Spruce growing on moist soil. These injuries can be avoided only by thinning gradually. In many such cases, on timber lands, thinning is im- practicable, and it is then best to cut all the merchantable timber, for if left it is sure to be blown down. On our prairies, where the soil is light and easily moved by the wind, it ‘is not uncommon to have young seed- ling trees seriously injured by the blow- ing away of the soil around the roots, which often leaves them uncovered for three or more inches. ‘This injury usually takes place in the spring, and may -be almost entirely prevented by seeding the land to oats about the mid- dle of July, at the time of the last cultivation. Sown at this season the oats form a good sod that serves to hold the soil in place until spring, when it is easily broken up by cultiva- tion, but even then the roots prevent the blowing away of the soil. Occa- sional strips of grass are also a pre- ventive of this injury, or mulching may be resorted to. Snow Crust. The settling of a snow crust that has formed on the top . oes of deep snow drifts may cause injury to » ' young trees by stripping off their Alls 6 or este branches and breaking the stems, It hs INJURIES TO TREES. 111 may be prevented by breaking up the crust or by thinly scat- tering over the snow some sand, ashes or other material that will absorb the sun’s heat and cause the crust to melt before the snow underneath melts. This injury seldom occurs except under drifts, and a little good judgment in selecting the loca- tion and arranging the windbreak so as to prevent drifts may obviate this source of injury. Drouth. Injuries from drouth may be prevented to a great extent by constant cultivation, but where this cannot be done mulching is a good substitute. Attention to thinning at the proper time so as not to get the soil filled with roots will also Figure 28: Section of Trunk of Sun-scalded Basswood. Showing dead bark and amount of wood de- cayed. The top and roots of the tree from which this section was cut were perfectly healthy at the oY time when the trunk broke off at the sun-scald. Figure 27. Trunk of Soft Maple badly sun- scalded. help to prevent injury from drouth. Willow windbreaks can be grown without any cultivation, after being once well established, in the driest portion of Minnesota, if they are kept mulched with straw or litter for six feet on each side. Mulching also prevents injury from severe freezing of the roots. 112 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. Sun-scald. Nearly all of our cultivated trees may be injured by sun-scald. This occurs, almost without exception, on the southwest side of unprotected trees of Hard and Soft Maple, Basswood, Boxelder, Black Walnut, etc. Oaks and all other trees are occasionally affected. It never occurs when the trees. are sufficiently close together to shade their trunks, and for this reason the growth of shrubs and low branching trees should be encouraged on the south and west sides of groves where they do not crowd the principal kinds. Street trees liable to th’s injury may be protected by burlap sacking, straw, or other simi- lar material. When injuries from sun-scald occur, the loose bark should be cut off down to the live growth and the wood coated with paint, to prevent its seasoning, or the wound wrapped in cloth. Trees inclined to the noitheast are most liable to sun- scald, because the rays of the sun strike the trunk more nearly perpendicular. Broken Branches and Decay. Large wounds are some- times formed by the breaking down of a branch, or by decay, which may have started in a wound made by pruning. In such cases the broken and decayed wood should be cleared away, and the exposed surfaces treated with a very heavy coat of white lead paint, grafting wax, or other material that will keep out water and disease. If the wound is very large, or forms a hole in which water is likely to stand, it should be cleaned and painted as recommended, and then coveied with a sheet of zinc, care- fully tacked on, and the joints closed with grafting wax to keep out water. Fungus Diseases are quite common sources of injury to trees of all kinds, including those of our forests. They attack the foliage, trunk and roots. Occasionally very serious losses occur here from those that cause the trunks to rot. They are generally most numerous in sections where there is not much of a circulation of air. This subject is too large for a detailed account of any of them here, and only one is referred to, which, although not very common, is occasionally quite injurious. This is known as the toadstool root fungus, Agaricus melleus. This fungus lives upon the roots of pines, spruces, firs, ete., and occa’ sionally kills them. At one stage of its growth it lives on the ' decaying wood of oaks and similar trees. INJURIES TO TREES. 113 FOREST FIRES. Forest Fires are the one great cause of injuries to forests in this section. All other causes of injury are very slight in comparison to it, and could this one cause be removed it is more than probable that the natural renewal of our timber lands would be sufficient to maintain the timber industries of Minnesota for very many years to come. Fires in this state have destroyed large areas of pine log tim- ber before it could be made accessible to market. 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DD. DD PDD. OD. ODD at ttt ta ibm MEASUREMENT OF GROWING STOCK. 137 MEASUREMENT OF GROWING STOCK. The Growing Stock of a Forest, or Volume of Stand- ing Timber, is equal to the sum of the volumes of all the trees. Where the tract is small caliper all the trees, or if the tract is large caliper all the trees on a small sample area selected as typical of the whole. If each species is in uniform stand, separation into species classes will be sufficient, but where much difference exists between individuals of the same species, due to conditions of growth, diameter and height classes in each species should be formed, and the volume of each class com- puted by itself. From the diameters obtained by calipering at breast height the average basal area is determined in each class, and trees of corresponding diameters in each class are felled and measured accurately. The volume of a sample tree, or the mean volume of several sample trees, times the number of trees, gives the volume of that class, and the sum of the volumes of the dif- ferent classes is the total volume of timber on the tract. The more sample trees that are measured the moré accurate will be the results, as trees vary so much im shape that quite different volumes may be obtained for two trees of the same diameter and height. A Sample Acre of Jack Pine Shows the Following Stand: ; Diameter, Basal Breast Height. No. Trees. Area. SB VINCMESS ee fee sae it et Ah SI oe ee ie .0218 Sag UNS a Rater ey tek on a Ra Rs gs og Sone 6 .2946 Sag 2 Ree aPane tore ae ork py RA ec apete Bd Dae ea 6 5238 SOURS haa ks Get eo ce 16 2.1824 SF ROM we a cay < hw eat awe ee GE ae 33 6.4779 7 INCHES. > so... Sore eee Date Meh Sprit phat ac gy af 40 10.6920 Poe MBCTIRE oo cia ers Sa cee Sv Castes Ue nas catia es 60 20.9460 OMe MBM es Facil Sokg ce you FANE cee LTE Eee 56 24.7408 MEIER ater rile s Sct eed eee 46 25.0884 Whe GE ee TFS Sass pti ch CURE ee a ke 29 29.1400 ee NORIO ay Mes Oe Nh aad so'y dean eee eee II 8.6394 ERE Ca gD eae oe on Hie A a SD 9 8.2962 Mit AMRINED Sco Se hves Sie wks as" on ee ee 2 2.1380 ET oD ee alla ie cnet a Fi aig cola iis 2 2.4544 317 141.6357 138 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. Putting all these trees in one class, and dividing the total basal area by the number of trees, the mean basal area is found to be .4468, which would correspond to a diameter, at breast height, of nine inches. Selecting a tree nine inches in diameter, it is felled and measured accurately, and the volume found to be 11.63 cubic feet. This volume of the sample tree is multiplied by the number of trees, 317, for the total volume on the acre— ~_ 3,686.71 cubic feet. Greater accuracy may be attained by taking a sample tree for each diameter size, and a forest may be meas- ured in miniature by felling and measuring a proportionate num- per of each diameter, say one per cent of each. The volume of a sample tree, or of sample trees, is often found by applying the factor of shape, which has been previously determined for that particular species and locality. The Conversion of Cubic Feet Total Volume of Standing Timber into Feet Board Measure may be done roughly by considering 1,000 cubic feet as the equivalent of from 4,000 to 7,000 feet board measure, according to the size of the trees, young growths giving much less than old growths. | The Conversion of Cubic Feet Firewood into Cords is accomplished by the use of the factors which experience has shown to be practically accurate. A cord of wood piled up occu- pies 128 cubic feet of space, but on account of the shape of the sticks much of this is air space, and the actual wood content much less than 128 cubic feet. .In Germany a cord has been | found to contain 83.2 cubic feet of wood. In Saxony Dr. Schenck says that eighty-six cubic feet make a cord of ordinary firewood, and that 25.73 cubic feet of branch stuff will pile up to acord. At the Minnesota Experiment Station, by actual meas- urement of round, straight sticks, a cord has been found to con- tain as high as 102 cubic feet. This factor of 102 cubic feet may apply very well to straight, well-trimmed spruce, tamarack, etc., free from knots and limbs, but will be too high for oak and similar wood, which is inclined to be more crooked, and does not pile so closely. A cord of small oak averaging 3.4 inches in diameter and ranging from 1.5 to 7.5 inches, consisting of 274 four-foot sticks, measured 69.67 cubic feet. Averaging these two extremes, 85.85 cubic feet is found in a cord of mixed wood, cor- responding very nearly to the figure given by Dr. Schenck. RATE OF GROWTH. 139 RATE OF GROWTH. The Accretion of a Tree is the Increase in Wood Content as the Result of its Activity During the Grow- ing Periods. ‘The rate of growth is indicated by the increase in diameter, in height, or in mass, and may be considered as annual or as periodic. The diameter accretion is equal. to twice the thickness of the annual rings for the desired period, meas- ured on the average radius. The current annual increase in diameter is taken as the average of several years back, as five or ten years. It is determined by counting off the required number of rings from the bark in, and measuring their thickness. Twice _ that thickness divided by the number of years in the period will give the current annual diameter increase. The Height Accretion is Determined by counting and measuring the annual cones which appear in a longitudinal sec- tion, or by measuring the length of log between two cross sec- tions which was grown in the time indicated by the difference in the number of annual rings at the two sections. For example: A log is fourteen feet long. The lower end shows 178 annual rings and the upper end 150 annual rings. The difference in the number of these rings is 28, or twenty- eight years were required to grow the fourteen feet in length between the two cuts. The number of annual rings at any cross section indicates the lifetime of that portion of the tree above the section. Mass Accretion is the Increase in Volume of the Growing Tree. The volume increase of standing trees can only be arrived at approximately, and is based on the measure- ment of the volumes of trees of different ages; the difference will be the increase for the period. The increase in volume is often calculated as simple interest, but where the mass of the tree is considered as capital, interest is computed as compound. The Rate of Mass Accretion of a Standing Tree May be Determined in the following manner: In mature trees the height growth per year is inconsiderable, and may be disregarded for slort periods of time. The present and past vol- umes, then, vary as their respective basal areas. Taking twice the width of the rings for the period desired from the present 140 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. diameter will give approximately the former diameter of the tree. From this diameter obtain the area at that time, and compute percentage of growth from the difference between that and the present area. 7 For example: By cutting into the trunk of a tree, or by removing a core of wood with an accretion borer, and measur- ing the thickness of the annual rings for ten years, we find it to be .5 inch, and the present diameter of the tree inside bark is twenty inches. 7 Increase in diameter for ten years............-00-. .5X2=1 inch Diameter of tree ten years ago... .....s.eeerces 20—I=19 inches Present cross-sectional area with diameter 20 SCHED, hw 0 vids led Wika a TA eine ely ane eee 2.1817 square feet Area ten years ago, with diameter 19 inches. ..1.9689 square feet Increase in area for ten years............ .2128 square foot POP. cent. iNCPERBGi< jc w/ac hs een .2128 10010 1.9689=1 % The Determination of the Rate of Mass Accretion of a Standing Tree with compound interest is a more difficult matter, but Pressler, an eminent German forester, calculated tables for average thrifty trees and for very thrifty trees, the use of which renders the work of computation very simple. The width of rings for the desired period is measured, and the diam- eter divided by twice the width of these rings. This gives rela- tive diameter, opposite which, in Pressler’s tables (see page 141) will be found a number which is to be divided by the number of years in the period. The result will be the per cent of accretion with compound interest. For example: A Cottonwood sixteen inches in diameter shows a growth of 2.2 inches on the radius for the last ten years. The diameter increase would then be 4.4 inches, and by dividing the diameter by the diameter increase, 3.6 is found to be the relative diameter. In Pressler’s tables, oppo- site 3.6 is found the number 81 in the column of average thrifty trees. Divide 81 by ten (the number of years), and obtain the rate of increase with compound interest, 8.1 per cent. PRESSLER’S TABLE. 141 PRESSLER’S TABLE. Py rv u ra) o| o ry) 0 om a) ¥| ae Z| 3 A ae el ol wl om) we) |) we) oo] a BS hm) mI Ss he! pI Ss lhe! pl| So lp) bl! 2s |hb! p 3H leer ‘ane =| me Pre s8/e-s cars 38 |hx Fars 38 les patel =—@g | Ue - —g | Uv aol =a | vU asl - =o UH — 3 Ure Ven | PO|od Urn |POlog Un |POluc Un |POlod Um (PSUs BA IH IPH 1140 [4H IPH 1] MA IAI || MA tH IPH || MA ldo IPR 2.0 | 144/156 || 5.9 | 49 | 54 9.7| 29 | 82 1118.5 |15 {17 89 |6.9| 7.8 2.1 | 188 | 150 || 6.0 | 48 | 58 9.8) 29] 32 1119.0/14 {16 40 |6.8| 7.6 2.2 | 182 | 144 || 6.1 | 47 | 58 9.9] 28 | 82 ||19.5/|14 |16 41 |6.6| 7.4 2.8 | 127 6.2 | 46 | 52 || 10.0} 28 | 81 || 20.0|14 |15 42 |6.4] 7.2 2.4 | 122 | 184 || 6.3 | 45 | 51 || 10.2) 27 | 81 || 20.5 ]138 {15 48 |6.3)] 7.1 2.5 | 117 | 129 || 6.4 | 45 | 50 || 10.4] 27 | 30-}/21.0/18 [15 44 |6.1)| 6.9 2.6 | 118 | 124 ;| 6.5 | 44 | 49 ||10.6) 26 | 30 |/21.5/13 {14 6.0 | 6.7 2.7 | 109 | 120 || 6.6 | 4B | 48 ||10.8| 26 | 29 || 22.0)12 {14 46 |5.9| 6.6 2.8 | 105/116 || 6.7 | 42 | 48 ||11.0| 25 | 28 || 22.5|12 |14 47 |5.8| 6.5 2.9 | 101 | 112 || 6.8 | 42 | 47 || 11.2] 25 | 28 || 28.0|12 [18 48 |5.6| 6.8 8.0 | 98/1091] 6.9 | 41 | 46 ||} 11.4] 24 | 27 ||28.5|12 (18 5.4) 6.1 8.1) 95| 105) 7.0 | 40 | 45 ||11.6| 24 | 27 || 24.0]11 [18 62 |5.2| 6.9 8.2 | 921102 || 7.1 | 40 | 45 || 11.8) 28 | 26 || 24.5/11 |12 54 15.1) 5.7 8.3 | 89] 991) 7.2 | 89 | 44 ||12.0) 23 | 26 ||25.0/11 {12 4.9| 5.5 8.4] 86] 961) 7.3 | 89 | 44 1112.2) 28 | 26 |! 25.511 12 58 | 4.7] 5.3 8.5 | 84] 981) 7.4 | 88 | 48 ])}12.4| 22 | 25 || 26.0110 {12 60 | 4.5] 5.1 8.6 | 81] 91 7.5 | 88 | 42 1112.6] 22 | 25 || 26.5 /10 {12 62 | 4.4] 4.9 8.7! 79] 88)| 7.6 a 42 ||12.8 24 |/27.0/10 j11 64 | 4.2) 4.7 8.8} 77| 861/| 7.7 41 || 13.0] 21 | 24 || 27.5] 9.9/11 66 | 4.1) 4.6 8.9 | 75] 84]| 7.8 | 86 | 41 || 18.2] 21 | 24 || 28.0] 9.7/11 68 |38.9| 44 4.0 | 73) 81/} 7.9 | 86 | 40 || 18.4! 21 | 28 || 28.5) 9.5]11 70 13.8} 4.3 4.1.) 71| 791|} 8.0 | 85 | 40 || 18.6| 20} 28 || 29.0] 9.3|1 72 |8.7| 4.2 4.2 | 69| 77/|) 8.1 | 385 | 39 || 18.8) 20 | 28 || 29.5) 9.2|10.5 74 |3.6)| 4.1 4.3 68! 76//| 8.2] 84 | 39 ||14.0| 20] 22 || 80.0)! 9.0|10.0 76 |3.6| 4.0 4.4 | 66| 74 8.3 | 84 | 88 || 14.2) 19 | 22 ||80.5] 8.9/10.0 78 13.5) 39 4.5 | 65) 72]) 8.4] 84 | 88 || 14.4] 19 | 22 ;|31.0] 8.7| 9.8 80 | 8.4] 3.8 4.6 | 638] 70}| 8.5 | 83 | 87 ||14.6| 19 | 21 || 31.5] 8.6] 9.7 85 | 38.2) 8.6 4.7 | 62| 69 || 8.6] 88 | 87 || 14.8] 19 | 21 ||82.0| 8.5| 9.5 90 | 8.0] 3.4 4.8} 60] 67 || 8.7 | 82 | 86 || 15.0] 18 | 21 || 82.5] 8.4] 9.4]| 100 | 2.7) 8.0 4.9 | 59| 66|| 88 | 82 | 36 ||15.2| 18 | 20 ||88.0| 8.2] 9.2]| 110 | 2.4) 2.7 5.0 | 58} 65/| 8.9 | 82 | 85 || 15.4] 18 | 20 ||83.5)| 8.1] 9.1]] 120 | 2.2) 2.5 5.1 | 56] 683]| 9.0} 31 | 85 || 15.6] 18 | 20 || 34.0] 7.9] 8.91] 180 | 2.1] 2.38 5.2 | 55] 62]] 9.1 | 81 | 85 ||15 8| 17 | 20 || 84.5| 7.8} 8.8]| 140 11.9] 2.2 5.8 | 54} 61/| 9.2 | 81 | 84 || 16.0] 17 | 19 || 35.0] 7.7] 8.6]| 150 | 1.8] 2.0 5.4.| 58 9.3 | 80 | 34 || 16.5) 17 | 19 || 35.5] 7.6] 8.5]|.170 | 1.6] 1.8 5.5 | 52| 59|| 9.4] 30 | 84 |/17.0| 16 | 18 || 36.0| 7 5| 8.4]] 200 11.8] 1.5 5.6 | 51) 57 || 9.5 | 29 | 88 1/17.5| 16] 18 || 387.0| 7 8] 8.2|] 250 | 1.1] 1.2 oe ri 3 9.6 | 29 | 88 || 18.0| 15 | 17 || 88.0] 7.1) $.0|| 300 | 0.9) 1.0 In Determining the Accretion of a Felled Tree the volume is computed from actual measurements. By a few trials the top is cut off where the section contains as many rings as there are years in the period for which the accretion is desired, and the height of the tree at that time measured. The difference in volumes past and present gives periodic accretion. The diameter for both the past and present tree may be taken at the middle of the topless stem, and volumes found by multiplying | a . * ea - a vy the . wf art a 7 + \4 y : a Ps) me) ‘ + 2 J Py mu - Ms , y, baer he - 5 a < a a =e ae ae ‘ ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. 142 *¢ ne ae ee ee et 097 we em ee we ee ee mre = ee : i ‘ ’ ; r : : * - pS ems wae. 3 aS RY as + elite dial / +- / il ‘ ESamate ssrtpes & oS Riaeiey Grampian aa a ee ee ae ae * Abs rings lume of a tree.- ee ee ee ‘a kn & ive vo Figure 28. The progress ACCRETION OF A FELLED TREE. 148 their respective cross-sectional areas at that point by the length of the topless trunk. A more careful stem analysis of a tree affords detailed meas- urements from which the volume at any time during its lifetime may be determined very accurately. The following table of measurements of a pine will furnish data for the calculation of its volume at different ages, and its progressive development is graphically illustrated in Figure 38: | ~ 4 u Accretion in inches during past ed [es [de la | wes | Baa | Bow | “8 | 10 | 20 | 80 | 4 | 50 | 6 | 70 uo | Se 2D ears.|years.|years. years.|years.|years.|years. me |628 | ass dea ipamials ape. oS. eri” Seca i 2 9.3 8.52 65 .54 | 1.10 | 1.60 | 2.16 | 2.80 | 8.70 | 4.26 10 7.8 7.16 57 .50 .94 | 1.84 | 1.92 | 2.68 | 2.70 18 yeas 6.98 51 87) 107 1 EBS [2380 RSF |} 8.49 26 6.3 5.88 42 -42 1.51 | 2.59 | 2.94 34 5.7 4.92 39 44 BOB E71. \s 2.46 42 4.4 B.94 28 -48 | 1.28 | 1.97 5U 8.0 2.48 19 56]. 1.24 58 5 48 24 60 Top The Accretion of a Forest for a given number of years is found by multiplying the accretion of the sample tree for that period by the number of trees per acre and the number of acres in the tract. If the trees are arranged in diameter classes, the accretion of each class is determined, and the sum of accretions of all the classes taken as the accretion of the forest. The Working Plan of a forest contemplates the economic management of the growing crop, so that there may be cut each year not to exceed the amount of the annual accretion; or, if worked on the rotation plan, so that there may be cut at any one time not more than the accretion for the period of rotation, thus leaving the capital stock unimpaired. ‘The methods of measure- ment described are used in outlining this plan. The Estimation of Standing Timber is usually a matter of personal experience on the part of the estimator. No meas- urements are taken of trees, but the estimate is made by men of long experience in the woods. Sometimes their figures are very close, but more often they fall short of the actual stand of tim- ber. Buying and selling timber lands is based on this method of determining the possible crop, both parties sending out their ‘ 144 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. own estimators. The number of trees on typical areas, as an~ acre in each forty, may be counted, and the sizes estimated. Often all timber trees on a forty-acre lot are counted, and the number of logs per 1,000 feet board measure estimated. For an inexperienced person a good method would be to caliper all trees on typical areas of the tract, and then compute the stand from the cross-sectional area and the average length of | timber stick, which could be estimated very closely after a little practice. The greatest difficulty in this work lies in the selection of typical areas and sample trees. All forestry measurements and estimates are only approximations, and it is often found necessary to modify working plans to meet new information and changed conditions. MEASUREMENT OF LOGS AND LUMBER, Logs are Measured in Feet Board Measure by taking the length and diameter at the small end, and by reference to a table the corresponding number of feet board measure is found. This is not usually accurate, but seems to be sufficiently so to satisfy both buyer and seller in this state. Lumber is measured in square feet of surface of a board one inch in thickness, com- monly called board measure, or B. M., for short. Scaling Logs in Minnesota is a Simple Matter. It is done after they are cut from the tree and marked, wherever con- venient,—in the woods, on skidways, on cars, on the river, or elsewhere. For straight, sound logs no experience is necessary, but for defective logs the scaler’s judgment is depended upon to make proper deduction, so as to get out good lumber. Private scalers may be employed by those interested, but, to avoid possi- ble litigation over sales, it is advisable to have the surveyor gen- eral of logs and lumber for the district appoint an official scaler to do the work. The scalers enter in a book carried for the pur- pose the number of logs scaled, the length, the feet B. M., the number of each log if numbered, the section, township and range where cut, and the markings. These books are kept on file in the surveyor general’s office for future reference. There are seven lumber districts provided for by law in Minnesota, but in only five has it been found necessary to open offices, namely, at Stillwater, Minneapolis, Wabasha, Duluth and Crookston. SCALING. 145 The Minnesota law provides that Scribner’s rule be the only’ legal rule for the survey of logs in this state, and that every log shall be surveyed by the largest number of even feet which it contains in length over ten feet and under twenty-four feet, and all logs of twenty-four feet or more shall be surveyed as two logs or more. As to what Scribner’s rule is the law does not say, and yet requires it to be posted in the offices of the surveyors general of logs and lumber. The following table is a copy of Scribner’s rule as used here: . SCRIBNER’S RULE. n we y Loc LENGTHS IN FEET, Uy ts | = 9 12 14 16 18 20 22 Aas 8 24 28 82 40 44 48 9 30 40 45 50 55 10 45 50 55 65 70 11 50 55 65 70 80 12 59 69 79 88 98 108 13 73 97 109 122 134 14 100 114 129 148 157 15 107 125 142 160 178 1 16 119 139 159 178 198 218 17 139 162 185 208 232 5 18 160 187 213 240 267 293 19 180 210 240 270 330 20 210 245 280 815 350 385 4 21 266 304 342 380 418 22 251 384 376 418 288 330 377 424 470 518 24 308 853 404 454 555 25 344 401 459 516 578 631 26 875 439 500 562 625 27 411 479 548 616 684 753 582 654 vi 29 457 9 609 685 761 838 30 493 575 657 739 821 904 31 582 622 710 799 888 976 32 552 644 736 828 920 1012 38 784 882 980 84 600 700 800 900 | 1000 35 657 766 876 985 1095 36 928 | 1088 1152 87 772 901 1029 1158 1287 88 801 934 1068 1201 39 840 9 1120 1260 40 105 1204 1354 41 954 1118 1272 1481 42 1007 1175 1348 43 1046 1222 1396 44 1110 | 1295 1430 45 1139 1315 1587 46 1190 1380 1656 47 1242 1445 1728 1296 1512 1818 10 146 . ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. The Number of Feet B. M. which May be Obtained from a Tog varies with the management of the cutting, the width of kerf, the width of boards, whether one or two inch boards, or some of both are cut from the same log. Usually the cut exceeds the scale. Take, for example, a log sixteen inches in diameter at the small end, eighteen inches at the middle, twenty inches at the large end, and twelve feet long. Such a log con- tains about 21.2 cubic feet. The official scale gives 119 feet B. M., which is equal to 9.9 cubic feet. The actual cut should give 155.75 feet B. M., or thirteen cubic feet of lumber, the slab would be about 5.3 cubic feet, and the kerf (sawdust) about 2.9 cubic. feet. From this it would appear that the Minnesota official scale gives the seller 46.7 per cent of his log, while the mill turns out 61.3 per cent in lumber, 13.7 per cent in sawdust and 25 per cent in slab. The producer loses 53.3 per cent of the scaled log; but that is not all his loss. In marking logs to be cut the under- cutter allows at least three inches over the required length to cover loss in checking; that is, a log scaled at twelve foot length would really measure twelve feet and three inches, cr more. The Percentage of the Logs,on which the seller or pro- | ducer gets returns varies with different sizes and shapes. The following table will serve as a comparison: Scale Per cent Diameters Lengths Volume lof Actual Inches. Feet. Cc. F. Volume’ B.M. | C.F. Scaled. 21-22 16 25.38 40.8 62.8 18-19 22 293 24.4 41.1 59.4 18-21 16 21 17.9 88.2 - 58.9 16-18 16 159 138.8 25.2 52.8 15-22 16 142 11.8 29.9 89.5 1 -16 14 1 10.6 18.3 57.9 16-20 12 119 9.9 21.2 46.7 14-18 12 86 7.2 16.8 42.9 14-15 12 7.2 13.8 52.2 10-14 65 5.4 15.7 B4.4 11-18 16 65 5.4 12.6 42.9 11-12 16 65 5.4 11.5 47.0 11-15 12 50 4.2 ah BS 87.8 10-12 16 50 4.2 10.6 89.6 2.7 ok 87.8 1.8 4.9 27.1 8.8 8.7 88.1 2.7 7.9 83.8 2.7 8.7 80.6 2.7, 9.6 27.8 2.0 6.5 80.6 2.0 5.8 37.7 2.5 6.5 88.2 | ee FOREST INSTRUMENTS. 147 In practice these discrepancies are equalized as the result of the ordinary trade relations, and are not liable to work serious injustice under present conditions, and are here stated only to call attention to our crude methods of measuring timber. INSTRUMENTS USED IN FOREST MENSURATION, The Equipment of a Forester, while not extensive, must be complete for the work in hand. He surveys the land, lays out roads and ditches, cuts down trees and saws them into logs, measures diameters of logs and growing trees, takes heights of trees, determines rates of growth, estimates and measures tim- ber and cordwood, and maps and plats his work. Where there has been a survey of land by the government, as in this state, he will not be called upon to make one, as maps sufficiently reliable for his purpose may be had from official records; but to meet all the requirements of his position the forester should be an expert surveyor, and provided with all the necessary instruments for the work, including drawing instruments, tables, stationery, etc., for office work, in mapping and platting his field observa- tions. The work of forestry mensuration is concerned mainly with taking diameters and heights of trees, determining the areas on which they stand and the rate of growth. : For Measuring Land Areas the ordinary steel tape, grad- uated on one side in feet, tenths and hundredths, and on the other side in links for convenience in computing acreage, is used —the 100-foot length being preferred. For the same purpose a steel chain is also used, and with the chain or tape should be a set of marking pins and ranging poles. In laying out small rectangular areas, as a sample acre, a cross-staff head, an angle mirror, or an angle prism is used; but for more extended sur- veys and for road and ditch work a transit and level would be advisable, while for the location of lost corners the magnetic compass might have to be resorted to. For the Rough Land Measurement of a Valuation Survey a Steel Chain, Thirty-three Feet Long, is used. This short chain is attached to a stout leather belt about the waist of the tallyman, whose hands are then free to carry the tallyboard holding notebook or tally blanks, and to work with a lead pencil. A small magnetic compass by which the tallyman directs his course is fixed on one corner of the tallyboard. 148 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. The Diameters of Trees and Logs are taken with a pair of wooden calipers of convenient size for the timber of the district. A limb or scale bar, graduated in inches and tenths, has a fixed arm standing out at right angles at one end, while a second arm is movable along the bar so that the trunk of a tree may be inclosed between them and the diameter read directly from the scale. The fixed arm is held in place by a f ‘ Figure 39. Calipering a tree. screw so that it may be removed for packing and transportation, or so that a broken part may be replaced. The other arm has an adjustable plate which keeps it at right angles to the scale bar when pressed against the tree. Sometimes the circumference of the tree is measured with a steel tape, one side of which is grad- uated to give diameters of circles whose circumferences are read from the other side. The Heights of Trees are determined by means of a most convenient and useful little instrument, called Faustman’s mir- ror hypsometer. The distance of the observer from the tree is ———E——————E—— 1 Si oe ee rr 2 hg ed , + ss FOREST INSTRUMENTS. 149 measured with a steel tape, and the instrument adjusted to that distance by the slide and vertical scale. The top and bottom of : the tree are then sighted and the readings of the marginal scale where the plumb line crosses it added to or subtracted from each other, according as the eye of the observer is above or below the level of the tree. This instrument may also be used : Figure 40. Faustman’s mirror hypsometer. (ABCD.) Frame of in- strument, (E) mirror in which scale is reflected, (a) eyepiece, (b) cross-wire on which object is sighted, (ge) slide and vertical scale for distance of ob- server from tree, (f) spring to hold slide in place, (h) marginal scale which _ gives height of tree. in taking levels and grades, and may be mounted on a jacob staff or tripod, but is more often used in the hand. Another instrument, called “Baummesser”’ by the Germans, mounted on a tripod, is used to take heights, and by means of a stadia attachment the diameter at any point on the trunk of the tree may also be measured. After some practice with one of them a 150 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. person may become sufficiently expert at estimating the heights of trees to get along without an instrument. The Rate of Growth of a Standing Tree is determined by removing from the trunk a small cylinder of wood with a hol- low auger, called an accretion borer. On this section of wood the annual rings are counted, and their width measured with a pocket rule graduated in inches and tenths, or in millimeters. Figure 41. The mirror hypsometer in use. Where the growth has been slow, and the rings are close, a pocket lens may be necessary to enable one to count them. When a fuller determination of the rate of growth is desirable, trees are felled with an ax, or with a saw, and cut into logs. A_ small saw is easier to carry around, but a longer, heavier saw does much faster work. The common logging saw of the Min- nesota woods is six feet in length. In making an examination of the end of a log the rough graining of the saw must often be smoothed away before the rings can be counted readily, and this ee we , FOREST INSTRUMENTS. 151 Figure 42. The accretion borer, showing handle, hollow auger, with- drawing pin and a core of wood extracted. The handle is hollow, with screw caps, so that the other parts may be carried inside when not in use. Figure 43. Using the accretion borer on the trunk of a tree. 152 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. is well accomplished with a sharp knife, cutting a broad V notch from the center to the circumference. Miscellaneous Instruments’ used by the forester. For marking logs, blazing trees, cutting away lembs, etc., a hand ax is a desirable addition to the equipment. It should be small, so as to be conveniently carried in the pocket or in the belt, and should have a leather guard to protect the edge when not in use. As saws and axes will not keep sharp long, if used, a grindstone, whetstones, files and saw sets should be provided. In calipering trees on a small area across which it is necessary to make sev- eral trips, the surveyor avoids repetitions by marking the bark of each tree, as he calipers. it, with a metal scratcher carried in one hand. Sometimes a pair of climbers are used to get into the top of a tree for the purpose of measuring upper limbs and diam- eters. The number of feet board measure in logs is ascertained by means of the ordinary log rule, Minnesota standard, used by scalers, and a board rule measures the lumber as it comes from the sawmill. . A Camping Outfit is necessary where the work of the for- ester is done in the depths of the forest, far from habitations and railroads, and perhaps a wagon and a team of horses or pack horses should be provided for moving camp and hauling sup- plies. If the area to be worked over is great, the chief of the party should have a good saddle horse, so that he may get over _ the country quickly, and lay out work for his subordinates who operate on foot. . CHAPTER XI. FOREST PROBLEMS IN MINNESOTA. The object of this chapter is to give general suggestions which may be applied to a variety of conditions, and not to pre- scribe exact treatment for any special forest problem. It has seemed that certain methods of treatment could be best given in this way. r. A. has a swamp covered with thrifty Black Spruce, in all about seventy-five acres. Last year he got 500 Christmas trees from it, which he sold at eight cents each. There is also some Tamarack and Pine on the higher land. For what trees can this land be used for greatest profit? How long does it take to grow Christmas trees? Answer: If the Black Spruce are thrifty, it is a very sure indication that the soil is not overly wet during the summer, and that it is in very good shape for Tamarack or other more valua- ble tree. The Black Spruce is a very slow grower, and it is- doubtful if it should be encouraged under any condition. Our native White Spruce grows much faster, and this would be mueh the most profitable of any of our native trees for paper pulp; but some studies by the Minnesota Experiment Station seem to show that the Norway Spruce ‘could be grown at even greater profit for paper pulp. ‘This tree is fully as rapid a grower as the White Spruce, nearly as hardy, and the seed of it is much more easily obtained. If it is thought desirable to use this land for pulp wood, a small bed of spruee seedlings should be made up near by, in which should be sown White or Norway Spruce seed, and when the seedlings are three or four years old they should be transplanted to the swamp. It would take at least fifteen years to grow Black Spruce to a height of six feet for Christmas trees, while the Norway Spruce could probably be grown to the same height under same conditions in ten years. About 1,800 Christ- mas trees can be grown on one acre of land to a height of six feet and with a spread of five feet. Spruce may be grown closer together than most other trees for this purpose, because the shaded branches are not easily killed out. 154 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. 2. B. has a Tamarack swamp of 800 acres, from which he has — cut all the timber big enough for ties. There is practically no demand for the smaller post timber at present, and he asks what he should do with it, and if it will pay him to hold it. The land seems to be well stocked with young trees of various ages, some of which have been somewhat broken down in getting out the larger tie timber. . Answer: Probably the best treatment would be to let it alone. If the land is quite wet there is very little chance of fire’ doing much damage to it. If, however, it is liable to be dried out it would be a good plan to take some precautions to protect it from fire, if it can be done without too much expense. The Tamarack grows very rapidly, and there is perhaps no tree that will pay better than this, providing the taxes are not too high. While there may be no demand at present for the smaller stuff for fence posts, yet within a few years such a demand is inevitable, as the more accessible Tamarack is now being rapidly sought after for such purposes, and is being shipped in large quantities to the prairie farms. Such a Tam- arack swamp, if carefully looked after, is capable of continuing itself indefinitely and producing a fairly good annual revenue. The advisability of perpetuating such a swamp in Tamarack would depend largely on the demand for hay land, for which pur- poses stich land is generally well adapted. 5 3. ) ACS Willow Satins Biattse 0.4456* — Pinus fléxilts 5.60 ccc0 beaess Western White Pine..| 43.42 0.4858 ACF REGURGO 0S Sasi cee eet BOXC1dE? o1. 200 ies sean 8 42.82 0.4358 TSUga CANAAENSIS.. 66.6 v0 0s sees Hemlock .......... seeef >) 42.20 0.4289 Catalpa spectosa .......... e006 Hardy Catalpa........ 41.48 0.4165 Populus balsamifera candicans | Balm of Gilead........| © 41.42 0.4161 SJUZTANS CINEVEL. 06 eee ec ecees Butternut ............. 40.66 © 0.4086 Picea canadenst$............... | White Spruce ......° 40.38 0.4051 Populus tremulotdes ..... 0.064. ; MBDet Shh Sai hes 40.10 0.4032 Populus angustifolia .......... Narrowleaf Cottonw’d| 38.81 0.8912. Populus deltotides .... 000201008: Cottonwood ........... 88.52 0.3889 Pim SPODUS S058. sete baad White Pine .....:..5..! 88.4 0.3854 Abies balsamed 0. ccccec eves Balsam Fir............ 38.02 0.8819 _ Picea parryana..... Fides bee ES Blue Spruce....i...... 87.26 0.8740 Abies CONCOIOY ..6.. cece cee vee White Firs.6.licssses. 36.07 0.8688 Populus balsamifera..... 2.4... Balsam Poplar ........ 86.11 0.3635 Picea engelmannt... «1... Engelmann Spruce .. 38.88 0.8449 - Thuja occidentalis. ...- 0.00 ees Arborvited ois siaiis ass 81.58 0.8164 *Air dried, CHAPTER XIII. DURABILITY OF WOOD. Decay in Wood is due to the breaking down of the tissues by fungi. In some cases the fungus destroys the woody cells; in others it uses up the starch found in the cells and merely leaves a blue stain (bluing of lumber). Some kinds of fungi attack only conifers, others only hard woods; some are confined to one species while others may affect several species, but probably no one of them attacks all kinds of wood. Figure 46 shows the dis- coloration of wood by a shelf fungus. The wood contains the fungus plant, which, when ready to produce its spores, sends out a shelf-like body on the side of the wood. ‘These shelves contain the spores and may be found on many old decayed trees or stumps. Various odors are produced in the wood by some of these fungi; they may be pleasant, as those found some- SS : times in the Oak, or unpleas- Se ee ie = = ant, as those infesting some of the Poplars. By studying both the favorable and the unfavorable conditions for the growth of the rot-producing Y fungi we may learn the best ih | Ni It methods of increasing the iN ! dul durability of our woods, and laa e», a Pine a thus avoid unnecessary waste. (a) Sound wood; (b) resinous wood; The soil and conditions (c) partly decayed wood or punk; Rn ' (d) layer of living spore tubes; under which wood is grown (ec) old spore tubes filled up; affect its durability. Conifer- (f) fluted upper surface of the fruit- P ing soe? a Be fungus bdo he ous woods with narrow annual its food throu a great number o r fine threads She emycelium), its rings are most durable, espe- vegetative tissues penetrating the cially when grown on compar- wood and causing it to decay. ; E : atively poor soils, in dense forests, and at high altitudes. On the contrary, the hard woods 176 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. with wide annual rings are most durable, and are grown on the ° low lands and in isolated positions. The wood of most broad- leafed trees produced in the open is more durable than that from the dense forest. Sound Mature Trees Yield More Durable Timber than either young or very old trees. A tree is considered mature when it ceases growing vigorously, which condition is indicated by the flattening out of the crown, by dead branches in the crown, and by changes in the color of the bark. It is not indi- cated by size, since this varies in the same species according to circumstances. A small tree poorly situated for growth may be as old or older than a larger tree growing under better condi- tions. Intense Coloration of the Heartwood is a measure of durability in timber, and faintly colored heartwood resembles sapwood in its properties, only surpassing it in dryness. The tannin or coloring matter of heartwood is antiseptic. Where heartwood does not change its color or is lighter than the sap- wood the protecting substances are generally absent, and the wood is therefore liable to decay. This is plainly shown in the hollow trunks of wiliow. and, basswood. Sapwood Contains More Ready-Made Food in forms acceptable to a great number of kinds of fungi than the heart- wood. ‘This largely accounts for the fact that sapwood is much more liable to decay than heartwood. ‘This is especially true in . the case of Cedar and Pine, where the heartwood is protected by resinous substances. But when the sapwood is well seasoned and heavier than the heartwood it lasts as long. Wood that has been once attacked by fungi becomes predisposed to further decay. ; The Time of Cutting Timber affects its durability only as the weather at the time of cutting affects the curing process. Wood cut in summer is generally affected by decay-producing fungi, rapid fermenting of sap, and by bad checking, owing to very rapid curing on the outside. As the cracks thus made go deep into the wood they may increase the danger from fungi. Where summer-felled wood is worked up at once and protected by kiln-drying, it lasts as long as that cut at any other season, Early winter is probably the best time to cut timber as regards durability, since it then seasons slowly at a time when DURABILITY OF WOOD. 177 the rot-producing fungi are not active, so that it can cure over on the outside before summer. Many kinds of fungi and beetles find a very favorable place just under the bark of logs. These can be avoided, the curing of the timber hastened and its dura- bility greatly increased by removing the bark soon after felling. When trees are cut in full leaf it is advantageous to let them lie at full length until the leaves are thoroughly wilted (two or three weeks) before cutting to size. With conifers this is a good prac- tice at any season, and while not: practical, yet theoretically all winter-cut trees should be left to leaf out in the spring before being worked. In this way most of the sap is evaporated, but in the care of timber that is to go at once into the water these precautions are not so important. Heat (60 Degrees to roo Degrees Fahr.), Moisbure and Air in moderate quantities produce conditions under which wood quickly decays. It is on this account that fence posts rot off near the surface of the ground, where about such conditions of heat and moisture are usually found during several months of the year. For the same reason what is known as dry rot destroys green floor joists or other timbers where they are tightly inclosed, as under a house without ventilation, since moisture is always present in such places, and the timber cannot dry out. Periectly dry wood or that submerged in water will last indefi- nitely, and there seems to be no difference in different kinds of wood under these.conditions. Pieces of pine wood in good'con- dition have been found in Illinois buried to a depth of sixty feet that must have been there for many centuries. Nearly sound pine logs are occasionally found in the woods of this state, where they have a thick moss covering that has kept them moist and prevented their decay for hundreds of years. ‘The remains of timbers in the piles of the lake dwellers, which must have stood in place two thousand years, are still intact. In these instances the wood was kept moist, and never came in contact with the air. It is very evident, too, that wood which is kept in a dry place does not decay, since it may be found in an unim- paired state of preservation in some of our very oldest buildings. In the following table is shown approximately the time fence posts will last in Minnesota. ‘This table is based on practical experience in this state: 178 ELEMENTARY, FORESTRY. TABLE SHOWING RANGE OF DURABILITY OF FENCE POSTS IN’ MINNESOTA, (Air dry.) Red Cedar wr. as Re. Fe ee ated ae ee TE a he oe kee 30 years White Cedar (quartered 6-inch face).............4+: 10-I5 years White. Oak .-tnich round) 3) va. See ES ed 8 years Red ‘ahd Black Oaks orto 2 o Coeat oir s o kaise a 4 years Tamarack (Redwood), 0) as. i sbas.o ieee obese bes cakes Q years Feri es ae en Ae eds ee, eae 6-7 years Ash, Beech, Maple..... Poa 7En Vas tan Oe ee aL on 4 years Tatack~ Walt: 7 S208 77s ee een Shaina cote Oe es 7-10 years White Willow, 6 inches in diameter, peeled and dried. 6-7 years Curing is one of the most important processes in its effect on the durability of wood. Well cured wood resists decay far better than fresh wood, because it contains an insufficient amount of water for the growth of fungi. Green wood covered with paint before it is dry is often destroyed by dry rot, since this fungus finds abundant moisture under the paint and the protec- tion which was intended for the wood really protects its enemy, the fungus. Paint and other wood-protecting compounds are efficient only when they are applied to dry material, which they preserve by protecting them from moisture. But fence posts or other timber to be used in moist places, if well cured, will, even if not protected, last much longer than fresh cut timber. The amount of moisture in wood, then, is the most important factor in influencing its durability. | : Timber is Best Cured Under Cover, where it is pro- tected from the sun and the full force of the wind, but has a good circulation of air. If piled in the open, it is a good plan to shade it. When piling green or wet timber, place lath or other strips of wood of uniform size under each log, post or tie. In piling sawed lumber the lath should be placed at the ends, as in this position they in a measure prevent checking on the ends. From twelve to eighteen months is generally sufficient to cure wood for ordinary use, while for special work ten or more years may occasionally be required. If green or wet timber is closely piled in warm weather it is likely to rot. The best method of curing timber without resorting to the use of expensive appa- ratus is to work it up.at once and soak it in water for from one to three weeks to remove the sap from the outside of the wood. ‘COATINGS FOR WOOD...’ -*.. 1179 It will then season more quickly and be more durable than when dried without soaking. Sometimes it is absolutely necessary to thus water season large timbers, as it is impossible to get the sap out of them by atmospheric seasoning. Large checks or cracks . in the ends of logs or other timber of large dimension may be avoided or greatly lessened by painting the ends with linseed oil mixed with ground charcoal or other material to give it con- sistency. Covering with cloth or tarred paper also lessens check- ing. . Good Coatings for Wood consist of oily or resinous substances that are easily applied in a smooth coat and dry readily, yet do not have any tendency to crack or peel off. They should be applied to the whole exposed surface. : Coal Tar is one of the best materials for covering wood to increase its durability. It is best applied hot, especially if mixed with oil of turpentine, as- it then penetrates more deeply. A mixture of three parts coal tar and one part unsalted grease, to prevent the tar from drying too quickly so it may penetrate the wood better, is recommended. One barrel of coal tar will cover from two to three hundred posts if it is properly applied. Oil Paints are next in value. Boiled linseed oil is used with lead, pulverized charcoal, or other similar material, to give it substance. Soaking the dry wood in crude petroleum is also recommended. | Lime Whitewash is a good preventive of decay in wood and, although not as good for this purpose as coal tar, it is very desirable. As with all other preservatives that are applied to the surface, the wood should be very dry before it is applied, and the wash should be applied evenly over all the exposed parts. It is on account of the lime that washes out of the mortar that the shingles on a roof just below the chimney last longer than on other parts of the roof. But if whitewash is to be applied to shingles it should be applied before they are laid by dipping. Charring those parts of posts or timbers which come in contact with the ground is a good preventive, provided a thick layer of charcoal is formed and the work so carefully done as not to cause the timber to crack, since deep cracking exposes the interior to decay. If not carefully done the timber may be seriously weakened. 180 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. Fj Antiseptics. The impregnating of timber with sulphate of copper (blue stone), sulphate of iron (green copperas), chloride of zinc, creosote, salts of mercury, or other similar material, has the effect, when properly done, of greatly increasing its dura- bility. Such antiseptic substances have the power of destroying . the rot-producing fungi. The materials are often applied to fresh logs. If dry timber is to be treated, it is first boiled or steamed to open the cells. A hollow cap connected with a force pump is placed over one end, and the liquid forced through the cap into the wood, which results in forcing out the sap at the opposite — end and replacing it with the antiseptic, but the more common method is that described below as the treatment given in im- pregnating railroad ties in Europe. All the antiseptics mentioned have been used to some extent for this purpose, but for various reasons chloride of zinc is now most generally used. Railroad longer than those not so treated. Impregnation also to some extent renders wood fire-proof. | Iron Railroad Ties. A few years ago it was thought prob- able that iron railroad ties would come into general use in Europe, owing to the scarcity of Oak ties. They have, however, been found to give a very unyielding road bed, and are not gen- erally liked, and are seldom used for more than a short distance at railroad stations. ‘The disposition now is to substitute impreg- nated Beech ties for iron, and the successful impregnation of this wood, causing it to become quite durable, has had a large effect in doing away with iron ties. The Impregnation of Beech Wood for railway ties is a large industry in Europe. Without impregnation Beech is one - of the least durable of woods, but by modern impregnation meth- ods it can be made to last at least fifteen years in any soil, and it is customary for concerns engaged in this business to warrant the durability of their impregnated ties for twelve years. Pine and Oak ties are not impregnated. The process commonly followed in many parts of Germany is about as follows: A large boiler-like tank is provided, which is about six feet in diameter and forty to one hundred feet long. This is made with heads that can be securely and tightly bolted on. It also has a small track for the cars which carry the ties. Before treatment the ties are mortised to receive the rail plates. After the tank is filled with cars loaded with ties the steam is IMPREGNATION OF WOOD. 181 turned on for one to three hours, with a pressure of about twen- ty-five pounds. This treatment softens the wood and dissolves the sap. The air is then pumped out of the tank, which removes the sap from the ties and leaves a vacuum. When this has been completed and the vacuum made, the impregnating material is added under a pressure of about 120 pounds. This forces the impregnating material into the cells of the wood. ‘The preserva- tive material used is made up one-third of a three per cent solu- tion of chloride of zinc and two-thirds of dead oil (creosote oil). Chloride of zinc was formerly used alone, but it was found that it washed out after a few years, where the wood was laid in con- tact with the ground, and thus the wood was liable to decay; but by the addition of dead oil, which is itself a good antiseptic, the cells of the wood were effectually sealed over and water pre- vented from entering, and thus the chloride of zinc was pro- tected and the process made more permanent. ‘the cost of this . treatment in Hessen, Germany, is estimated at about twenty-two cents per tie. Among the other processes for the preservation of wood are the following: Kyanizing Process. In this the ties are steeped in a solu- tion of bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate), in the pro- portion of about one part bichloride to one hundred parts,*by weight, of water. The time required for this process is about one whole day for each inch in thickness. This material is an active poison, and must be handled carefully. It has given excel- lent satisfaction in the preservation of timber which comes in contact with the soil, but soon corrodes metal in contact with it. Boucherie Process. In this process the timber is impreg- nated with a one per cent solution of sulphate of copper, either by pressure in a closed vessel, or by applying it to the end of the tie or log and forcing it through. This is an excellent antisep- tic, and is said to have doubled the life of the Pine ties in Europe. Creosoting. This process is very extensively used, and has given excellent satisfaction. ‘The material is what is known as dead oil, of coal tar, and is obtained by distilling coal. Naph- thaline is its principal preservative. A similar oil, known as wood creosote oil, is obtained by the distillation of Pine wood, but is said to be much more’soluble than the dead oil, and on 80'7 ot ee ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. this account more liable: ‘to’ ab Out of the wood’ when in con- tact with the soil. 5 ee x Zinc. Tannin Dragene Tn this process. the MAS cde: of zinc is protected from being washed ‘out of the ties by coagulated albumen. ‘The process is as follows: The ties are impregnated with chloride of zinc mixed with a small percentage of dissolved glue. They are then subjected to heavy pressure, after which the solution is drawn off and a tannin solution added at a pressure ~ of 100 pounds. This material combines with the glue, and forms © a leathery, waterproof substance which permanently closes the pores or outer cells of the wood, excluding moisture and retain- ing the zinc. Burnettizing. In this process the timber is impregnated with chloride of zinc, the operation being similar to that of creo- soting. It has a wonderful preservative effect upon the timber, the only objection to it being that.the solution is liable to be washed out of the ties. This is overcome in the modern treat- ment of the ties in Germany by using a certain per cent of dead. oil with it, as previously noted in Gescribiag the method of impregnating railroad ties. Fire-Proof Wood. It has been known for many years that wood could be made fire proof by filling it with certain chemicals in much the same way that railway ties are impregnated. The most common chemical used for this purpose was phosphate of ammonia, and it is perhaps the best material for this purpose that has ever been used, but it is so expensive that the use of it is quite impracticable. ‘The next best material that has been used for this purpose is sulphate of ammonia, but like phosphate of ammonia this somewhat injures the flexibility of the fiber and corrodes metal, and in addition deadens the color and causes the wood to be more hydroscopic. ‘These chemicals, either alone or combined, have given some very good results, but have not been entirely satisfactory. They have been used in fire-proofing war- ships, where great results have sometimes been realized, as, nota- bly, in the war between Chinayand Japan, where this treatment is said to have given Japan a great advantage in the greatest naval battle of that war. If a fire-proofing process were discovered that combined the merits of cheapness without injuriously affect- ing the qualities of the wood, it would be much sought after, and FIRE PROOF WOOD. 183 its application would be almost endless. In order to be effective such a process must not only be cheap, but must not prevent the wood from holding paint varnish and glue well, nor injure its fiber, nor corrode metal in contact with it nor tools used in work- ing it, neither must it increase its tendency to absorb moisture. CHAPTER XIV. FOREST ECONOMICS. Alarm About Destruction of Forests! For many years the attention of the people of this country has been drawn to the possibility of a depletion of our forests and a timber famine in the near future. But increased transportation facilities have made new sources of timber easily accessible to us, which fact, together with the use of inferior kinds of trees for lumber, has kept the predicted timber famine from materializing, until now our people have become skeptical on this point, and look upon these predictions as very premature. ‘To any one who carefully studies the subject, however, it will be very evident that our supply of White Pine, that most generally useful of all our timber trees, is fast decreasing, and that it cannot be many years before this will be apparent by the advance of prices for this kind of timber. Most of the land of good quality in Minnesota seems destined to be eventually used for farming purposes, but there will always remain a large area of stony or very sandy land that will be unfit for profitable agriculture, and which will produce more revenue when used for the production of timber than when used for any other crop. There is also a large amount of land that will not be needed for farming purposes for many years, and this should grow timber until needed for agriculture. Besides this, with the increased value of fuel, lumber and other forest products, there will come a better appreciation of the importance of farm wood lots as a source of fuel, poles, lumber, etc., for farm use, and a more general disposition to save some land for this purpose. ‘ Price of Fuel. At present in the greater part of our for- ested area north of St. Paul the timber is greatly in the way of settlers, and the price of fuel is simply the cost of gathering it, no charge whatever being made for the wood itself. This state of things exists because not only in the forests but more espe- cially in the great area of cut-over timber lands in that section there is such an immense amount of dead and down timber that S AS VALUE OF FOREST INDUSTRIES. 185 it is seriously in the way and far in excess of the fuel demands of the settlers on those lands for a score of years to come. There seems to be something incongruous in the fact that while one- half of our state is prairie, and sadly in want of fuel and othe forest supplies, the other half has such a superabundance of these products that they are going to waste, and only a small portion is considered worth marketing. Value of Forest Industries of Minnesota. The market- ing of the products of the virgin forest in Mimnesota has added greatly to the wealth and prosperity of the state, and under proper management this source of wealth would continue indefi- nitely. The value of the forests of Minnesota is most easily seen by showing the number of men employed. According to the report of the Bureau of Labor, there were employed in logging, in the year 1899-1900, 15,886 men and 8,285 horses. ‘The average time of the men was about twenty weeks. ‘They were employed in 329 camps, and cut 1,112,000,000 feet board measure. The total wages was $2,988,900, besides board, or about $4,180,000, including board. In the wood-working industries, the following men were employed in the year 1900: Sash and door manufacturers. ............ceececeeeeces 1,186 Sawmills, shingle and lath mills.....................4.. 9,179 BEINN ERT te MOIR Means RN ee CREO. ea 8 DROS Sie ley SKE 1,707 MOmtsea CN WOW WOLKSs ar 6icsr, seb leks. sas bales sivas 48 ROMMEL TERERLI Si hati 2 ae: Bie a are Sia Leecbi le RA 5 Lac TL wtibelo ac, 229 Tsmiber Wares. oo iis 655.5.¥ Dai Rabe ie taahs Ghala-aaut can cae, 3 5% 276 RT MOTIONS (SHODS 1.5 isle ei aes KU Me dtetatke weed a va 830 Weraituce and fixtures... 0/307 PA Soe (RS Beaks 1,405 SRO DOLAMS: 20558 es a os GAR ATES Tee PEM 772 eT Ee CeO 2 10 ane ae ae a aE Soap coy en pe eR 356 OMIA VS Gita ay ond hee ede Moos are he oeS ea Ane 15.988 Making a total in the wood-working and lumbering industries, besides carpenters and builders, of 31,874 men employes. Possibilities of Yield of Our Forest Area. ‘The best authorities agree that the normal annual increase on our 12,000.- 000 acres of forest area should be about 2,000,000,000 feet board 186 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. measure, Or a mean annual increase of 185 feet board measure ; per acre. If this were true, it would leave a wide margin to our present annual timber cut without impairing our normal growing stock. In other words, this great lumber industry, of so much value to the state, would be continued indefinitely under normal conditions. But there is practically no timber land in this state under normal conditions, and there is little or no increase on the far greater part of our cut-over timber lands. On this account the continuance of our lumber industry is not hoped for by those engaged in it. In other -words, we are working our timber resources as though: they were a mine which can never be restocked. The timber lands of all civilized countries have passed through about the same wasteful conditions as those which now prevail here. While this does not justify the present deplorable situation here, it shows us that the trouble we are suffering from is a com- mon one, that will right itself with increased population and proper education. Previous to 1700 the forests of Germany were in much the same condition as those here at present, and a square mile of forest land could be bought for the present price of one of the oaks planted at that time. Our people are simply uninformed as to the possibilities of our forest land under proper conditions. | Like Any Other Business, Forestry Requires Capital. This is partly in land and partly in the growing crops of wood. Capital in wood may often exceed that in land. Income from forests comes as timber, fuel, bark, and in items of smaller impor- tance, such as grazing, fruit, medicinal plants, hunting, etc. Forests Should be so Managed as to yield an annual increase, as in this way the conditions for most successful market- ing are best met. Under such conditions, too, a certain amount of experienced help can be expected to become located conveni- ently near, as they will have steady work, while if the products are harvested at irregular intervals new help must be engaged at each harvest, which is extremely undesirable. In Considering the Returns from the Forest the fol- lowing terms should be clearly understood: (1) Normal grow- ing stock, (2) normal income, (3) capital stock, and (4) actual income. These are defined in the following paragraphs: NORMAL GROWING STOCK. 187 Normal Growing Stock. Since the annual valuable increase of wood is in proportion to the amount of leaf surface on trees of the right kind, size and form, it follows that there must always be a certain number of trees of a certain size in order to obtain normal annual growth. This material represents invested capital, and the highest annual income is dependent upon having a normal growing stock upon the land. As a mat- ter of fact, this is an ideal thing, and is seldom, if ever, exactly attained. ‘The amount of normal growing stock which there will be upon one acre will depend upon the species, its age and con- ditions, and must be determined in the working plan of the forest tract after a careful study of its conditions. The Normal Income is the crop of wood that a given tract of forest will produce per year under normal conditions. This will, of course, vary with the species and conditions. It may be harvested by selecting only the large trees from all over the area, or by cutting clean over a certain portion of it, as shown in chapter X. It is very plain that, if the increase per year is a given amount, it may be harvested by either method without infringing on the normal growing stock of the whole area. For some conditions the selection method is preferred, while for oth- ers, such as for even stands of Spruce, which are liable to blow down when thinned, it might be better to cut clean, and keep the- trees in even age groups. In this latter case the tract should be divided into as many parts as there are years in the rotation, and the timber from one part cut each year. This would mean the planting or seeding of a like amount each year. Capital Growing Stock. This represents the actual amount of trees on the land which is producing wood growth of value. The nearer this approaches to the normal growing stock the bet- ter the condition of the forest and the larger its returns. Actual Income represents the annual return which a given forest tract is producing. Increasing Value of Forests. In countries where forestry has reached a high degree of development a piece of land is regarded as being in forest as soon as it is stocked with trees, even if the seedlings are not yet over two inches high and are hardly to be seen at a short distance. Such a piece of land should have increased value and should be regarded as earning a rate of interest. It is so regarded in many of the European 188 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. states, and money lenders there consider this matter as impor* tant when placing a loan; for while the increase on such land cannot be gathered at all for perhaps sixteen or twenty years, and then only a small amount, yet a certain increase in woody tissue is being stored up each year which will later on be har- vested. It should be regarded as being worth at any time a cer- tain proportion of its total value at maturity, which perhaps will not come for twenty years, but if a forest is reasonably protected from fire, it is almost as sure to earn a certain increment as that the conditions on the earth will remain as they are for eighty years. And if a forest is twenty years old, it may be in such condition that it would be wasteful to try to derive any income from it for perhaps twenty years more, yet it is worth perhaps one-third of what it will be worth twenty years hence. Thus, if at forty years it will yield ninety cords of paper pulp per acre, worth five dollars per cord, it should at twenty years be worth about $140, after allowing for compound interest at six per cent. Unproductive Forest Land. In almost every range of for- est there will be some land that is quite unproductive. This will generally consist of ledgy land, or that which is elevated above the tree line, or perhaps may consist of extended swamps. But on this account it should not be thought worthless, but should be allowed to produce what growth it can, especially where it is valuable in protecting the sources of streams, and in the case of elevated mountain sides the scrubby growth of no value for timber may be very valuable in. preventing land slips or snow slides. Of course, in the case of individuals having small hold- ings such considerations do not apply, but they are important and should be encouraged in any comprehensive forestry scheme. European [Systemsjof Forest Management have been frequently referred to as being applicable to our conditions, but, while we can learn much of value from the history and practice of European forest administration, our conditions are so very different from those existing in Europe that much discretion must be exercised in adapting their methods to our conditions. The chief difference between their conditions and ours is in the higher price of their timber and their cheaper hand labor, which makes possible very different methods than could be profitably used here. ‘The conditions in the remote parts of Russia are much more like those in this country than are, perhaps, to be TAXES ON FORESTS. 189 found elsewhere in Europe, and there is still in those sections a_ great waste of forest products, and large losses occur there annu- ally from forest fires. But in the most accessible parts of Rus- sia, and in Sweden, Norway, and in the larger portion of Ger- many and France, there is a profitable market for all we term waste forest products, such as the smaller top logs, the branches, twigs, leaves, stumps, underbrush, and even the roots of trees. In this country such material encumbers the ground, and greatly increases the: danger of forest fires, which is by far the greatest source of injury to growing timber. Taxes on Timber Lands. The taxes on timber lands are generally excessive in this country, and entirely out of propor- tion to the value of the land, and it is largely on this account that owners of timber lands do not care to hold them. ‘This, as a matter of state policy, is unwise, for the reason that it prevents the development of economic forestry. In most European coun- tries where forestry is well developed it is customary to levy a small tax on the land and to tax the products only when they are harvested. Such a tax system is almost unknown in this coun- try, but it is much more just for forest property than our ordi- nary taxing methods. It would seem that forest property ought to be regarded in a special class for the purposes of taxation, for the reason that as a matter of state policy it should be encour- aged, and the ordinary methods of taxation retard its best de- velopment. _ Income Game Preserves. Most of the European forests are used as game preserves, as well as for forestry purposes. It is well known, however, that the presence of large game in the forest is generally a great disadvantage, and that much injury may come from its presence there, and the rental of about twen- _ ty-five cents per acre, which is the price generally paid for the use of forest preserves, is not sufficient to cover the loss. The German forestry service generally think it desirable to have game in the forests for other considerations than that of its rental value, and chiefly from the fact that it adds interest to the forest, and in this way attracts the attention of parties who other- wise would not be so much interested in it. There is a great deal of sentiment attached to the presence of this game among the foresters themselves, and it is said that were it not for this sentiment Germany could never keep as fine a body of men in ‘ 190 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. its forestry service as it now has. In the renting of land asa game preserve, it is customary to limit the number of deer, etc., that shall be killed in any one season. It is customary to make an estimate of the game of the forest ranges each year. In the case of deer this is done by feeding them in paddocks during the win- ter. Government Supervision of Forests in Germany. It is the policy of the government in most of the German provinces i+} ah ee Figure. A fine young growth of Norway Spruce (Picea_excelsa) in the forest garden of the “Giessen Forestry School’’ in Hessen, Germany. not to interfere.more than is necessary in the management of private woodlands, although the custom varies in the different provinces. On this account, where the land is not much broken, there are few requirements in regard to maintaining forests; but where the land is much broken, as is the case in the Bavarian Alps and the Black Forest, it is sometimes customary to require private owners to deposit the cost of replanting their land when they cut their timber, and if they do not attend to the FOREST RESERVATIONS. 191 replanting within a certain period it is done by the government. It is the very general settled policy of the provincial governments to keep in forest about the same area that is now devoted to this purpose, and since the water powers in the valleys are dependent for the regularity of their supply upon the forests that are upon the mountain sides, the government reasons that the exercise of some supervision in this matter is necessary for the well being of all. Where forests are owned by municipalities. the municipal authorities can generally hire their own superin- tendent, but in some provinces the government generally man- ages to have laws passed that will make it most convenient for municipalities to employ the government superintendent. In the case of municipal forests the governments generally allow the cutting of only the increase each year. If this matter was left entirely to the will of the people they would frequently sacrifice the future for present gains. This supervision may be likened very much to that which is exercised in this state in preventing cities and towns from acquiring an indebtedness beyond a certain percentage of their taxable valuation. However, in case there is a pressing need for some public improvement, as for instance a schoolhouse, the government may allow extra cuttings for this special purpose, but in after years the annual cuttings must be lessened until the capital growing stock of wood on the land is made good. | Forest Reservations and National Parks. Many of the forest reservations in this country are in need of immediate attention. Much of the virgin timber on them has passed its prime and is decaying, and the constant liability to forest fires makes the young growth very unsafe. The increased demand for timber and the high price for the same has encouraged lumber- men in trying to have the timber on such reservations thrown onto the market. When cut in the ordinary manner there is practically nothing left, and the end of the tree growth is reached. If this were to be managed in a proper way the mature trees would be cut as soon as there was a demand for lumber, and those trees should be left which are still growing thriftily. In some cases there is talk of utilizing some of these reservations as national parks, and in America too often the park idea means simply a piece of land from which nothing is removed. The best plan for managing these large tracts of timber would proba- - 192 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. bly be to use them as examples of good forestry, as well as for parks, as the one purpose need not in the least interfere with the other. It is quite customary in many parts of Europe to have woodland resorts carried on in this way. The carrying out of such a plan means practically the establishment of a business, which at the outset will employ a large number of men in har- vesting the mature trees, which will generally be from one-third to one-half of that which is standing. This business, however, will not cease to be productive when the mature trees are cut, but will go on indefinitely producing a certain amount of annual growth which can be harvested. Putting a reservation onto this basis would have the effect of building up the country perma- nently, and would undoubtedly lead to the establishment of sum- mer resorts in the most favored localities in them, which would also add to their prosperity. The government can well afford to do this, owing to the fact that it is perpetual and pays no taxes, while perhaps it would be extremely unwise for individuals to engage in such an enterprise, owing to the fact that taxes are too high and the profits are too long delayed. On many of the Indian reservations such an arrangement as this would result in great benefit to the tribes located there, for it would assure them in the continuance of their reservations as homes, and at the same time bring them in close contact with the whites, and give them regular employment and regular income. Such parks would be admirable army posts for cavalry, which could be used to prevent trespass. Minnesota State Forest Reserves. ‘The legislature of Minnesota passed an act in 1899 which created the ‘Minnesota State Forestry Board.” This consists of nine members, two of whom are members ex-officio, and the balance are appointed by the governor when recommended to him by the regents of the university and by the various agricultural and kindred societies of the state. The special purpose of this board is to act as trus- tee for the state in the management of any lands that may be donated to it for forestry purposes. It has also power to publish in a popular manner bulletins from time to time. Any person or corporation may donate to the state through this board any waste land it may have. The land is to be managed on forestry principles. At least once in five years the accumulated income FOREST FIRE LAW. 193 from each tract that has been deeded is to be divided by the State Forestry Board as follows: One-third shall be divided between the state, county and town where the land is situated (one-half of said one-third going to the state, one-fourth to the county and one-fourth to the town) and two-thirds of the income shall be paid to such public educational institution in the state as may be designated in the deed of conveyance. Provision is made that, where the growth of towns, the building of railroads, the development of water powers, or other improvements may demand the alienation of the land by the state, the forestry board may sell the same and divide the proceeds as directed for the income. Otherwise the land is to be held in perpetuity for for- estry purposes. It was thought that under the terms of this act a large amount of waste land would be donated, but the unprecedented land boom of the last two years has led to some disappointment in this regard. An Act for the Prevention and Suppression of Forest Fires in Minnesota. ‘This act, which was passed by the legislature of Minnesota in 1895, makes a systematic division of the state in such a way that every section of it is in charge of a — forest fire warden. It provides for the appointment of a chief fire warden, who shall have supervision of all fire wardens. Supervisors of towns, mayors of cities and presidents of village councils are constituted fire wardens in their respective towns, cities and villages. . The chief fire warden has power to appoint as fire wardens other persons, as he may deem necessary, to pro- tect unorganized territory. One-third'’of the expense is borne by the state and two-thirds by the counties. Under this act penal- ties are prescribed as follows: The following are liable to-a penalty not exceeding $100, or imprisonment not exceeding three years: Any person refusing, without sufficient cause, to assist fire wardens in extinguishing forest or prairie fires. Any fire warden who neglects to perform his duties. Any person who willfully, negligently or carelessly sets on fire, or causes to be set on fire, any woods, prairies or other combustible material, thereby causing injury to another. 13 194 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. Any person who shall kindle a fire on or dangerously near to forest or prairie land, and leave it unquenched, or who shall be a ¢ party thereto. Any person who shall use other than incombustible fire wads for firearms, or carry a naked torch, firebrand, or other exposed light, in or dangerously near to forest land. Any person who shall willfully or heedlessly deface, destroy or remove any warning placard posted under the requirements of this act. Any railroad company willfully neglecting to provide effi- cient spark arresters on its engines, or to keep its right of way to the width of 100 feet cleared of combustible material, or which shall fail-to comply with other provisions of section 12 of the above mentioned act. The following are liable to a penalty of not less than $5.00 nor more than $50.00: Any railroad employe who willfully violates the provisions of section 12 of this act, in regard to depositing live coals or hot ashes near woodland, and to reporting fires. Any owner of threshing or other portable steam engine who neglects to have efficient spark arresters, or who shall deposit live coals or hot ashes without extinguishing the same. The following are liable to a penalty not exceeding $500, or . imprisonment in the state prison not over ten years, or both: Any person who maliciously sets or causes to be set on fire any woods, prairie or other combustible material whereby the property of another is destroyed and life sacrificed. The effect of this law has been very beneficial, and has pre- vented much loss of property by fire; but the area to be covered is very large, much of it is very sparsely populated, and the funds available are very meager for best results, so that, although it has been very ably enforced, and some convictions made under it, yet it should be amended in several respects to make it effec- tive. | State Bounty for Tree Planting. It is provided by the laws of the State of Minnesota that any person who shall plant, cultivate and keep in a growing, thrifty condition one acre and FOREST FIRE LAW. 195 not more than ten acres of prairie land with any kind of forest trees except Black Locust, to be planted not more than eight feet apart each way, and maintained at that distance by replant- ing each year such as may have died out, shall be entitled to $2.50 per acre for a period of six years. Provided that not more than $20,000 shall be expended in any one year for this purpose. This law has no doubt been productive of much good in encouraging the planting of forest trees on the prairies. | eee 4 es i - ; ; ‘ . T, . * . aie ute ~ Z a . Swe ra 3 . La + # had . v. A . > ~ e Pe © ao $ ‘ . + ‘ - j | a ‘ @ . . 7 :

A . ears \ ,>s- a 4, ae > . ~ 1 ’ : ‘ ld . . + , _ » j sR ee r ve Bh et ates i ie » (= ™ : > a \ S - + y - 2 la * ay 4 _ ; ‘ : Fe i i © t s : As ¢ % t x ‘ j ' é j 7 *: . 1 s ~t ‘ a : = ? 4 - 3 - 5 . a * = . . : 4 ‘ & 5 r ' 2 . y rAL ‘ vl Pe i * 4 * Ay “5 ithe = 4 LP aare , x 7 mF + ee ’ s(t aa 4 Ae gE wry POL eG . aim ~¥ f < ‘ « 4 re A Be tle , = 7 J ee = ry ce Pe Say Ay we “— : & . . ; ‘ aL F ott : a4 : x Fr we ae nae. "7 TREES OF MINNESOTA. PINACEAE. PINE FAMILY. Trees or shrubs with resinous juice. Leaves commonly needle-shaped or awl-shaped, and mostly evergreen. Flowers monoecious or sometimes dioecious, in catkins or cones, destitute of calyx and corolla. The pollen grains have lateral air sacs which buoy them up in the air, and they are occasionally carried hundreds of miles by the wind. Fruit either a woody cone with distinct scales, as in the pines, spruces, Arborvite and Larch, or a somewhat berry-like cone with fleshy coherent scales, as in the Red Cedar. Genus PINUS. Leaves of two kinds; the primary ones, linear or scale like, deciduous; the secondary forming the ordinary foliage ever- green, from slender buds, in clusters of two, three or five together, each cluster surrounded by a sheath of thin mem- branous scales. Flowers appear in the spring, monoecious; the staminate in scaly catkins clustered at the base of the new growth; the pistillate in scaly catkins borne on the twigs of the preceding season, becoming scaly cones at maturity. Each scale is in the axil of a bract, and bears a pair of ovules adhering to its inner face, which peel off as the scale expands at matur- ity. Fruit a woody cone, maturing in the autumn of the second year. Cotyledons three to twelve, linear. We have only three native species in this state. Pinus strobus. White Pine. Weymouth Pine. Leaves soit, in clusters of five, about three to four inches long, falling at the end of the second or during the third season; sheath 200 TREES OF MINNESOTA. We py \ RN ; i, My, Os SHAY! q, ; Us \ re, mz — i S68 Now me ——— Jetisac reaps == EEA Sop te ~_—— ~ =: YAN. ws “| Ns ‘yi Od) \) \\ ALP LEA (al o Gi Ke WSS Plate 1. Pinus strobus. White Pine. 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flowers and young cones, one-half natural size. 3. An. - ther, side view, enlarged. 4 and 5. Scales of pistillate flower, side and top views, enlarged. 6. Autumn branch bearing young cones, one-half natural size. 7. Fruiting branch bearing open cone, one-half natural size. 8. Seale of cone with seeds attached, one-half natural size. 9. Seeds with wees attache:l, one-half natural size. 1c, Seeds, enlarged. 11. Seedling plant. PINE. 201 early deciduous. Sterile catkins five or six together. Cones soli- tary, four to six inches long, slender, cylindrical, terminal, pendu- lous, falling after shedding their seeds; scales thin and pointless, seeds nearly one-quarter of an. inch long with eight to ten coty- ledons. A magnificent tree, and the tallest one of the Eastern States. In good locations in this state it sometimes attains a height of over 160 feet and a diameter of four feet. One acre was scaled near Carlton, Minn., which yielded over 94,000 feet board measure of sound timber. The White Pine is generally found in this section on rather clayey land. On poor land the Norway and Jack Pine generally crowd it out. Distribution.—Canada and the Northeastern States and south- ward along the Alleghanies to Georgia, the valley of the St. Law- rence and around the Great Lakes. In Minnesota it is common through the northern half of the state, excepting west of Red Lake, and south to the northern edge of Chisago county. It is found occasionally south of this limit, as at St. Cloud, Taylors Falls, Cannon River, Mantorville, Rochester, St. Charles, and at various points in Houston and Fillmore counties. Inthe western and southwestern portions of the state it is not found. Propagation.—By seeds, as recommended for evergreens. The young seedlings will not bear as much sunlight as the Norway, Jack or the Bull Pine, and will bear considerable shade. Properties of Wood.—Very soit, light, weak, compact, straight grained, very resinous, easily worked, of a delicate pinkish brown color, with lighter colored sapwood. One of its points of con- siderable value is the small degree to which it shrinks and swells owing to change in the atmosphere. Not durable in contact with the soil, although the heartwood stands fairly well. Specific gravity, 0.3854; weight of a cubic foot, 24.02 pounds. . Uses.—The White Pine is one of the fastest growing and per- haps the most graceful of evergreens for ornamental planting. ‘It grows rapidly when in retentive soil of a loose open texture, but is liable to kill out in wet, compact or very sandy soils. It should not be planted in very exposed situations, but should fol- low the planting of the more hardy deciduous trees in such places; it is liable to be killed by drying winds in the early spring on our Western prairies. It is not as hardy as the Scotch Pine, nor will it make as fast a growth when young, but is longer lived 202 TREES OF MINNESOTA. than the Scotch Pine, and in fifteen years will make a much larger and more ornamental tree. Within and near its range it is very valuable for ornamental purposes. The White Pine yields the most useful timber of the American forests, it being especially valuable for sash, doors, blinds, shin- gles, etc., and for a general-purpose timber in building and wood- working. It is largely used in cooperage, railroad ties, pulp, matches and excelsior making. From the bark is obtained the compound syrup of White Pine now largely used in the United States as an expectorant. Pinus flexilis. Limber Pine. Western White Pine Leaves five in a sheath, somewhat rigid, sharp pointed and densely crowded on the branchlets, falling during fifth and sixth years. Cones cylindrical, tapering, three to tive inches long, light brown; scales thick, one and one-quarter inches broad; seeds one-third to one-half inch long, with six to nine cotyledons. A handsome tree, about fifty feet high, resembling the common _ White Pine, but of closer, stiffer habit and darker foliage. Distribution—Mountain ranges from Alberta to Western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Propagation.—By seeds. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, close grained, compact; color, light clear yellow, turning red on exposure; sapwood nearly white. Specific gravity, 0.4358; weight of a cubic foot, 27.16 pounds. . Uses.—The Western White Pine is a handsome tree that is lit- tle known in cultivation, but promises to be of some value for ornamental planting, and is doing very well at the Minnesota Experiment Station, where it has been growing nine years. Pinus resinosa. Red Pine. Norway Pine. Leaves five to six inches long, nearly cylindrical; in pairs from long close sheaths, falling during fourth and fifth seasons. Cone ovoid conical, with rounded base, about two inches long, falling after shedding the seeds; scales of cone slightly thickened at the end without any prickly points; seeds one-eighth of an inch long, with from six to eight cotyledons. A very handsome, rapid- growing, robust tree, with a straight, uniform trunk covered with —-y ie 2038 PINE. Red Pine. Plate 2. Pinus resinosa. 1. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. Staminate 2. 4. Anther, open, en- Branch bearing ripened seeds attached, one-half 6. Scale of cone with Cross section of needle. 9. Seedling plant, one-half nat- Pistillate flower, natural size. 7. 3- Scale of pistillate flower, enlarged. cones and young cones. 8. natural size. flower, natural size. ural size. larged. 5. 204 TREES OF MINNESOTA. a pretty reddish gray, soft, flaky bark; commonly grows about eighty feet in height and two feet in diameter, but occasionally. reaches a height of 150 feet. Wrongly called Norway Pine, for this species is not found in Norway or any other part of Europe. Distribution.—Found in northern United States and Canada, southward as far as Pennsylvania, but reaches its greatest develop- ment in the northern part of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minne- sota, where it forms large forests even on sandy or dry soil, often interspersed with Jack Pine when young. In Minnesota its range is about the same as that of White Pine, but does not extend as far south. Propagation.—By seeds, as recommended for evergreens. The seeds of this pine are very scarce, and difficult to obtain on account of the few produced in the cones and the ravages of the squirrels. ‘These animals are so fond of the seeds that they often cut into the cones before the seeds are mature and take the larger part. Propagation.—By seeds, as recommended for evergreens. The seeds of this pine are very scarce, and difficult to obtain on crack in drying; yellowish white sapwood and reddish heart- wood, conspicuously grained; not durable in contact with the ground. Specific gravity, 0.4854; weight of a cubic foot, 30. 25 pounds. Uses.—As an ornamental tree and for windbreaks the Red Pine will stand much more hard usage than the White Pine, especially on light soil. It has a robust, vigorous appearance, and would undoubtedly be more commonly planted if young plants of it could be more cheaply obtained. Within and near its range it makes a very fine ornamental tree, and is very valuable for windbreaks. The principal value of this timber is for fram- ing, flooring, wainscoting, car sills and ship building. In many ways it is used to take the place of White Pine. In fact, Red Pine, while inferior for general use, is frequently mixed with White Pine in lumber yards. While its specific name, resinosa, would seem to infer the presence of a large amount of resin in this tree, it in fact contains comparatively little, and is seldom used for the purpose of obtaining resin, PINE. 205 Pinus divaricata. (P. banksiana.) Jack Pine. _Nor- thern Scrub Pine. Gray Pine. Leaves in twos, short, from three-quarters to one and one- half inches long, acute, rigid, thick, more or less curved and twisted, falling the second or third season; inner side channeled; margins very minutely-serrate, sheaths short; buds very resinous. Cones ovoid acuminate, about two inches long, often curved, laterally located on branchlets, often in pairs. They are gen- erally opened by the sun, but where they are in the shade they will remain on the trees unopened for several years until they become deeply covered with moss and sometimes until over- grown and imbedded in the wood and bark. The seeds are about one-eighth of an inch long, with four to five cotyledons. Those from the old cones seem to grow as readily as fresh seeds when sown. A very pronounced peculiarity of this tree is its habit of forming several whorls of branches on the new growth. This is especially noticeable when the trees are young and grow- ing rapidly, when as many as six whorls of branches may be seen on a year’s growth. This tree, under favorable conditions, will occasionally attain a height of 125 feet and a diameter of two feet. However it is seldom over seventy feet high and eight to twelve inches in diameter, and generally where it occurs in pine forests it is only forty or fifty feet high. Distribution—It is distributed from northern New England and the valley of the St. Lawrence westward along our northern frontier to the Rocky Mountains and north to the Arctic circle; found growing.in sandy land and land that has been recently severely burned. It covers large areas of poor, sandy lands in Minnesota. In this state it probably has about the same range as Norway Pine. Propagation.—By seeds. ‘The cones may be obtained at any season of the year and kept out of doors until spring, when they can be opened by the application of a little heat. The seeds from ‘the old cones seem to have as much vitality as those from young cones. In the woods the cones of Jack Pine often remain closed until a fire sweeping over the land causes them to open, and allows the seeds to fall in the loose ashes, where they soon start into growth. On account of this peculiarity it is sometimes called the Fire Pine. The seedlings are very hardy, and grow aS se shgs Fag Se ee 1 Plate 3. Pinus divaricata, Jack Pine. 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, cne-half natural size. 3. Staminate flower, nat- ural size, 4, Anther, open, enlarged. 5. Scale of pistillate flower, en- larged. 6. Branch bearing ripened cones and young cones, one-half nat- ural size. 7. Scale of cone with seeds attached, one-half natural size. 8 Fascicle of needles, one-half natural size. 9. Cross section of needle. 10. New growth showing several whorls of branches, one-half natural size. 11, Seedling, one-half natural size. PINE. 7 207 without shade. It is one of the first evergreens to start on the abandoned dry pine land in some sections of this state. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, not strong, resinous; light yellowish brown in color with thick whitish sapwood. Specific gravity, 0.4761; weight of a cubic foot, 29.67 pounds. Uses.—The Jack Pine is not a pretty tree, and is seldom used in ornamental planting. It is, however, the hardiest native ever- green tree we have and is especially adapted to dry, loose soil, where it has a wondrous power of withstanding drouth. It is of rapid growth when young, which, together with its great hardi- ness, has led to its being planted on some of the sandiest dry lands of the West. In the timbered portion of Minnesota it often acts as a nurse tree for the Red Pine, but too often is liable to crowd it out. The larger trees are generally sawed into lumber and pass as Red Pine, but they seldom attain a size large enough to be profitably used for this purpose, but much of it is used for fencing, farm buildings, railroad ties and as fuel. Pinus ponderosa scopulorum. Rock Pine. Bull Pine. Heavy-wooded Pine. Western Yellow Pine. Leaves three to six inches long, rigid, generally in threes, but occasionally in twos, falling during third and fourth seasons. Cones two to three inches long, grayish, with stout prickles. Tree 80 to 100 feet high. The species, Pinus ponderosa, of which this is an important variety, is the most magnificent and widely spread of Western Pines, attaining a height of 200 to 300 feet and a thickness of twelve to fifteen feet, and having much larger cones and longer needles than this variety. Distribution—The Rock Pine is found throughout the Rocky Mountain region. It inhabits even the dry sand hills of West- ern Nebraska and Montana, and is perhaps the hardiest Western Pine. Propagation—By seeds, which are large, easily obtained, and grow with the greatest certainty if given ordinary treatment. Properties of Wood.—The wood varies greatly in quality and value. It is heavy, hard, strong, brittle and compact, neither coarse grained nor durable; color, light red, with very thick light colored sapwood. Specific gravity, 0.4619; weight of a cubic foot, 28.78 pounds. 208 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Q LUZ Vii, J Th Plate 4. Pinus ponderosa scopulorum. Rock Pine. 1. End of branch bearing staminate flower, enlarged. 2. End of branch bearing pistillate flower, enlarged. 3. Anther, open. 4. Scale of pistillate flower attached to bract, front view, enlarged. 5. Scale of pistillate flower attached to bract, rear view, enlarged. 6. Cone, one-half natural size. 7. Scale of cone, rear view, one-half natural size. 8. Seed attached to wing. 9. Branch ipl | young growth, one-half natural size. 10. Fascicle of three needles, one-half natural size. 11. Fascicle of two needles, one-half natural size, 12. Cross section of needle from three-leaf fascicle. 13. Seed- ling, one-half natural size. PINE. 209 Uses.—The Rock Pine has the power of withstanding great extremes of drouth and temperature, and promises to be of great value for planting on our Western plains. It is of rapid growth, and while it has a somewhat coarse appearance its sturdy form is far from being unsightly. It is perhaps rather more difficult to transplant than the Scotch Pine, probably on account of its deep tap root when young. The wood is Steely manufactured into lumber, and used for railway ties, fuel, etc. Pinus sylvestris. Scotch Pine. Scotch Fir. Deal Wood. Leaves two in a sheath, one and one-half to two inches long, and of a glaucous hue, falling during third season; sheaths small, persistent, nearly black. Cones about two inches long, tapering towards the apex, solitary or in clusters of two or three; scales of cones tipped with a deciduous point. ‘Trees rather inclined to grow crooked, and to not keep a straight shaft as in the case of the Norway and Austrian Pines. In this region where it is cultivated it seldom grows over ten inches in diameter, and forms round topped trees spreading twenty-five to thirty feet. There are several cultivated varieties, the most of which are of little value. Distribution —It is the common timber pine of northern Europe and Asia. Propagation.—Easily grown from seeds if properly managed, but requires shade when very small. Most of the seeds of this pine that are commonly sold are gathered in Europe from a dwarf scrubby form that is found on dry poor land. There are probably very few seeds sold from the large timber trees, as they are most cheaply gathered from the dwarf form. This may be a reason why the tree is generally so dwarf with us, although it varies much in size when grown in different soils. Properties of Wood.—Yellowish white, soft, light, close grained and easily worked. Specific gravity, air dried, 0.52. Uses.—The Scotch Pine is one of the hardiest of evergreens, of very rapid close growth when young, but often rather open in habit when old. It generally reaches its maturity when about twenty years old, and seldom lasts much longer when on dry soil. It has been planted more largely than any other evergreen on our prairies, and perhaps is as good as any for pioneer plant- ings. 14 BIO + . TREES OF MINNESOTA. I — \\i = = rs mae Th: - <= Cn > Eta —_ Af <> + ee — SS — S = oe pe . . SARIS CS See : ) WSR S QL SSS: 4 b SY. P22 SESE Ce 4 Ss as ONT) WS - ‘is % . 1 hy ‘ 7S AI il 1 Pp \' a \\ i . it D ei ‘ ( Sy) INS SS Se : bg eg f Plate 5. Pinus sylvestris. Scotch Pine. SS ———— = S wy — SS 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flowers and young cones, one-half natural size. 3. Branch bearing pistillate flowers after pollination, one-half natural size. 4. Un- opened pistillate flower, itianned, 5. Scale of pistillate flower, rear view, eularged. 6. Scale of pistillate flower, front view, enlarged. 7. Anther, en- larged. & Branch bearing ripe cone and young cone, one-half natural size. 9. An open cone, one-half natural size. 10. Scale of cone, one-half natural size. 1t. Seeds with wings attached. 12. Seed, natural size. 13. Seedling, one-half natural size, PINE. 211 The wood of this tree is valuable for interior finishing, and is largely used in Europe, where it is the common timber pine. The celebrated pine of Norway and the Baltic countries is of th’s species. What has been termed the best form of this, and known as Riga Pine, has been partially tried in this country, but thus far its superiority has not been demonstrated. “This pine yields a considerable portion of the common European turpentine. In Germany a fibrous substance is pre- pared from the leaves of this and other species of Pinus and Abies, called fir-wool, and a volatile oil is distilled from them called fir-wool oil, which is considerably used as a remedy for rheumatism, chronic catarrh, chronic skin diseases, etc.; in fact, generally for the same purposes as the oil of turpentine. The leaves are made into wadding and clothing (designated as fir- wool from their origin), which are supposed to have some merit in the treatment of rheumatic affections.” Pinus laricio austriaca. Austrian Pine. Black Pine. Leaves two in a sheath, dark green, slender but rigid, four to six inches long, falling during fourth and fifth seasons. Cones two and one-half to three inches long, conical, not beaked. Tree much more regular in outline than the Scotch Pine, the branches coming out in a very regular, candelabra-like fashion. ‘There are a few cultivated varieties. Distribution.—Native of southern and central Europe. ~ Propagation—By seeds, seedlings require shading when young. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, durable, very rich in turpen- tine. Specific gravity, air dried, 0.57. _ Uses.—The Austrian Pine is very desirable for planting in this section, rather longer lived and perhaps hardier than the Scotch Pine, and of a much darker color, resembling most closely the Norway Pine. Pinus montana pumila. (7. mughus.) Dwarf Pine. Dwarf Mountain Pine. Leaves dark green, crowded, stiff, twisted, about two inches long, falling during fifth, sixth and seventh years. Cones usually in pairs, nearly two inches long, tapering, with slight points to 212 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Lh : . = ¥: Wie , 3 NW iY ID hdl — - — WW : Was SAN) eee, Sere Plate 6. Pinus laricio austriaca. Austrian Pine. 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch Learing pintlisse flowers and young cones, one-half natural size. 3. End of branch bearing bud and young cone, one-half natural size. 4. Pistillate flower, natural size. 5. Anther, enlarged. 6 and 7. Scales of ‘pistillate flower, front and rear views, CRY cae 8. Open cone, one-half natural size. 9. Scale of cone, one-half natural size. 10. Seeds with wings at- tached, one-half natural size. 11. Seed, natural size. 12. Seedling, one- half natural size. 13. Cross section of needle. PINE. 213 the scales. A densely branched shrub, or possibly a small tree, two to ten feet high. Distribution—Mountains of pentint Europe. Propagation.—Easily grown from seeds. Uses.—The Dwarf Pine is one of the hardiest of Pines. It is of pretty, close shrubby form and takes kindly to pruning, which often greatly improves it. The plants from seed vary quite a little in habit, some being dwarf and spreading while others are eye = “ ve tw * cE SES RN eS / BN OF ry + ; ‘ti Y; eI paren it Poin SQFT PS Be Se J Sa be Be ie is a rt ‘ Mil MA ratZ 2 hi eae ena my Aa PEC Figure 48. Pinus montana pumila. Dwarf Pine. quite erect and tree-like. It .is valuable for single specimens in lawn planting, for the edges of evergreen groups and for low hedges. Genus TARIX. A genus of large, deciduous, cone-bearing trees. Leaves needle-shaped, soft, deciduous, clustered, except on young shoots, where they are spirally arranged; leaf clusters developed in early spring from lateral, scaly, globular buds, which are scattered along the shoots of the season. Propagation.—The seeds germinate readily in moist sandy soil, and the seedlings are easily raised in the manner described for _ evergreens. They should be transplanted very early in the spring, and if this is done at the right time the seedlings will start readily, but if moved after the plants have started they are very likely to fail. 214 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Larix laricina. (Z. americana.) Tamarack. American Larch. Hackmatack. Leaves one-half to three-quarters of an inch long, slender and thread-like, light bluish green, deciduous. Cones one-half to one inch long, ovoid. A slender, graceful tree, thirty to one hundred feet high, with close or at length sightly scaly bark. Distribution Northeastern United States, north of Pennsyl- vania, nearly or quite to the Arctic regions and west nearly to Central Minnesota; rare farther south than Ramsey and Henne- pin counties in Minnesota. It covers vast areas of swamp land in the northern part of this state with a short stunted growth. It fails to reach large size in very wet land, while on land that is not excessively wet it grows 100 feet high and sixteen inches through at the stump. In one instance a stunted Tamarack, growing on excessively wet land, had been forty-eight years in attaining a diameter of one and one-tenth inches, while on land well adapted to it a tree had grown to the height of forty-four and one-quarter feet, with a diameter of eleven inches in thirty-_ eight years. Properties of Wood.—Heavy, hard, strong, rather coarse grained, compact, durable in contact with the soil; color light brown; sapwood nearly white. Specific gravity, 0.6236; weight of a cubic foot, 38.86 pounds. | Uses.—The Tamarack may occasionally be used for variety in lawn planting on moist soil, and is well adapted to planting along lake shores and around sloughs; but on dry soil it is of little value, and we have many far more valuable trees for moist soils. The lumber is largely used in ship building, canoe making, for fence posts, telegraph poles, railway ties, etc. The inner bark of European Larch is used in medicine, and it is probable that the bark of our American species has similar medicinal proper- ties. ‘Two varieties varying in color of heartwood, the red and the white Tamarack, are commonly distinguished. The differ- ence is probably one of age only. The red hearted trees, having the more heartwood, make the more durable lumber. This tree grows fast, and readily renews itself from seed. For these rea- sons, good Tamarack swamps, properly managed, should prove profitable investments. LARCH. 215 SX = \e i = es< lt \} is A Lt: we as S AN a A) tie ; < up [eB ~~ Ks Plate 7. Larix europea. European Larch. 1. Branch-bearing staminate and pistillate flowers and a mature cone, one-half natural size. 2, Anther, enlarged. 3. Scale of pistillate flower, enlarged. 4. Seeds with* wings attached, one-half natural size. 5. Seed, natural size. 6. ‘Scale of cone, one-half ratural size. 7. Branches showing arrangement of leaves on new and old growth. 8. Branch showing tip of new growth in spring. ee A leaf from fascicle on old growth. 10. A leaf hte new growth. 11. inter branch showing persistent cone. 12. Seed- ing. 216 TREES OF MINNESOTA. ‘Larix europea. European Larch. Leaves longer than those of the Tamarack, and of a brighter green color. Cones longer than those of the Tamarack. A ~ large and important timber tree. Distribution.—Native of northern and central Europe, on moist mountain sides. Properties of Wood.—Hard, strong, tough, very durable in contact with the: soil. Specific gravity, 0.62. Uses.—The European Larch has been largely planted in the Eastern States in small timber plantations, for windbreaks and ornament. It is superior to our native Larch for these purposes, but has not succeeded well on our Western prairies, probably on account of the dry climate. On moist soil in somewhat sheltered locations it often does well, and becomes a graceful, pretty tree. Very large and successful plantations of this tree have been made in Scotland and other European countries, but in some parts of Germany the Japanese Larch is preferred, as it is not so much infested with insects. ‘The lumber is used for posts, tele- graph poles, piles, beams and joists and in ship building. The bark is used in tanning leather. One tree, grown at Owatonna, Minnesota, attained a height of about fifty feet and a diameter of fifteen inches in thirty years, but so rapid a growth is uncom- mon here. Genus PICEA. Leaves evergreen, scattered, not grouped in sheaths, jointed on a persistent base, needle shaped, generally four-angled, short, pointing every way, and all of one kind. Flowers appear, in spring, monoecious; the staminate catkins in the axils of the leaves of the preceding year; the pistillate catkins terminal ovoid or oblong. Fruit a cone, maturing the first year, pendulous with thin tough scales that open when ripe and dry, to liberate the two, winged seeds, found at the base of each scale. Trees tall and pyramidal or conical in form. Picea canadensis. (7. alba.) White Spruce. Leaves slender, one-half to one inch long, varying in color from light glaucous to dark green, falling during fourth and fifth seasons. Cones oblong, one to two inches in length, deciduous SPRUCE. 217 : = ‘ .\ \\ y) PS IVS fA Yr" Sie M J Se ——" NOARIL Wy ot N) WIRGe —_ och NG J x <= i 1 JIN SS '| ae <> Plate 8. Picea canadensis. White Spruce. 1. Branch bearing staminate flower, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flower, one-half natural size. 3. Anther, side view, en- larged. 4. Pollen grain, showing air sacs, enlarged. 5. Branch bearing ripened cones, one-half natural size. 6. Scale of cone with seeds attached, natural size. 7. Scale of cone, rear view, natural size. 8 Cross section of needle, enlarged. 9. General view of tree. ' 218 TREES OF MINNESOTA. in autumn or winter of first year; scales thin, with entire mar- gins, not rigid; seeds small, with thin wings. A graceful tree of pyramidal habit and horizontal branches, sometimes attaining a height of over 100 feet, with a diameter of two feet. There are several varieties of value for ornamental planting. Distribution—In the United States it is found in Northern Maine and westward in certain localities to Montana. It is also found in Newfoundland and Labrador, westward to the Rocky Mountains and north to Alaska. It reaches its best development growing in moist soil. It is found more or less throughout Northeastern Minnesota, but is especially abundant near the northern boundary. Propagation.—The species is grown from seeds and the varie- ties by grafting. The seeds of the White Spruce are often in- fested by a weevil, which fact, together with their small size and the difficulty in gathering them, makes them high in price and often difficult to obtain. On account of the ease with which Nor- way Spruce seeds are obtained they are preferably sold by nur- serymen. ’ Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, compact, straight grained, of only moderate strength, nearly odorless; color, light yellow; sapwood hardly distinguishable. Specific gravity, 0.4051; weight of a cubic foot, 25.25 pounds. Uses.—The White Spruce is one of the best evergreens for planting in this section, generally rather slow in. growth, but forming pretty conical trees. The wood is largely used for gen- eral construction, spars, canoe and boat building, oars, paddles, tripods, step ladders, baseball bats, flooring, sounding boards for musical instruments, paper pulp, nail kegs, casks, lime and cement barrels, butter tubs and pails, excelsior and charcoal. It is not distinguished from Black Spruce in commerce. Spruce chewing gum is, in part, the product of this tree. Picea mariana. (/. nigra.) Black Spruce. Double Spruce. Leaves deep green, short, about one-half inch in length, scat- tered thickly over the branches, falling during the fourth and fifth seasons. Cones ovoid, oblong, one to one and three-quar- ter inches long, persistent; scales very thin, rigid, with an SPRUCE. 219 Mg Plate 9. Picea mariana. Black Spruce. 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. 3. Anther, enlarged. 4. Scale of pistillate flower, enlarged. 5. Branch bearing ripened cones, one- half natural size. 6. Seeds, enlarged. 7. Scale, front view, natural size. 8. Scale, rear view, natural size. 9. General view of tree as found in the muskegs of northern Minnesota. 220 TREES OF MINNESOTA. uneven margin; seeds small, with rigid wings. In Maine and elsewhere a large tree, forming valuable forests. In this section occasionally a large tree, but generally small, and seldom cut for - timber. Distribution Northern United States, Canada and northward, forming large forests in some sections. In Minnesota it is found in the White Pine belt, though most common in the extreme northern portions. Generally found in swamps known as mus- kegs, on which the trees, with their roots half submerged, make a very slow growth. One specimen, the rings of which showed it to be seventy-three years old, was only one and one-eighth inches in diameter. Propagation.—By seeds. When plants are desired they may be easily gathered from the woods in this state. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, strong, compact and satiny; color, reddish with nearly white sapwood. a's ‘gravity, 0.458; weight of a cubic foot, 28.57 pounds. Uses.—The Black Spruce is a poor ornamental tree, as it soon loses its lower branches, which with its dead persistent cones and dark-colored bark makes it appear unsightly. It is also a short-lived tree on dry land in this section. Most of the Christ- mas trees in our market of recent years have been of this kind, although the Balsam Fir is also used. The wood is used here to some extent and elsewhere in large quantities for paper pulp, for which purpose it is highly esteemed. In the eastern range of this tree its wood is largely used for flooring, masts, spars, general house and ship building, sounding boards for instruments, and for any other purpose where a light, stiff wood is needed. The gum which this tree exudes is valued as chewing gum, and the gathering of it is quite an industry in some sections. The essence of spruce is made by boiling the young branches in water and evaporating the decoction. It is used in the manufacture of spruce beer, which is a pleasant and wholesome beverage; and it is sometimes useful on long sea voyages as a preventive of scurvy. SPRUCE. 221 Picea parryana. (7. pungens.) Colorado Blue Spruce. Silver Spruce. White Spruce. Blue Spruce. Leaves about one inch long, rather broad, rigid, | stout, pointed, usually incurved, falling during sixth and seventh years; branchlets smooth and shining. Cones light brown in color, very prickly, three to five inches long, cylindrical, with more or less elongated thin truncate wavy scales; seeds small but larger than those of P. engelmanni. A large tree, of strictly conical growth and spreading branches. The seedlings vary greatly in color, from a bright glaucous blue to dark green. The form hav- ing light colored foliage has become known as Picea pungens glauca. Distribution.—Valley of the Wind river south through the mountain ranges of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. Propagation.—The species by seeds and the varieties by graft- ing on the same or other species. Properties of Wood.—Soft, weak, light, close grained, satiny; color, very light brown, or often nearly white; sapwood hardly distinguishable. Specific gravity, 0.374; weight of a cubic foot, 23.3 pounds. Uses —The Colorado Blue Spruce is a handsome ornamental tree that is now very popular with tree planters in this section and elsewhere in the Northern States. It is very ornamental when young, but its later development is often not so pretty, and if not growing rapidly when older it has a rather ragged appearance; of slower growth than the white or Norway Spruce, very hardy and well worthy of trial in a small way. The wood is used within its range for fuel and timber, although it is nowhere very abundant. A hedge of this tree may be grown so close that even a dog cannot get through, as the sharp-pointed leaves are exceedingly pungent. Picea engelmanni. Engelmann Spruce. Mountain Sprace. White Spruce. Leaves three-quarters to one inch long, pointed, but not as prickly as P. parrayana; branchlets pubescent. Cones solitary, one and one-half to two inches long; scales rhombic, the upper ends appearing as though broken off; seeds smaller than those of P. parrayana. In form and color of foliage this species resembles 222 TREES OF MINNESOTA. P. parrayana, but makes a larger tree, often growing 100 feet in height. In somenurseries it is customary to.tell the Colorado Blue Spruce from the Engelmann Spruce by grasping the top of the . young tree with the hand, when, if it pricks only a little, the tree is set down as Engelmann Spruce, while if the pricking is unen- durable, it is called Colorado Blue Spruce. This method of determining the species generally gives correct results, but a certain way is to examine the bark of the new growth between the needles which, if slightly downy, indicates the Engelmann Spruce, and if smooth and shining, the Colorado Blue Spruce. Distribution.—Northern New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, northward to British Columbia, in the mountains at high eleva- tions. Propagation.—By seeds. Properties of Wood.—Very light, soft, weak, very close straight grained, compact, satiny; color, pale yellow, tinged with red; sapwood hardly distinguishable.. Specific gravity, 0.3449; weight of a cubic foot, 21.49 pounds. Uses.—The Engelmann Spruce is a valuable ornamental and timber tree, resembling the Blue Spruce, but it has been tried to only a limited extent. It is the most valuable timber tree of the central Rocky Mountain region, where it forms extensive for- ests. In Colorado it is manufactured into lumber, and is largely used for fuel, charcoal, etc. The bark is rich in tannin, and in Utah is sometimes used for tanning leather. Picea excelsa. Norway Spruce. Leaves long, deep green in color, falling during the fifth sea- son. Cones cylindrical, large, five to seven inches long, light colored, eften very conspicuous in the tops of the trees. A fine, large conical tree, with stout branches and generally pendulous branchlets. There are numerous horticultural varieties, some of the dwarf forms growing only three to five feet high. Distribution.—Native of Northern Europe and Asia. Propagation.—Easily grown from seeds, which are used in large quantities. The varieties are propagated by .grafting on the species. Properties of Wood.—Light, strong and fine grained. Specific gravity, air dried, 0.47. SPRUCE. 223 Se WH —!~ SS) rae “a i] NM so tlie. 15 eee “A plese f BUH Plate 10. Picea excelsa. Norway Spruce. 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flower, one-half natural size. 3. Winter branch, showing buds, one-half natural size. 4. Scale of pistillate flower, front view, en- larged. 5. Scale of pistillate flower, rear view, enlarged. 6. Scale of pis- tillate flower, side view, enlarged. 7. Bract of pistillate flower, enlarged. 8 Anther, side view, enlarged. 9. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. to. Scale of cone with szeds attached, one-half natural size. 11. Seeds with wings attached. 12. Seed, natural size. 13. Seedling, one-half natural size. 14. General view of tree show:ng drocping branches and pyramidal form. 224 ak TREES OF MINNESOTA. Uses.—The Norway Spruce has been largely planted in the more Eastern States, and is a general favorite, as it grows more rapidly than any of ovr native spruces and is very graceful and stately in form. ‘There are many plantings of this tree in Minné- sota, and they are holding on well; yet the White Spruce is a safer tree for general planting, and generally grows nearly as fast. Since it is more difficult to obtain the seed of the White Spruce, it is probable that the Norway Spruce will continue to be planted. The wood of Norway Spruce is much used in Europe, and is largely grown there for paper pulp, fuel and tim- ber. The young branches are used in making the essence of spruce, as described under Black Spruce. ‘The bark is used to a considerable extent in Europe for tanning purposes. Genus TSUGA. A genus of but a single species in our section. Tsuga canadensis. Hemlock. Leaves linear, flat, one-half inch long, obtuse, whitened beneath, short petioled and diverging from the sides of the branchlet so as to make it appear flattened, falling during second and third years. Cones small, scarcely longer than the leaves, pendent from the tips of the branches of the preceding year, persistent, with inconspicuous bracts; seeds quite small, with thin wings, maturing the first year. A large, graceful tree. There are sev- eral horticultural varieties in cultivation. Distribution —From Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south as ‘far as Delaware and along the mountains to Alabama. Scarcely found in Minnesota, though common near its eastern borders, in Wisconsin. A few specimens are said to have been found near Cloquet, and perhaps occasionally elsewhere near the eastern boundary. Propagation.—The species by seeds and the varieties by graft- ing on the species. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, brittle, coarse grained and not very easily worked; color, very light red or brown, with still lighter colored sapwood. Specific gravity, 0.4239; weight of a cubic foot, 26.42 pounds, DOUGLAS SPRUCE. 225 Uses.—The Hemlock is unsafe for general planting in this section, as it is very liable to injury from cold winds and drouth, but in extreme Eastern Minnesota, on moist soil and in pro- tected locations, it has proved desirable for ornamental planting. The wood of the Hemlock is used for framing and general con- struction purposes where fine finish is not needed, wood work, furniture, picture moldings, ties, fencing and charcoal. It is loose, and warps badly when exposed to the air, but stands fairly well in contact with the ground. The bark is used in immense quantities for tanning leather, and is largely obtained for this purpose in Wisconsin. Genus PSEUDOTSUGA. A genus of a single species midway between the firs and hem- lock. Leaves somewhat two-ranked by a twist at the base. Cones upright, maturing the first season. Pseudotsuga taxifolia. (7. douglasii.) Douglas Spruce. Red Fir. Douglas Fir. Leaves linear, distinctly petioled, mostly blunt or rounded, nearly an .inch long on old trees, but a little longer on young thrifty trees, falling during fifth season; in color generally a rich dark green, but some specimens occur on which the foliage is a light glaucous blue. Cones two to four inches long, cylin- drical; bracts toothed, protruding above the scales, and giying a fringed appearance to the cones; seeds triangular, reddish on the upper side, flat, and white on the lower side. A gigantic tree, sometimes 200 to 300 feet in height. When young it is sel- dom very symmetrical in form, and is likely to produce heavy limbs unless severely crowded. Distribution—Throughout the Rocky Mountains and the mountains of California, reaching its greatest height in Oregon. Propagation.—One of the easiest conifers to grow from seeds, which may be readily obtained from the Rocky Mountain region. Properties of VWood.—Hard, strong, durable, varying greatly with age and conditions of density, quality and amount of sap- wood; difficult to work; color varying from light red to yellow; sapwood nearly white. Specific gravity, 0.5157; weight of a cubic foot, 32.23 pounds. 7 ES 226 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Plate 11. Pseudotsuga taxifolia, Douglas Spruce. 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Stam- inate flower, enlarged. 3. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. 4. Seeds with wings attached, one-half natural size. 5. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 6. Cone-scale, lower side, showing bract, one-half natural size. 7. Coné-scale, upper side, showing seed scars, one- half natural size. 8. Scale of cone, side view, showing bract, one-half natural size. 9. Needle, natural size. 10, Cross section of needle. 11, Winter buds. j BALSAM FIR. 227 Uses.—The Douglas Spruce is a fine ornamental tree of grace- ful proportions, good color, rapid growth and wonderful hardi- ness. Probably one of the most valuable evergreens for general planting in Minnesota, and apparently destined to partly super- sede the White and Norway Spruce for this purpose. It is also the most promising foreign tree for sowing on the cut-over tim- ber lands of this section, and should be largely experimented with for this purpose. Two varieties are distinguished by lum- bermen, the Red and the Yellow Fir, the former is coarse grained and dark colored, and considered less valuable than the latter. Both kinds are largely manufactured into lumber, and used for all kinds of construction, railway ties, piles, etc. Genus ABIES. Trees of pyramidal habit. Leaves sessile, flat, with the midrib prominent on the lower surface, appearing two-ranked by a twist near the base, giving the horizontal branches a flat appearance. Cones erect on the upper side of the branches, maturing the first year, when the scales fall, leaving the naked axes standing erect on the branches. Abies balsamea. Balsam Fir. Balsam. Leaves narrow, linear, one-half to three-quarters of an inch long, dark green above, whitened on the under side, falling dur- ing the fifth season. Cones cylindrical, two to four inches long, and one inch thick, violet colored; bracts shorter than the scales and tipped with a slender point. The branches grow out usually in whorls of about five each, with great regularity, and diminish- ing in length from below upwards, forming a symmetrical pyra- midal top. ‘This is a very striking habit, and gives to the Balsam Fir swamps a characteristic aspect. ‘Tree slender, sometimes eighty feet high. Distribution.—N ortheastern United States and Canada, south- ward to Virginia, westward beyond the Mississippi and far north to Hudson Bay and northwest to Rocky Mountains; growing in swamps and cold damp woods. In Minnesota almost confined to the northeastern half of the state, extending south to Chisago and Isanti counties. 228 TREES OF MINNESOTA. ae SALUT AL Af Bee a ——— RI } 6 Y yy . ASS Ss: om Noe ( Say | ‘4 ————— a af D ‘ : ‘ NA Ay = i finer Th (| = ( \ / : SQ KU NA SEAN SAN SY, i -—— Plate 12. Abies balsamea. Balsam Fir. 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. 3. Anther, open, rear view, enlarged. 4. Branch bearing mature cone, one-half natural size. 5. Branch bearing axes of cones atter scales have fallen, one-half natural size, 6. Seeds with wings attached, natural size. 7. Seed, enlarged. 8 Scale ot cone, upper view, natural size. 9. Scale of cone, lower view, natural size. BALSAM FIR. 229 Propagaticn.—The species by seeds, horticultural varieties by grafting. Properties of Wood.—Very soft, light, weak, not durable, with distinct coarse grain, color whitish with a slightly reddish tint toward the heart. Specific gravity, 0.3819: weight of a cubic foot, 23.8 pounds. _ Uses.—The Balsam Fir is very striking and very pretty: when young. On moist, retentive soil it holds on well in this section. but is poorly adapted for general planting, and should be used sparingly, if at all. The wood is of very little value, and is sel- dom sawed into lumber, but is used for laths, shingles, boxes. packing and pulp making. It furnishes Canada Balsam, which is an aromatic oil-like resin of considerable commercial impor- tance. It is obtained by puncturing the vescicles (blisters) formed under the bark of the stem and branches, which contain from a few drops to a half teaspoonful each. This is used in the arts and medicinally in chronic bronchial and catarrhal affections. The smaller branches exhale a delightful odor, and are preferred by campers in the woods for beds. Abies concolor. White Fir. Silver Fir. Leaves mostly obtuse, pale green, one to two and one-half inches long, with two resin ducts close to the epidermis of the lower surface. Cones oblong, cylindrical, three to five inches long, one to one and three-quarter inches in diameter, pale green or sometimes dull purple. A large tree. — Distribution—From Arizona to Southern Colorado, Utah, Cal- ifornia and Oregon. Propagation.—By seeds. Properties of Wood.—-Very light, soft, coarse grained, compact, not strong; color very light brown or nearly white, with some- what darker sapwood. Specific gravity, 0.3638; weight of a cubic foot, 22.67 pounds. Uses.—The White Fir is justly gaining in popularity as an ornamental evergreen. When young it often spreads out on the ground, and seems slow to make an upward growth, but after a few years it takes on a good broad conical form. Its rather long leaves of a pale green color, and its light bark and good form give it a very pretty appearance. It has stood for more than ten 230 TREES OF MINNESOTA. years on the grounds of the Minnesota Experiment Station with- out serious injury, and has made pretty specimens about six feet high and nearly as broad. It undoubtedly prefers a moist soil;. though it has done very well on good retentive upland. The wood is of very little value, but is used within its range for cheap packing cases, etc. Genus THUJA. Flowers mostly monoecious, on different branches in small terminal catkins, opening in May; anther cells, two to four. Scales of the pistillate flowers, eight to twelve. Ovules, two to four. Fruit an erect, dry, loose cone, from one-third to one-half of an inch long, maturing in the autumn of the first season, but remaining on the branch until the appearance of the new growth the following spring. Seeds oval, about one-eighth of an inch wide, and winged all round. Leaves evergreen, small, awl or scale shaped, closely imbricated and appressed so as to make a flat two-edged branchlet. On the leading shoots the leaves are often one-quarter of an inch long. A small genus of evergreen trees and shrubs. Only one species, the Arborvite, comes within our range. Thuja occidentalis. Arborvitee. White Cedar. A tree fifty or sixty feet high, seldom two feet in diameter, but occasionally much larger than this. There are many varieties, the most of which are characterized by some peculiar habit of the branches or by peculiar coloring of the leaves. Distribution.—From the valley of the St. Lawrence to north- ern Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and from the Atlantic to Central Minnesota. A very common tree in cold swamps and along river banks and lake shores where the soil is moist. In Minnesota very common in the northeastern portion, west to Roseau county and south to the south shore of Mille Lacs and the mouth of Snake river. It also occurs occasionally as far south as the southeastern portion of Winona county. In some sections, as along the Mississippi river, in the northern part of Aitkin county, it covers large areas with an almost impenetrable growth, which are known as cedar swamps. Not found in the western or southwestern parts of this state. : ARBORVITA:. 231 10 ae" Ny (oe) A” Plate 13. Thuja occidentalis. Arborvitee. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Staminate flower, en- larged. 3. Stamens, enlarged. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 5. Scale of pistillate flower, enlarged. 6. ruiting branch, one-half natural size. 7. Cone. 8 Scale with seed attached, natural size. 9. Jongitudinal section of seed. 10. Embryo. 11. A leaf, natural size. 12, Cross section of a branch, reduced. 13. Seedling, reduced. 232 TREES OF MINNESOTA. ' Propagation.—The seeds of the Arborvite grow readily, but the seedlings must be protected from the full sunlight for the first year. The many varieties are propagated from cuttings in a cool , greenhouse or frame, and root very slowly. Properties of Wood.—Very light, soft, close and often spirally grained, very durable in contact with the soil, light yellowish brown in color, turning darker on exposure; sapwood thin and nearly white. Specific gravity, 0.3164; weight of a cubic foot,’ 19.72 pounds. Uses.—The Arborvite is a popular plant for evergreen hedges, as it forms a close compact top when pruned, and is of a bright green color. It stands well in this section when growing on. good retentive land, but suffers from a deficiency of moisture in the soil and occasionally from severe winds in winter, and on this account does best in somewhat shel- tered locations. ‘The wood is largely used for telegraph poles and cross arms for same, fence posts, shingles, paving blocks and for the siding of light weight boats and canoes, also for tubs, pails, tanks and dash churns. The thick layers of the sapwood, which are easily separated, are manufactured by the Canadian Indians into baskets and are used to strengthen birch bark canoes. The fresh branches often serve the purpose of brooms. A decoction or tincture of the young branches of this tree is used for intermittent fevers, coughs, scurvy, rheumatism, etc., and externally to remove warts. It is also used in homeo- pathic practice. : V arieties.— Thuja occidentalis wareana. (7. sibirica.) Siberian Arborvitee. This is of a dark rich green color and compact habit. It is one of the best kinds for favorable locations, but not so hardy as the species or variety next described. Thuja occidentalis fastigiata. (7. 0. pAyramidalis.) Pyramidal Arborvite. Branches and leaves very distinct, fine and handsome. Form upright, regular, pyramidal or almost columnar. Valuable for variety, probably as hardy as the species and hardier than most of the varieties, JUNIPER. 233 Thuja occidentalis aurea. Douglas Golden Arbor- vitee. In habit like the species, but with a bright yellow color to the leaves; conspicuous and pretty; rather more tender than the species and occasionally sttscalds severely. Genus JUNIPERUS. A large genus of evergreen trees and shrubs. Flowers naked, dioecious, axillary or terminal. Fruit a fleshy cone, in some species resembling a berry or drupe more than a true cone. Juniperus virginiana. Red Juniper. Red Cedar. Savin. Leaves small, evergreen, opposite, scale-like and awl-shaped, the former sort minute, the latter about one-half inch long and spreading. Flowers dioecious, or very rarely monoecious; the small solitary catkins upon lateral twigs appearing in this section in May. Fruit a small dark colored fleshy berry-like cone with a light bluish bloom, maturing late in the fall of the first year. Fruit, leaves and wood are aromatic and resinous. Distribution.—It is the most widely distributed conifer of North America. It ranges from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains and from Northern Minnesota to Florida. In West- ern Louisiana and Texas it makes a tree sometimes eighty feet high and three or more feet in diameter, but it is usually very much smaller. In this section it is nowhere abundant, rarely thirty feet high, and generally short and bushy. In the north of its range it grows on dry land, while in the south it is often found in swamps, but it is not particular about soil. Propagation.—By seeds. For planting the berries should be gathered in autumn, then bruised and mixed with an equal or greater bulk of wet wood ashes or strong lye. In three weeks the ashes or lye will have cut the resinous gum so that the seeds can be washed clean. They should then be stratified over winter, and be sown in the spring, as recommended for coniferous seeds in general. The bed should be covered with mulch for the first season, as the seeds do not usually start until the second year. There are a number of varieties which may be propagated by cuttings of the young wood or by layers, 234 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Plate 14. Juniperus virginiana. Red- Cedar. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. Stamen, enlarged. 4. Flowering branch of pis- tillate tree, one-half natural size. 5. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 6. A seed, enlarged. 7. Scale of pistillate flower, enlarged. 8, Fruiting branch, one- ransverse sections of truit, enlarged. 10. ongl- 2. Stam- Ie inate flower, enlarged. 3. half natural size. 9. tudinal section of seed, enlarged. 11. Seedling, one-half natural size, — JUNIPER. : 235 Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, close grained, but brittle and not strong, dull red, with thin, nearly white, sapwood, very fragrant, easily worked and extremely durable in contact with the soil. Specific gravity, 0.4926; weight of a cubic foot, 30.7 pounds. . Uses.—The Red Cedar is a valuable ornamental tree for this section, of rather slow growth except when young, but very hardy and durable. It makes an excellent_low windbreak or - hedge, and bears close pruning without injury. The leaves gen-_ erally turn brown by the latter part of winter. The wood is used where great durability in contact with the soil is required, as for telegraph poles and fence posts, for interior finishing, cabinet making and for lining chests and closets in which woolens are preserved against the attacks of moths. It is almost the only wood Figure 49. Common Juniper. used in the manufacture of lead pencils, and is the most highly esteemed of any wood for the manufacture of pails, tubs, brush and tool handles, faucets. A decoction of the fruit and leaves is occasionally used medicinally and an infusion of the berries as a diuretic and in horneopathic remedies. Oil of Red Cedar is distilled from the leaves and wood, and is used principally in per- fumery. Juniperus communis. Dwarf Juniper. Common Juni- per. Trailing Juniper. Leaves in whorls of three, pointed at the base, linear, lanceo- late, pointed, dark green on the lower side, channelled and glaucous white on the upper side, one-third to one-half inch long, spreading at nearly right angles to the branches, have a strong, unpleasant, slightly astringent taste, during winter turn to.a rich bronze color on the lower surface and remain on tree for five or six years. Flowers open late in spring. Fruit during the first 236 TREES OF MINNESOTA. year does not enlarge, but resembles the flower bud, and does not ripen until the autumn of the third season, when it becomés fleshy and berry-like. Sometimes a low, crooked tree, but in our- range, and commonly elsewhere in the United States, a low spreading shrub, often forming dense mats three or four feet high. In Southern Illinois it frequently attains a height of twen- ty-five feet and forms trunks eight to ten inches in diameter. The foliage of the tree form is smaller than that of the dwarf. Distribution—The common Juniper is the most widely dis- tributed tree of the northern hemisphere. In North America it ranges from Labrador and Greenland to Pennsylvania on the east, across the continent to Alaska and Northern California, and along the. Rocky Mountains to Northern Nebraska, Western Texas and Arizona. In the old world it is widely spread over Northern and Central Europe and Asia. -In Minnesota often found along the bluffs of rivers. Propagation.—By seeds, as for Red Cedar. Properties of Wood.—Hard, close-grained, light brown with whitish sapwood, susceptible of a fine polish, very durable in con- tact with the soil. | Uses.—The great hardiness and pretty dwarf habit of the com- mon Juniper make it desirable in some situations for ornamental planting. It readily yields itself to shearing. Many fine speci- mens may be seen in the parks of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and elsewhere. In India the wood and twigs are burned for incense, and on the high Himalayan passes are used for fuel. ‘The fruit is gathered in Europe in large quantities for flavoring gin, and is occasionally used in medicine. Varieties —There are many varieties that are used in orna- mental planting in this country and in Europe, some of which are distinguished by the color of the foliage, and others by the habit of growth, which may be columnar or pyramidal or dwarf and compact. Some of these varieties in English and Dutch gardens are trained into the shapes of globes, bowls, animals and other fantastic forms. The Swedish Juniper, one of the most distinct varieties, has erect branches, which form a narrow pyramidal head. WALNUT. 237 JUGLANDACEAE."; WALNUT FAMILY. Trees with alternate, pinnately-compound leaves, no stipules. Flowers monoecious; the staminate in catkins with or without an irregular calyx and several stamens; the pistillate solitary or in clusters of two to five, their common peduncle terminating the shoot of the season; calyx, three to five lobed; stigmas, sessile, two-lobed, persistent. Ovary one-celled or incompletely two to four-celled, with a single ovule erect from its base; ripens into a large fruit, the bony inner part of which forms the shell of the nut and the fleshy outer part, the husk. Seed four-lobed, filled with fleshy oily embryo and large crumpled or corrugated coty- ledons. Genus JUGLANS. Leaves odd-pinnate with numerous serrate leaflets; petioles long, grooved on the upper side, gradually enlarged towards the base. In falling, the leaves expose large, conspicuous, elevated, obcordate, five-lobed scars. Flowers monoecious, opening in late spring after the leaves; the staminate in catkins, solitary or in pairs from the wood of the preceding year, each with eight to forty stamens on very short filaments and a three to six-lobed calyx; the pistillate solitary or several in a cluster on a branch of the season; calyx four-toothed, bearing in its sinuses four small petals; stigmas two, somewhat club-shaped and fringed. Fruit large, drupaceous, marked at the apex with the remnant of the style and covered with a fibrous, spongy, somewhat fleshy, inde- hiscent epicarp (shuck) and a rough, irregularly furrowed endo- carp (shell); embryo edible. Trees with sweet, watery juice, furrowed, scaly, resinous, aromatic bark and pith that separates into thin transverse layers. To this genus belong our native Black Walnut and Butternut, and the English Walnut (J. regia) of commerce, which has been long in cultivation, and is probably a native of Asia Minor. The Japanese use in large quantities a walnut belonging to this genus. The species here described have long tap roots and but few lateral roots. For this reason they do not transplant easily except when very young, or unless the tap roots are cut when the seedlings are small. In the latter case 238 TREES OF MINNESOTA. lateral roots are produced which may be saved in transplanting. It is desirable to plant the nuts where the trees are to remain. Juglans nigra. Black Walnut. Leaves twelve to twenty-four inches long, leaflets in seven to eleven pairs, ovate-lanceolate, lower surface and petioles min- utely glandular pubescent, aromatic when bruised. Fruit odorif- erous, spongy, usually globose, but occasionally oval, solitary or in pairs, one and one-half to two inches in diameter, with a rough dotted surface not as deeply furrowed as the Butternut. A large tree, sometimes 100 feet high and four to six feet or more in diameter. When growing in the open it develops a round head and casts a dense shade. Distribution.—From Western Massachusetts to Southern Minnesota and Eastern Kansas, south to Western Florida and the valley of the San Antonio river in Texas. In Minnesota formerly a common tree along the creek and river bottoms of the southern part of the state, and in a few locations is still rather abundant. _ | Propagation.—By seeds, which should be gathered in autumn, kept stratified with moist leaves or sand over winter, and sown in the spring. Also grown to some extent by planting the seeds in autumn where the trees are to remain. The varieties are grown by grafting. Old trees may be top grafted like apple trees. Properties of Wood—Heavy, hard, strong, rather coarse grained, easily worked, and very durable in contact with the soil. Color a rich, dark brown, with a thin, light sapwood. The fin- ished wood has a satiny surface, and will take a beautiful polish. Specific gravity, 0.6115; weight of a cubic foot, 38.11 pounds. Uses.—The Black Walnut is frequently used for ornamental planting in the parks of the United States and Europe. In this section, however, we reach the northern limit of its range, and find that it is not generally satisfactory when planted in the open, but often does well in protected locations and on deep alluvial soils. It can sometimes be used to advantage in timber plant- ings in the southern half of Minnesota when surrounded by some hardier tree to protect it from the wind. It is liable to sun-scald when the trunk is exposed in this section. Many large planta- tions of this tree have been made in Iowa, Southern Minnesota WALNUT. 239 Plate 15. Juglans nigra. Black Walnut. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Staminate flower before anthesis, enlarged. 3. Staminate flower, enlarged. 4. Perianth of stam- inate flower, displayed, enlarged. 5. Stamen, enlarged. 6. Pistillate flow- er, natural size. 7. Longitudinal section of pistillate flower, natural size. 8. Leaf, reduced. 9. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size. 10. Mature ben one-half natural size. 11. Walnut with husk removed, one-half nat- ural size. 240 TREES OF MINNESOTA. and elsewhere. In good locations the young trees grow rap- idly, and soon make good, durable fence posts or nut-bearing trees. It is one of the most valuable woods found in America, and is largely used in cabinet making, interior finishing, floor- ‘ing, gun stocks, furniture, saw handles, veneering, and for- merly in boat building and for fence rails and posts, for which it was highly esteemed. It is used in the making of school apparatus, artists’ goods, billiard tables, carpet sweepers, clock cases, butter and lunch plates. This timber is now very scarce. The nuts are much sought for, and find ready sale. They are oily, and have a sweet, pleasant taste, but become rancid with age. The husks are used for dyeing, and the leaves are sup- posed to possess medical properties. It was formerly believed that this tree could be grown at a profit for its valuable timber, but it has been found that the wood does not take on its dark, rich, even color until very old, but remains for many years a mixture of yellow and brown; hence its cultivation for timber has not proved so profitable as was expected. It will, however, make board timber in about twenty-five years. Juglans cinerea. Butternut. Leaves fifteen to thirty inches long; leaflets eleven to nine- teen, oblong, lanceolate, pubescent, especially underneath; peti- oles and branchlets clammy pubescent. Fruit two to three inches long, very clammy pubescent, of a rather pleasant odor when fresh, oblong, pointed, two-celled at the base; nut shell deeply and irregularly furrowed with rough, ragged ridges; embryo very rich in oil and of a delicious flavor. A tree occa- sionally 100 feet high and three feet in diameter in forests, but generally much smaller. Where it grows in the open it forms an immense spreading top. Distribution.—From the valley of the St. Lawrence river to’ Eastern Dakota, southward to Northern Georgia and Northeast- ern Arkansas. Not common south of the Ohio river. In Min- nesota common in the southern part except far southwest, extends north to Aitkin county, where trees have been found two feet or more in diameter. Propagation.—Same as for Black Walnut. Properties of Wood.—\ight, soft, not strong, rather coarse grained, easily worked, with a satiny surface capable of receiving BUTTERNUT. Plate 16. Juglans cinerea. Butternut. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Pistillate flower, larged. 3. Staminate flower, enlarged. 4. Diagram of pistillate flower. Diagram of staminate flower. 6. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. Leaf, reduced. 8. Winter branch, one-half natural size. 16 ‘Ga . te Fh ‘ 1 © 4 { 2 ? Ye 4 rf), = Thi RA wt WES Mey > BY,.2 Ky \ it o> 3 | ‘ : 4 | ech |} \ ae ‘ en- 5. 7. 241 242 TREES OF MINNESOTA. a‘ beautiful polish, light brown turning darker with exposure; sapwood thin and light colored. Specific gravity, 0.4086; weight of a cubic foot, 25.46 pounds. Uses —The Butternut is occasionally used for ornamental’ planting in the parks of this country, but is seldom a safe tree to depend on in Minnesota when growing in the open. In pro- tected locations it may be used as a shade tree, but is more valua- ble in timber plantings. It is found farther north than the Black Walnut, and is somewhat hardier, but is more easily injured by drouth. The wood is not so valuable as that of the Black Wal- nut, but is nevertheless very desirable for interior finishing, cab- inet making and furniture and tool handles. The nuts, which ripen in October, contain a large amount of oil, are delicious when fresh, and are generally preferred to the nuts of the Black Walnut, but like them they become rancid with age. ‘The unripe nuts are sometimes gathered early in June, when they are tender, and after removing the clammy pubescent by scalding and rub- bing with a coarse cloth make excellent pickles. The inner bark is white, but becomes light yellow and ultimately dark brown upon exposure to the air. It possesses mild cathartic properties, that from the root being especially valued as a safe cathartic. The acrid leaves have been used as a substitute for Spanish flies, Sugar of excellent quality has been made from the sap, and a dye for coloring cloth a yellow or orange color is obtained from the green husks of the fruit and from the bark, and formed the butternut color commonly used in the early history of this coun- try. Genus HICORIA. Leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, with few leaflets. Flowers monoecious, apetalous; the staminate in clustered lateral cat- kins; each cluster on a terminal peduncle; the pistillate two to six together on a terminal peduncle; stigmas two to four, large. Fruit a smooth or angled nut, covered with a four-valved husk, which generally separates at maturity. The leaves of most, if not all, the hickories are aromatic and astringent, and the bark is astringent and bitter. The bark has been successfully used in the treatment of dyspepsia and intermittent fevers and in homeo- pathic practice. The Indians used an oil made from the nuts. HICKORY. 243 Hicoria ovata. (Carya alba.) Shagbark Hickory. Shellbark Hickory. Leaves eight to fourteen inches long; leaflets five (rarely seven), obovate to oblong-lanceolate, ciliate; fruit globose, depressed at the apex; nut pale or nearly white, more or less flattened, four-angled, thin or thick. shelled, covered with thick husk; meat highly flavored. Bark of old trees is very shaggy, separating into wide, rough strips, and often falling away in large pieces. A sturdy, beautiful tree, often seventy to ninety feet high in forests; in the open forming an inversely conical top, with pendulous branches, Distribution.—From Maine and the valley of the St. Lawrence river westward along the southern region of the Great Lakes to Central Minnesota and Kansas, south to Western Florida, Northern Alabama and Eastern Texas. .In Minnesota common in a few counties in the extreme southeastern portion of the state. Propagation.—By seeds sown in autumn or stratified over win- ter in moist leaves or sand and sown in the spring; also, by root sprouts. Grafted only with much difficulty. Properties. of Wood.—Heavy, very hard, strong, tough, close grained and flexible, not durable when exposed to moisture. It is light colored, with thin nearly white sapwood. Specific grav- ity, 0.8372; weight of a cubic foot, 52.17 pounds. Uses.—The Shagbark Hickory is often very ornamental, and is used to some extent in park planting. It is also plantéd for the nuts, which find a ready sale. These vary greatly in size, thickness of shell and in quality, and none but the best should be planted for fruit. The tree is of exceedingly slow growth, and is not of sufficient hardiness to warrant planting it in any but a few very favorable locations in Southern Minnesota. The wood is largely used for ax and tool handles, plane blocks, wood screws, mallets, skewers, baskets, fuel and in the manufacture of agricultural implements, carriages and wagons, gymnasium apparatus, connecting rods for pumping machinery, etc. The second growth hickory is tougher, and on this account most desirable for these purposes. Hickory is also used in ship and boat building, hoops for barrels, tubs and pails, and oxbows are made from the sapwood. 244 TREES OF MINNESOTA. uo >) aN Ay) at jay Sa wen das Plate 17. Hicoria minima. Bitternut Hickory. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size.. 2. Staminate flower, en- larged. 3. Longitudinal section of pistillate flower, enlarged. 4. Fruitin branch, one-half natural size. 5. Cross section of nut, one-half natura size. 6. Longitudinal section of nut, one-half natural size. 7. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size. HICKORY. 245 Hicoria minima. (Carya amara.) Bitternut Hickory. Swamp Hickory. Leaves six to ten inches long; leaflets five to nine, sessile, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed, serrate; ‘buds orange yellow in winter, resembling those of the Butternut, open- ing by valves, which fall away early. Fruit globular; shuck very thin; nut yellowish, thin-shelled, bitter. The bark does not shell off as in Shagbark Hickory. A slender tree of graceful habit, sometimes eighty feet high, but within our range much smaller. It is a more rapid grower than the other hickories. Distribution—From New England, Ontario and Minnesota south to Florida and Texas, in moist woods and near the borders of streams and swamps. In Minnesota frequent in the southern part of the state, extending through the Big Woods north to Mille Lacs county. Propagation.—The same as for Shagbark Hickory. Properties of lWood.—Heavy, very hard, strong, tough and close grained, liable to check badly in drying; color dark brown, with thick light brown or nearly white sapwood. Specific ae ity, 0.7552; weight of a cubic foot, 47.06 pounds. Uses.—The Bitternut Hickory is a good ornamental tree, and quite hardy in proper locations in Minnesota. It is probably the most desirable of the hickories, either for ornamental use or for hoop poles in this section. ‘The wood is inferior to that of the Shagbark Hickory, but is used for about the same purposes. It is said that in early days an oil pressed from the nuts was, used for illuminating purposes. 246 TREES OF MINNESOTA. SALICACEAE. WILLOW FAMILY. A large family of trees and shrubs, mostly inhabiting cold climates. eaves alternate, simple, undivided, and furnished with stipules which are scale-like and deciduous, or leaf-like and persistent. Flowers, dioecious, both kinds in catkins, one under each bract or scale of the catkin, without calyx or corolla; in some cases the calyx is represented by a gland-like cup; ovary one or two-celled. Fruit a one or two-celled, two-valved pod, with numerous seeds attached to a parietal or basal placenta, ripening in early summer and furnished with long, silky down. Genus SALIX. Leaves generally narrow, long and pointed. Flowers appear before or with the leaves, in terminal or lateral, cylindrical, imbricated, generally erect catkins; two or more distinct or united stamens; stigmas two, short. Fruit a one-celled two- valved pod. Trees or shrubs with smooth round branches,. usu- ally found growing in moist land. A large and valuable genus of over 160 species, the greater number belonging to Europe and Asia. About sixty species belong to North America. A dwarf willow is found growing the farthest north of any shrub. Only © two tree-like species are indigenous within our range, but there are several foreign kinds mentioned here that are of much value for cultivation in this climate. Propagation.—The willows increase readily eet cuttings, and are seldom grown in any other way. The cuttings grow readily at almost any season of the year, provided they are put in moist soil. Even in midsummer cuttings of firm wood a half inch or more in diameter will grow readily if planted in moist soil, but the best time to make cuttings is in the fall or spring, when wood of any age or size will root if properly planted. Some of the weeping varieties are grown by top-working in upright stocks. Uses.—The bark of the trees of all species of Salix with bitter bark yields salicylic acid, which is now used medicinally in the treatment of typhoid fever, gout and rheumatism. During the Civil War ground willow bark was used in the treatment of fevers in some of the Southern hospitals when quinine could not OSIER WILLOWS. 247 be obtained. The bark of some species is used for tanning leather. The slender tough twigs are used extensively for bas- ket making and tying. They are often cultivated solely for this purpose. ‘he wood of the Willow is not very valuable, but it is used for light fuel, for charcoal to be used in the manufacture of gunpowder and artists’ charcoal, and that of some kinds for timber in a limited way, as hoops for kegs and barrels and for artificial limbs. Some kinds are also planted largely for holding the banks of streams and for windbreaks. For ornamental plant- ing some kinds are used that are very pretty in flower and foliage, which quality, taken in connection with the ease with which they are propagated, their hardiness and the rapidity with which they grow, have made them largely used. Although most of the wil- lows flourish best when they have abundant moisture at their roots, many of them will stand well on any land good enough for corn, and a few kinds, such as the White Willow, are among the hardiest kind we have for prairie planting. Osier Willows is a term that is applied to a variety of wil- lows which are grown for their twigs, which are used for basket making. ‘The plantations made for this purpose are termed osier holts. The growing of osiers has not been carried on to any great extent in this country, but they are generally imported. At Syracuse, N. Y., and near a few other large cities here, it has reached a considerable degree of development. A large amount of these osiers are imported into this country each year, and an immense amount of willow basket material is used. The price paid for the rods, when of a proper length and in good condition, is about fifteen dollars a ton, green. The yield per acre around Syracuse, N. Y., is about four tons of green rods, but occa- sionally as high as eight tons has been obtained. Dried peeled rods are worth somewhere about sixty dollars per ton. In order to facilitate peeling, which in this case is termed stripping, the rods are steamed until the bark comes off easily. These are not as white, however, as those which are sap-peeled in the spring, _but the latter are not as durable as steam-peeled rods. The best soil for the growing of basket willows is a deep, sandy soil, drained yet moist. If water for irrigation can be commanded, so much the better, but the basket willows will prosper on even rather dry soil of good quality, but do not grow 248 TREES OF MINNESOTA. as: fast as on moist soil. Avoid locations where stagnant water stands in summer. Among the best situations is along the riv- ers and brooks that pass through a level country, and on small islands which frequently are found in the midst of streams, or ‘ swales or hollows. If these places are occasionally quite wet in winter, it does not seem to injure seriously the basket willows. In preparing the soil for this purpose care should be taken to make it very rich, and, if necessary, for best growth it should be heavily manured with stable manure, and as carefully pre- pared as if for a crop of corn. The best time for planting is in the late autumn, or very early in the spring, and the best cuttings are those about twelve inches long. Put these cuttings in so that their tops are even with the ground, but do not cover them with earth. Some growers prefer to set the cuttings about ~ four inches apart in rows twenty inches apart for best results. This gives a thick, close growth, which sufficiently shades the soil between the rows that weeds cannot grow there. If the plants should prove to be too thick, every alternate one can be grubbed out after the third year. This method will require about 65,000 cuttings to the acre. Other growers prefer to set twelve inches apart in rows three feet apart. This gives a chance to work between the rows with a horse, which is quite an advantage under some conditions. This method requires about 15,000 cut- tings per acre. | On land that is wet late in autumn the willows are liable to grow too long, and not ripen their shoots, which is an important consideration in the growing of basket willows; since, if the shoots are not ripened at the time growth ceases, they are worth- less for basket purposes, being soft and brittle. The rods should be cut the first year, even if of no value, for if the cutting is delayed until the second year, the plants will have branched, and will produce much less valuable material. The rods should be cut as near the surface of the ground as possible. They should then be tied in bundles about ten inches in diameter, and, if it is intended to sap-peel them, these bundles should be placed in running water, standing upright, until the leaves or sprouts» appear in the spring, when they should be ready to peel. This method of peeling is termed sap-peeling. When it is intended to remove the bark by steaming or boiling, the bundles may be set up anywhere until dry, when they may be stored in sacks or in OSIER WILLOWS. 249 covered sheds until wanted. Rods thus treated will be of a darker color than those peeled in the spring after the sap has started, owing to the fact that the wood is stained by the color- ing matter in the bark, which is dissolved and taken up by the wood. These dark-colored rods, however, make the most valua- ble baskets.. Willows should never be cut when the sap is flow- ing, as the material is poor, being too soft and turning black when peeled. Besides, they injure the plants by robbing them of their yearly supply of root nourishment. The cutting should always be done carefully, and in such a manner as not to split or mutilate the stocks. The peeling is done by pulling the rods through a springy wooden fork, shaped like a clothespin, but larger, and with blunt edges inside. This presses against the rod and loosens the bark in strands without injuring the wood. The rod is afterwards dried in the open air and put up in bundles of fifty pounds for the market. Peeled rods keep much better than those left with the bark on, and this is said to be the most profitable way in which to market the product. The willow is generally a healthy plant, and rather free from insect enemies under ordinary conditions; but when grown in large groups of pure willows, it is occasionally attacked by rust and also by insects. The leaf-eating insects are easily destroyed by Paris green, used in the same way as is com- mon for the destruction of the potato bug. The Osier Willow, which has here proven most productive of the long, slender shoots so desirable for basket-making, is the Salix purpurea, and at the University Experiment Station “this has frequently made a growth of six feet long in the season. It should be understood by anyone who undertakes this line of work that long, slender rods are desirable, and that one rod six feet long may be worth as much as several that are not over three or four feet long. Almost any willow may be used for making the common,: coarse baskets, but for the better class of willow goods the special osier willows should be grown. The _ common White Willow and also the Golden Willow produce ‘rods of fairly good quality. Wisconsin Weeping Willow. A willow known among horticulturists as the Wisconsin Weeping Willow (botanical name not known) has been grown 250 - TREES OF MINNESOTA. Plate 18. Salix nigra. Black Witkare 1. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flow- ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Scale of staminate catkin, enlarged. 4. Scale of pistillate catkin, enlarged. 5, Longitudinal section of ovary, enlarged. 6. Fruiung branch, one-half natural size. 7. Summer branch, one-half natural size. . ——s WILLOW. 251 to a considerable extent here and is our best large Weeping Wil- low. It attains large size in favorable locations, but is occa- sionally killed back by severe winters. Salix nigra. Black Willow. Leaves vary greatly in size and outline on differ- ent trees, but are generally narrowly lanceolate, long pointed, serrulate, some- what pubescent especially on the lower surface; when mature two and one-half to five inches long, bright green and glabrous above, somewhat paler and glab- brous beneath, and some- times pubescent on the underside of midribs. Stip- ules persistent or soon fall- ing away. Catkins appear with the leaves; stamens three to seven, distinct. Our largest native willow, forming a large tree, with dark brown or almost black rough flaky bark. Distribution.—Along streams and lakes, New Brunswick to Eastern Dakota, south to Florida, Texas and Arizona. Propagation.—By cuttings, but seedlings may often be gath- ered. . : Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, weak, close grained, checks badly in drying; light reddish brown, with nearly white sap- wood. Specific gravity, 0.4456; weight of a cubic foot, 27.77 pounds. Uses —The Black Willow is seldom used for ornamental or timber planting. The wood is used for fuel and the bark domes- tically in the treatment of fevers. tS ia e widaes ” 8 a yhinss Fut ites Figure 50. Wisconsin Weeping Willow. Salix amygdaloides. Almondleaf Willow. Peachleaf Willow. Leaves lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, long-pointed, three to five or more inches long, slightly pubescent when young, green above, pale and glaucous below with stout yellow or orange-col- 252 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Plate 19. Salix amygdaloides. Almondleaf Willow. 1. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flow- ering branch. of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Staminate flower with scale, enlarged. 4. Pistillate flower with scale, enlarged. s. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 6. Summer branch, one-hal natural size. 7. Bud and leaf scar. =r WILLOW. 253 ored midrib. Stipules often one-half inch broad, on vigorous shoots, but scarcely appearing on the weaker branches. Catkins appear with the leaves; stamens five to nine, distinct. A small tree, occasionally seventy feet high. Distribution.—Along lakes and streams. Quebec to the valley of the Upper Saskatchewan river and Oregon, south to Ohio, Missouri and Texas. Common in Minnesota. Propagation.—By cuttings. Seedlings can generally be aay ered. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, weak, close grained, light brown with thick whitish sapwood. Specific cars 0.4509; weight of a cubic foot, 28.10 pounds. Uses.—The Almondleaf Willow is not as desirable as several other willows for cultivation, but in suitable locations makes a very pretty tree. The wood is used for fuel. Salix alba. White Willow. Leaves lanceolate, taper pointed and tapering to the petiole, serrate with thickened teeth, silky on both sides when young, less so and pale or glaucous beneath when mature; stipules deciduous. Flowers appear in May, with the leaves at the ends of leafy lateral shoots of the season; stamens two. Fruit matures in June. ‘Tree sometimes attains a height of eighty feet, with a trunk three or four feet in diameter, and ascending branches. | Distribution.—Native of Northern Europe and Asia, but was early brought to this country, and has become naturalized from the valley of the St. Lawrence to the Potomac. ‘There are many varieties, and probably many hybrids of this with the American and European species. ‘The form of the White Willow com- monly used for windbreaks on our prairies has been considered by some as a hybrid between S. fragilis and S. alba, and by others as but a variety of S. alba. The pistillate tree is most commonly ’ met with here. Propagation.—It can be propagated easily from cuttings of large or small size. In growing this tree for windbreaks some planters prefer to use poles instead of common cuttings, laying them in furrows in the prepared soil, where they are all covered 254 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Plate 20. Salix alba. White Willow. 1. Flowering branch from staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flowering branch from pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Scale of Scale of pistillate catkin, front view, en- rear view, enlarged. 6. Fruiting 8. Winter staminate catkin, enlarged. 4. larged. 5. Scale of pistillate catkin, branch, one-half natural size. 7. Leaf, one-half natural size. branchlet, one-half natural size. 9. Seedling. WILLOW. 255 except at intervals of about two feet, at which places they sprout and grow. Properties of Wood.—Soit, light, tough, strong and very flexi- ble. Uses —The White Willow is one of the most valuable trees ’ to use for windbreaks on our prairies. Wonderfully hardy even in dry locations. It sprouts vigorously from the stump and fur- nishes good straight poles of uniform size, which if cut in sum- mer and the bark peeled off will last for a number of years exposed to the weather. When thoroughly dried they make fence posts that will last about six years, but generally are not durable. The fuel if dried under cover has greater value for summer use than is generally supposed. Some data collected by the Minnesota Experiment Station seem to show that the White Willow, on good land, may yield as much as five and one-half cords of firewood per acre per year. In Europe the wood is used for rafters of buildings, for the lining of carts used in haul- ing stone, in turnery, for baseball and cricket bats, and for any purpose where a very light, strong, tough wood is needed. The leaves are used as forage for cattle and the bark for tanning leather, for which purpose it is considered nearly as good as oak bark. A row of White Willow set about four feet apart with barbed wire put on them makes a very permanent and serviceable fence. Live willow posts or stakes that are used to support barbed wire soon root and become permanent trees in moist soil. The White Willow will not make a good low hedge, as it does not stand very close pruning. Varieties—The White Willow has given rise to a large num- ber of varieties, among the best of which are the following: Salix alba vittellina. Common Golden Willow. A pretty tree at all seasons, but particularly so in winter and early spring, on account of its bright yellow bark; form like that of the species. This variety has been largely planted, but is now generally supplanted by the next, which is a better orna- mental tree. This has become naturalized in this country, though it is probable that only the pistillate form is found in this sec- tion. 256 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Salix alba vittellina (from Russia.) Russian Golden Willow. A very rapid growing, round, close-topped tree, with glossy deep green foliage, bright golden colored bark in winter, and . “4 " a Me J ~ wee os, ard Figure 51. Russian Golden Wil- low. A round-topped tree. Salix alba britzensis. A variety of the White Willow, with attractive reddish twigs in winter, pyramidal form and rapid growth. Valuable for variety in timber plantings, parks, etc. Salix alba tegalis. (Salix regalis.) Royal Willow. A distinct form of the White Willow forming a small tree or shrub; the foliage of which is covered with silky down, which gives it a silvery appearance. A very hardy tree, useful for vari- ety in ornamental planting. bright yellow, conspicuous, fragrant, staminate catkins, appearing with the leaves in the spring. One of the best quick-growing trees for this section, and very valuable for . giving variety to lawn and timber _ plantings. Under favorable conditions a cutting of this has been. known to make a tree ten inches through the trunk with a top that spread over thirty feet in eight years. The staminate form is perhaps the only one grown in this country. . \ * oe Seseers og et. f heZ 2 +. os, be na Pag « ; ‘6 y : el. ae, ye vw. * a a te ING : Nae she rag . afe “ * — Br s ae Wy ot } ght af YF eg . — RAdrey "3 are > J.a%* 9. $625 Aa see mA . sm Bis hee wet san ; . Ney 3 J "4 ee e , f 3 eae ee BSc 8 Sa ant . Figure 52 Salix alba britzensis. A conical-shaped tree. WILLOW. 257 Salix pentandra. (Salix laurifolia of horticulturists.) Laurelleaf Willow. Leaves larger than those of any other of our cultivated wil- lows, taper pointed, finely serrate with large stipules; upper sur- face of leaf dark green and shining as if var- nished. Leaves are very thick, and so hard - that the saw-fly larve are seldom found feed- ing on it. A vigorous grower when young, making a small, round, open topped tree; val- uable for variety. The only objection to the extensive pianting of this tree here is a blight, which is occasionally injurious to it. On this account it should be used only in a small way. The form planted here bears pistillate flowers. Native of Europe. Propagated by cuttings. Salix lucida. Glossyleaf Willow. Shining Willow. Leaves three to five inches long and one to one and one-half inches wide, lanceolate, taper-pointed, dark green and glossy on the upper and paler on the lower surface with inde ks heat broad yellow midribs. Stipules one-eighth to of Laurelleaf Wil- one-quarter of an inch broad, remaining all low, one-half nat- erat dived summer. Catkins later than the leaves; sta- mens usually five, distinct. Occasionally a small tree, but within our range a shrub. . Distribution.—Newfoundland to Hudson Bay, westward to base of Rocky Mountains and south to Pennsylvania and Eastern Ne- braska. Propagation.—By cuttings and by seeds. Uses.—The Glossyleaf Willow is a pretty ornamental shrub on account of its lustrous green leaves and showy staminate flowers. Much resembles the Almondleafi Willow. Salix acutifolia. Leaves lanceolate-acuminate, dark green and shining above, pale glaucous below, crenate, those on strong shoots stipulate. Twigs yellowish green, older branches covered with a heavy pur- plish bloom. Catkins thick, stiff and very silky, appearing before V7 258 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Plate 21. Salix lucida. Glossyleaf Willow. ~ 1. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flow- ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 4. Scale of staminate catkin, enlarged. 5. Scale ot pistillate catkin, enlarged. 6. Mature iruit, enlarged. 7. Summer branch, one-haif natural size. “POPLAR. 259 the leaves. A very hardy tree or shrub of graceful habit attain- ing a height of twenty feet. More difficult to propagate than most willows, and occasionally blights severely. Salix purpurea pendula. (5S. nxafoleontis.) Napoleon Willow. Leaves one and one-half to two inches long, linear, finely serrate, green and shining above, dull bluish green beneath; petioles short. Young twigs and petioles reddish. A spreading shrub, but when top-worked on an upright stock forms a very ~~ Figure 54. Napoleon Willow, top-worked on White Willow. pretty tree, with spreading pendulous branches. Hardy at the Minnesota Experiment Station. Known among nurserymen as New American Willow, but often worked on too tender stocks. Genus POPULUS. Leaves alternate, broad, more or less heart shaped or ovate. Flowers dioecious. Individual trees bearing staminate and pis- tillate catkins, and also catkins having the two kinds of flowers mixed together occasionally occur. Flowers appear before the ~ leaves in long, usually drooping, lateral, cylindrical catkins, the scales of which are furnished with a fringed margin; the calyx is represented by an oblique cup-shaped disk, with entire mar- gin; stamens usually numerous; ovary short; stigmas long, two- lobed; fruit described under family Salicacee, ripening before the 260 TREES OF MINNESOTA. full development of the leaves in May or June. A genus of about twenty species of soft wooded trees, mostly natives of cold cli- mates, one-half of which are found in North America. Populus tremuloides. Aspen. American Aspen. Quak- ing Asp. Poplar. Popple. Leaves ovate or obicular, with a sharp, short apex, small, smooth on both sides; petiole long, flattened. Flowers in April before the leaves in hairy catkins. Fruit a small, two-valved capsule; seeds very small. Bark smooth, greenish white except on very old trees; twigs not angular. This is generally a small, short-lived tree, but occasionally it grows sixty or more feet high. The pendulous leaves tremble in the slightest breeze; the silver gray bark is attractive and the autumn color of the leaves is one of the purest golden yellows found among trees. Distribution—From Southern Labrador to southern shores of Hudson Bay, to the Mackenzie and Yukon rivers, south to Pennsylvania, Missouri, New Mexico and Lower California and through all mountain ranges of the West. One of the most widely distributed trees of North America. In Minnesota it is found throughout the state, and is very common on cut-over tim- ber lands, where it is generally the first tree to take possession of the land after the pine is cut off. It grows most luxuriantly along the borders of swamps and open forest glades. The seed is carried long distances by the wind. _ Propagation—By seeds, which grow freely; but the seeds, however, are seldom sown in nurseries, as the limited demand for this species is easily supplied by the seedlings which spring up along the lake shores and sand bars. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, not strong, close grained, of cottony fiber, and soon decays in contact with the soil. It is of a light brown color, with thick, nearly white, sapwood. Specific gravity, 0.4032; weight of a cubic foot, 25.13 pounds. Uses.—On account of the color of the bark and the autumn color of the leaves an occasional specimen of Aspen can be used to advantage to give variety to our tree plantings. Although it grows rapidly when young, it is of very slow growth when older. The wood is used for paper pulp, and occasionally for interior finishing and for turnery. It makes good light fuel if cured under cover. POPLAR. - 261 Plate 22. Populus tremuloides. Aspen. 1. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flow- ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Scale of staminate catkin, enlarged. 4. Stamen, enlarged. 5. Scale of pistillate catkin, en- larged. 6. Longitudinal section of pistil., 7, Mature fruit, natural size. 8. Fruit, showing mode of dehiscence, natural size. 9. Seed, enlarged. 1o. Longitudinal section of seed, enlarged. 11. Embryo, enlarged. 12. Fruit- ing branch, one-half natural size, 262 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Populus grandidenta. Largetooth Aspen. Leaves roundish-ovate, with coarse unequal teeth, densely covered with silky wool beneath when young, smooth on both, sides when old; petioles flattened, twigs not angled. Flowers in hairy catkins three to four inches long, the staminate catkins longer than the pistillate, stamens about twelve; seeds very small, dark brown. A medium-sized slender tree, with greenish gray bark rarely over seventy-five feet high and two feet in diameter; resembles the Aspen, and is sometimes confounded with it, but unlike the common Aspen it rapidly attains consid- erable size under cultivation. Distribution—From Nova Scotia west to Northern Minnesota and North Dakota, south to North Carolina, Kentucky and Ten- nessee. In Minnesota throughout most of the state in forests, usually in rich moist sandy soil near swamps and streams. Propagation.—By seeds and cuttings. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, and close grained but not strong; light brown with thin, white sapwood. Specific gravity, 0.4632; weight of a cubic foot, 28.87 pounds. Uses——The Largetooth Aspen can sometimes be planted in timber belts to advantage. It makes good straight poles for various farm purposes and for framing; it is also used for wood pulp, and occasionally in turnery and for woodenware. Varieties:—Populus grandidenta has given rise to several varie- ties with pendulous branches, which when grafted on straight stems of the species are used in ornamental planting and form the best weeping poplars. Populus balsamifera. Balm of Gilead. Tacamahac. Leaves ovate, lanceolate, acute or taper pointed, smooth on both sides; petioles not prominently flattened; buds in spring are large and abundantly covered and saturated with a fragrant aromatic varnish. Flowers appear in April or May; the stami- nate catkins two to three inches, and the pistillate four to six inches in length; stamens very numerous, purple. Seeds with a large cottony float. A large, upright tree, with narrow straight top, and nearly smooth gray bark, the largest of the sub-arctic trees. POPLAR. 20 Plate 23. Populus balsamifera. Balm of Gilead. 1. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Fiow- ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 4. Scale of staminate catkin, enlarged. 5. Scale ot pistillate catkin, enlarged. 6. Sca!le without flower, displayed, enlarged. 7. Mature fruit. 8. Seed, enlarged. 9. Longitudinal section of seed, en- larged. 1o. Embryo, enlarged. 11, Winter branch showing buds, one-half natural size, ; 264 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Distribution.—Over the low bottom lands and swamp borders of the greater part of British America and the northern part of the United States. In Minnesota found throughout the northern part of the state. : Propagation.—By seeds and cuttings. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft, not strong, close grained; light brown, with thick nearly white sapwood: Specific gravity, 0.3635; weight of a cubic foot, 22.65 pounds. Uses.—The Balm of Gilead and its varieties are occasionally used for ornamental planting, but while they are of rapid growth and occasionally make good specimens, their open habit and lia- bility to die in the top make them undesirable for extensive plant- ing. The wood is excellent for paper pulp. ‘The buds are used in liniments; their virtues probably being analagous to those of turpentine and the balsams. Varieties.— Populus balsamifera candicans. Hairy Balm of Gilead. This form has a wider leaf, longer and more resinous buds, more spreading branches, heavier wood, and is a more orna- mental tree than the species. It is common in plantings in the Northeastern States and Eastern Canada. Populus balsamifera intermedia. A European form, with close, upright habit and very thick, hard, oval leaves, which are whitened beneath. It is known to horticulturists as P. laurifolia and P. siberica pyramidalis. Populus balsamifera viminalis. A native of Northern Europe. ‘The tree is of slender growth, with a slightly weeping habit when old: It has sharply angled twigs and willow-like leaves. Known to horticulturists as P. lindleyana, P. salicifolia, P. crispa, P. dudleyi and P. pyramidalis suaveolens. Populus balsamifera latifolia. A variety including several Asiatic forms, with ovate leaves, cylindrical twigs and general habit of the Balsam Poplar. The POPLAR. 265 forms of this are known to horticulturists as P. Nolesti and P. _ Wobsky. Populus angustifolia. Narrowleaf Cottonwood. Leaves lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, narrow at base, green on both sides; branches rather slender with smooth bark. Cat- kins densely flowered, one and one-half to two inches long; stamens twelve to twenty; pistil- late catkins lengthen as the fruit grows, and when the seeds are ripe the catkins are from two and one-half to four inches long. Tree much smaller than the common Cottonwood, it seldom being more than fifty feet high and fif- teen inches in diameter, resem- bling a willow more than a pop- Figure 55. Leaves of Narrow- lar. leaf Cottonwood, one-third nat- Sah Me . ural size. Distribution.—It is found along streams in Montana, Assiniboia, Black Hills of South Dakota and Northwestern Nebraska to Ari- zona. It is the common Poplar of Southern Montana, Eastern Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Northern Colorado. Propagation.—By seeds and cuttings. *. Properties of Wood.—Light, soft and weak; light brown, with thin, nearly white, sapwood. Specific gravity, 0:3912; weight of a cubic foot, 24.38 pounds. Uses.—The Narrowleaf Cottonwood is used as a shade and street tree in towns of Colorado and Utah, for which purpose it does very well if provided with water, and soon forms a conical shapely head. It is hardy in Minnesota, but has been planted here but a few years. Populus deltoides. (7. monilifera.) Cottonwood. Car- olina Poplar. Yellow Cottonwood. Leaves large, deltoid or broadly ovate, usually abruptly acu- minate, coarsely crenate; petioles laterally compressed. Twigs 266 TREES OF MINNESOTA. and smaller branches thick, smoother, but sharp angled or winged, at length becoming round. When the leaves unfold . they are gummy and fragrant, with a balsamic odor. and covered, more or less with white soft hairs; at maturity they are thick, leathery and green on both sides. Catkins pendulous: the staminate densely flowered and from three to four inches in length and a half inch in thickness; the pistillate sparsely flow- ered, thin stemmed and often a foot long before the ripening of the seeds. Stamens sixty or more to each flower. Seed oblong, one-twelfth of an inch in length, and surrounded by a tuft of long hairs, which aid in its distribution. Tree sometimes 100 feet high, with trunk occasionally seven or eight feet in diameter. Distribution—From Quebec south to Florida and west to the base of the Rocky Mountains, from Alberta to New Mexico along banks of streams, where it often forms extensive groves. In Minnesota common in the southern part of the state, but rare farther north. Propagation.—By seeds and by cuttings. Seedlings can be obtained in large quantities on the sand bars along our rivers and on shores of receding lakes, and this is the chief source of sup- ply. The opinion is common that seedlings are longer lived than plants from cuttings. Properties of Wood—VLight, soft, spongy and weak, “qchoeee close grained; dark brown, with thick nearly white sapwood. Specific gravity, 0.3889; weight of a cubic foot, 24.24 pounds. Uses.—The Cottonwood has been largely used in the Western States for timber and fuel. as a shade tree and for windbreaks. For all these purposes it is a very inferior tree, but on account of its abundance, rapid growth and hardiness it has almost neces- sarily been largely used in the pioneer work of settlement. As a timber tree it is inferior on account of its timber warping badly in drying and being extremely difficult to season. As a tree for shade and windbreaks it is not so valuable as the Green Ash, White Willow, White Elm or Boxelder; on the dry prairie it is subject to leaf rust, is short-lived, and fails to make a shade dense enough to keep the grass out of groves. The pistillate form is objectionable on account of the cottony floats with which it fills the air when shedding its seed. It has, however, done good service in our Western States, and may continue to be of POPLAR. 267 Plate 24. Populus delloides. Cottonwood, 1. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flow- ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Scale of staminate catkin, enlarged. 4. Scale of pistillate catkin, enlarged. 5. Cross section of ovary, enlarged. 6.. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size, 7. Mature fruit. 8. Seed, enlarged. 268 . TREES OF MINNESOTA. ‘service in first plantings, but our people had better plant longer- lived and more desirable trees mixed in with it to replace it when it fails. Occasionally, however, the Cottonwood can be used to advantage where a quick tree effect is wanted, for where it has plenty of water it will make a great stately tree in a very short time. If one wishes to plant Cottonwood and avoid the ‘“cot- ton,’ which is so objectionable, cuttings from the staminate tree. only should be used, as this form produces no cotton. The wood of the Cottonwood is used for cheap packing cases, trays and bowls, for paper pulp, excelsior and for fuel. For fuel and lumber the wood should be dried under cover, as it decays very quickly when exposed to moisture. Some figures collected at the Minnesota Experiment Station show that on good land Cot- tonwood may yield as much as seven cords per acre per year increase. “fa 3 ; Yellow Cottonwood. In some sections along the Missis- sippi and Missouri rivers is found what is known as Yellow Cottonwood, which it is difficult or quite impossible to distin- guish from the common or White Cottonwood by any of its external characters, but there is a very distinct difference in the wood. Some good authorities have thought this difference associated with the sex of the trees, but this is improbable, as the form seems localized. What is known as Yellow Cottonwood lumber is highly esteemed for turnery and various purposes for which Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is used, and is manufactured in large quantities. It has also been used for the siding of houses with good results. The characters of the wood of each are quite clearly given in a letter recently received from the “Three States Lumber Co.” of Cairo, Ill., from which the following is taken: “The Cottonwood belt extends along the Mississippi river below Cairo, and there is also considerable along the Missouri river. ‘The Cottonwood in the Mississippi Valley consists mostly of Yellow Cottonwood. This generally grows on low moist land, and any Cottonwood that is found growing on land that is subject to overflow is generally the soft yellow variety, known as Yellow Cottonwood. ‘There is some White Cotton- wood growing in the southern part of Illinois, on high, dry POPLAR. 260 ground. It is not possible to distinguish one from the other by the leaves, as.in such comparison there is no difference. “Yellow Cottonwood grows very round at the bottom, and holds to size much better than White Cottonwood. It generally has a thick bark; what we term as a corrugated bark. “White Cottonwood has a much thinner and softer bark, and is very apt to have a heavy spur root at the bottom. We mean by that it is liable to grow up somewhat flat-sided and ridged near the bottom of the trees. This is somewhat similar to the growth of oak. © ; “Yellow Cottonwood will saw up very smooth, is soft and ten- der, and must be handled very carefully after being manufactured | ‘into lumber in order to prevent the splitting of the boards or their ends. It will dress out through a planer with a very smooth surface, and will break off square. It will also take a very nice polish after being surfaced. “White Cottonwood is tough and stringy, is very hard on saws in manufacturing, and will sometimes bend almost double before it will break, and after breaking the ends will be rough. “A White Cottonwood board put through a planer will not ‘ dress out smooth the entire surface, but there will be more or less spots that are fuzzy and rough, which is a serious objec- tion to. the consumer, as it will not take an even polish. A White Cottonwood board exposed to the sun will also warp and twist to a much greater extent than a Yellow Cottonwood board. . “Yellow Cottonwood lumber is not strictly yellow, consider- ing it from a color standpoint, nor is it strictly white. There is a tinge in the lumber which impresses you as different from a White Cottonwood board, which to the eye is very distinct.” V arieties.— Populus deltoides aurea. (7. Van Certi?, Bailey.) Gold- enleaf Cottonwood. This variety of the Cottonwood is very desirable on account of the bright yellow leaves on the new growth in summer. It grows freely, and in Minnesota has proved as healthy as the species. It is valuable for occasional use to give variety to wind- breaks, and is said to be more largely planted in Europe for park decoration than any other American tree. 270 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Populus nigra. Black Poplar. Leaves broadly triangular, sometimes with tapering or rounded base, smaller, less deeply toothed and shorter in propor- tion to their width than those of the Cottonwood, which they resemble; leaf stock flattened. The tree has generally a pyramidal habit of growth and dark foliage.’ It is less lustrous than the Cottonwood, and grows more slowly. This is probably the tree known in some localities as Norway Poplar or Norway Cotton- wood. What has been sent out under the name of Populus betulifolia is probably a form of this species. Distribution.—Europe and Asia. “It must now, however, be regarded as naturalized in this country, having become. thoroughly established in many localities.” Propagation.—Almost entirely by cuttings in this country. Properties of wood.—L ight, soft, compact, not strong. Pecans gravity of air-dried wood 0.45. Uses.—The Black Poplar and its several varie- ties are used for shade and ornamental trees where a quick effect is needed. ‘The wood is fuel. In pharmacy the buds are used for preserv- ing fats. V arieties.— Populus nigra italica. Lombardy Poplar. A common tree with upright branches, making a very straight columnar growth, and on this account very conspicuous. Leaves small and generally with a more tapering base than Figure 56. . wks e236 Lombardy the species. This is one of the characteristic Poplar. trees of Italy. Its common name is derived from Lombardy, one of the provinces of Italy. The tree is supposed to be a native of Persia and Asia Minor. Its peculiar form gives the landscape a crude look where it is much used. Single speci- mens, however, may be occasionally planted to advantage to give variety to shelter belts. It is hardy in moist soil, and on our average prairie soil makes a good growth while young, but soon becomes ragged in the top, and loses some of its branches and occasionally dies. When it becomes ragged in appearance used for cheap packing cases, crates and for light POPLAR. 271 it should be cut back, as it will then often renew itself. The tree is generally shortlived in this section. It does not afford shade enough for a forest or shade tree, and does not make a good windbreak. Populus alba. White Poplar. Silverleaf. Leaves roundish, slightly heart-shaped, wavy toothed or lobed; the under surface, woolly white, especially early in the season. Branches round, without angles; buds small. A large spreading tree of rapid growth, very much disposed to sucker from the root. It has given rise to many varieties, that differ from the species in form of tree and leaf and in other particulars. Distribution—Europe and Asia Minor; naturalized in the United States. Propagation.—By cuttings and suckers. Properties of wood.—White, soft, light, close grained and easily worked. Specific gravity of air-dried wood 0.48. Uses—The White Poplar is seldom planted, as it is not so ornamental as some of the varieties. It is a very hardy tree, but is occasionally killed back in very trying locations. It is well adapted to planting in shelter belts where its suckering habit is not a drawback to its presence. The wood is adapted to inside finishing and to many of the purposes for which White Pine is used. “It is probable that we have no tree with valuable wood that will reach saw log size on our prairie soils as soon as this.” V arieties.— Populus alba nivea. (7. argentea, Koch.) Snowy Popler. This is the commonest form of the White Poplar in this country. It is known by the snow-white under surface of its foilage and the three to five-lobed maple-like leaf. It is some- times wrongly called Silver Maple, from the resemblance of its foliage to that of a maple. .The foliage is so very obtrusive that it is likely to be used too frequently in lawn plantings. It may, however, be used sparingly to good purpose to brighten up groups of trees and shrubbery which present too gloomy an aspect. It should seldom, if ever, be used as a street tree as masses of it seem to be out of harmony with every good thing in the landscape. In closely settled communities the down on the leaves often becomes filled with soot and gives the tree a dirty appearance. Hardy everywhere, and easily grown from cuttings. a< AN ep Page hans. em = A 04 ap 71 2 dy ‘ eT TN oy DN Mi / fi? - iW os) Lele es, Plate 25. Populus alba. White Poplar. 1. Flowering branch from staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flowering branch from pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Scale of staminate catkin, Bs posh 4. Scale of pistillate catkin, enlarged. 5. Sum- ner branch, one-half natural size. 6. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 7. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size. 8. Seedling. ~ POPLAR. 273 Populus alba canescens. Silver Poplar. This differs from the above in having leaves broad or nearly circular in general outline, notched but not lobed, but like it in that the leaves and young shoots are downy. Populus alba bolleana. Bolle Poplar. A form of the White Poplar of the same narrow upright habit of growth’ as the Lombardy Poplar. Leaves somewhat deeper lobed but with the same cottony covering. It differs from the common White Poplar in that it does not sucker from the root and is more difficult to- propagate from cuttings, which require to be calloused before planting. It is striking in aspect, and should be used sparingly in orna- mental planting. 7 gees me ae fe) olle Poplar : : * “ Oiethiva*Haharel Populus laurifolia. (7. certinensis.) size. Certinensis Poplar. Leaves on the old wood or slow growing twigs are very dif- ferent from those on vigorous growing shoots. ‘The former are broadly oval, with finely serrate margins and on cylindrical twigs. The strong shoots are deeply angled or grooved, and the foliage on them is wavy in outline. “The trees are some- times confounded with the Cottonwood, from which they are very distinct, especially in the leaves, which are on shorter more rigid petioles. A large tree of rapid growth. Distribution.—Introduced from Russia. Probably a native of northern Europe and Siberia. Propagation.—Easily grown from cuttings. Properties of wood.—Light, soft, easily worked and reported as being valuable for many of the purposes for which pine tim- ber is commonly used. Uses.—The Certinensis Poplar has been tried largely in this section, and has proved to be a good, quick-growing tree for prairie planting. In some localities, however, it has been in- fested with a borer which has occasionally done much injury, 18 274 TREES OF MINNESOTA. and led to the impression that it is not so hardy as the Cotton- wood. The foliage seems to resist the attacks of the leaf fungus: better than the Cottonwood. BETULACEAE. BIRCH FAMILY. Genus BETULA. | Flowers monoecious, apetalous, appearing before or with the leaves; the staminate in long pendulous catkins; stamens two; the pistillate in erect cylindrical catkins; ovary naked, two- celled. Fruit a small nut, surrounded by a wing and covered by the enlarged scale of the catkin, ripening in autumn. Leaves alternate, simple, dentate or serrate. Trees or shrubs with watery juice. A large genus represented by many species. The bark contains a resinous balsamic oil sometimes used in tanning leather. In parts of this country and Canada the bark and leaves of various birches are esteemed as domestic reme- dies for diseases of the skin, for rheumatism and gout. An oil obtained from the inner bark by distillation is also used ex- ternally for the same purpose. ‘The sweet sap of many species is used as a beverage, and is sometimes made into wine. Propagation.—By seeds, which should be sown when gathered or stratified over winter and sown in the spring and the seed- lings given some shade during the first season. ‘The varieties are propagated by budding, grafting and inarching on the parent species. Betula papyrifera. Paper Birch. Canoe Birch. White Birch. Leaves ovate or heart-shaped, dark green on the upper side. The bark is reddish on the twigs under four or five years old and white on the older branches and trunk, and readily sep- arated into papery sheets. A good sized tree, frequently sixty or seventy feet high, with a trunk from two to three feet in diameter, or perhaps in severe locations dwarfted to a mere shrub. Distribution.—Throughout Canada to Arctic Ocean (“Widest range of any Canadian tree’), south to northern Pennsylvania, a) Wy . , 5 fi AN ie Bey Plate 26. Betula papyrifera. Paper Birch. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Lateral branch, showing - unfolding leaves, stipules and pistillate catkins; one-half natural size. 3. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 4. Scale of staminate catkin, rear view, enlarged. 5. Staminate flower, enlarged. 6. Stamen, enlarged. 7. Scale, bearing pistillate flowers. 8. Scale of fruiting catkin. 9. Nut, en- larged. 10. Longitudinal section of fruit. 276 TREES OF MINNESOTA. central Michigan and northern Nebraska and northwestern Washington. In Minnesota generally common in all but the southwestern part of the state. Propagation.—See genus Betula. Properties of wood.—Light, strong, hard, tough and very close grained, but not durable. It is light brown tinged with red, with thick nearly white sapwood. Specific gravity 0.5955; weight of a cubic foot 37.11 pounds. Uses.—The Paper Birch is a tree of good form and pretty habit. It is especially beautiful in.the spring when the young leaves are unfolding, and in the winter is valuable for the con- trast afforded by its white bark with other plants. It lends variety to windbreaks and lawn plantings. Prefers a moist soil, but does well on any retentive soil, and is perfectly hardy. The wood is largely used in the making of spools and bobbins, clothes pins, bread boards, rolling pins, wood screws, and shoe pegs, in the manufacture of wood pulp and for fuel. It is one of the very. few woods that burn well when green. It decays quickly, and should always be cured under cover. The Indians of the north employ it for their sleds and paddles, the frames of their snow. shoes and handles of their hatchets. Birch is also used for flooring, veneers, moldings, furniture. ‘The knots and gnarled roots are turned into door knobs and fancy articles. The tough, resinous, durable bark of this tree is impervious to water, and readily separated into layers. It is used by the Indians for covering their canoes and houses, and_for making baskets, drinking cups, etc. Betula alba. European White Birch. Leaves small, somewhat triangular and tapering, very smooth and glossy. Stem and older branches chalky white; new growth with reddish or dark brown bark. It closely resembles the Paper Birch. Distribution.—Native of northern Europe and Asia, and is be- coming naturalized in localities in the United States. Propagation.—See genus Betula. Properties of ‘wood.—Fairly heavy, moderately hard, does not split well, not durable. . Specific gravity, air dried, 0.64. Uses—The European White Birch is used here for orna- mental plantings, the same as the Paper Birch, though it is a BIRCH. “O77 smaller tree. In Russia the bark is used in the tanning of leather, for its preservative qualities and delightful odor. Many _ parts of the tree are used in pharmacy. Varieties —There is a large number of cultivated varieties of the European White Birch, among which the following is the most highly esteemed. Betula alba pendula laciniata. Cutleaf Weeping Birch. This is a very handsome tree, with finely divided leaves and a drooping habit to the smaller branches. Desirable for lawn and park planting in retentive i moist soil, but is very short-lived | in. dry locations. Betula nigra.’ River Birch. Red Birch. Leaves broadly ovate, acute or obtuse at apex, wedge-shaped at base, irregularly serrate or some- what lobed; when mature dark green and glabrous above, pale i and glabrous or tomentose be- ! neath. Flowers open in early spring; staminate catkins mostly f clustered in twos or threes,*two and one-half to three and one- Diesen st Feat cot Rist third inches long; pistillate cat- leaf Birch. One-half natural kins soft downy, oblong, cylindri- og : cal; catkins in fruit one to one and one-half inches long and about one-half inch in diameter; fruiting bracts tomentose, about equally lobed; not broadly ovate and wider than its wings, pubescent at its base; bark red- _ dish brown. Sometimes a large tree, but very often made up _of spreading stems, forming a low, bushy tree. Distribution —Massachusetts to Minnesota and south to Flor- ida and Texas, where it attains its largest size. Generally found along river banks and in moist places. Propagation —By seeds, which ripen in June, and should be sown at once, making plants eight to ten inches high by autumn. 278 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Properties of wood.—Light, rather hard, strong and close grained. It is light brown, with lighter colored sapwood. Spe- cific gravity 0.5762; weight of a cubic foot 35.91 pounds. Uses.—The River Birch is seldom used as an ornamental tree, although it is very beautiful and does well in any good retentive soil. ‘The wood is used for furniture, cabinet making, — wooden shoes, ox yokes and in turnery. Betula lutea. Yellow Birch. Gray Birch. Leaves ovate or oblong-ovate, wedge shaped or slightly heart shaped at the base. Bark of trunk yellowish gray and somewhat silvery, separating into thin layers and hanging loosely coiled up in rolls, giving old trunks a very ragged appearance. Fruit- ing catkins short, oblong. The inner bark, twigs and leaves spicy, aromatic, similar to wintergreen, but much less so than B. lenta. 2 nso SARA SUSIE Plate 49. Gymnocladus dioicus. Coffeetree. 1. Inflorescence from staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Pistil- late flower, one-half natural size. 3. Diagram of flower. 4. Longitudinal section of staminate flower, natural size. 5. FPistillate flower with a por- tion removed. 6. Pistil with section of ovary removed. 7. Portion of branch bearing a single fruit showing seed and embryo, one-half natural size. 8. Cross section of seed, one-half natural size. 9. Portion of leaf, one- half natural size. 10, Portion of winter branch, ‘one-half natural size. LOCUST. 333 dead appearance. It is one of the latest trees to leaf out, and the new growth is strikingly pretty. The leaflets near the ends of the leaves are bright pink, while those that opened first are green or bronze colored. ‘The young leaves in June are a rich brown color. It is very hardy, and is not particular about the soil in which it grows, but attain$ a large size only in rich, deep, moist soils. ‘The wood is occasionally used in cabinet making and for fence posts, rails and in construction. As the name implies the seed has sometimes been used as a substitute for coffee. Its chief value is for ornament. Genus ROBINIA. Robinia pseudacacia. Locust. Yellow Locust. Black Locust. Common Locust. False Acacia. Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, composed of from dine to seventeen leaflets. Flowers white, fragrant, in, con- spicuous pendulous racemes three to five inches long appear- ing in latter part of May or early in June. Pods flat, four to five inches long, containing about six hard, small and rather flat seeds, which ripen in late autumn and often hang on the tree all winter. The light, handsome foliage of this tree constitutes one of its principal charms; the leaves open during the day and as night comes on close down as if for rest. . The young zrowth is usually furnished with strong recurved prickles, though trees can frequently be found that are entirely free from them, and it is this latter form that is used in some European countries as fodder for cattle. A siender forest tree, occasion- ally reaching the height of sixty or seventy feet and a diameter ' of two feet. Distribution—Southern Pennsylvania to Indiana, Iowa and southward. Under cultivation it has become widely distributed. In Minnesota it is found along the Mississippi river as far north as Minneapolis, and occasionally elsewhere in this state, some- times forming trees fifty feet or more in height, but generally it is much smaller, and often forms mere thickets which are oc- casionally killed back in severe winters. / Propagation.—The Locust is grown from seeds, which may be gathered in the pods, kept in any dry place, and planted in the spring. Just before planting the seeds should be scalded 334 TREES OF ‘MINNESOTA. Plate 50. Robinia pseudacacia. Locust. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Flower, front view, one- half natural size. 3. Tube of stamens. 4. Longitudinal section of pistil. 5. Diagram of the flower. 6. Legumes, one-half natural size. 7. Pod open showing seed, one-half natural size. 8. A seed, one-half natural size. MAPLE. 335 severely. This causes part of them to swell. Sift or pick these out and scald those remaining again. Continue this scalding and sifting until all have swelled. The seed can then be sown at once in well prepared soil, and will in good soil produce plants three or more feet high the first season. They may also be grown from root cuttings and from sprouts. Properties of wood.—Heavy, exceedingly hard and strong, close grained and very durable in contact with the ground. It is brown or light green, with very thin, pale yellow sapwood. The specific gravity is 0.7333; weight of a cubic foot 45.7 pounds. Uses.—The Locust is too tender for general planting in Minnesota, but in favorable locations it makes a desirable lawn tree on account of its pretty foliage and white flowers. It can be sown in forest plantations, but is not generally desirable for such places on account of its sharp prickles, its tendency to sprout and its liability to being occasionally killed back, although it seldom kills out. This tree is subject to the attacks of borers, which generally spoil the value of the timber for manufacturing purposes. ‘The wood is valuable for posts, ribs of vessels, tree nails, and anything which requires great strength. It is also excellent for fuel. It is a very popular tree in Europe, and is said to be more extensively cultivated there than any other American tree. ‘The bark of the root is tonic, or in large doses purgative and emetic, and is used in homeopathic remedies. Three cases of poisoning in children who had eaten the root by mistake have been recorded. - ACERACEAE, MAPLE FAMILY. A family composed of two genera, only one of which is rep- resented in America. Genus ACER. _ A genus of about 100 species of trees and shrubs, with watery often saccharine sap and opposite simple leaves. Flowers regu- lar, generally polygamous or dioecious and sometimes apetalous; ovary two-celled, having two ovules in each cell. Fruit a double samara. The bark is astringent, and yields coloring matter. 336 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Acer saccharum. (4. saccharinum.) Sugar Maple. Hard Maple. Rock Maple. Leaves large, three to five toothed, opposite, deep green above and paler green beneath. Flowers greenish yellow, in nearly sessile umbel-like corymbs, apetalous, appearing with the leaves in the spring. Fruit a double samara; wings rather broad; seed ripens in autumn. The foliage becomes very bril- liantly colored in autumn. Distribution.—A large and important tree in the Northern and Middle States, extending southward to Florida and Texas and from Newfoundland to North Dakota and northern Minne- sota. Very abundant in eastern Minnesota, though seldom found in the western portions. It occurs at Lake Minnewaska, in Pope county, and at the head waters of the Redwood river in Lyon county, and as far west as Robert county, South Da- kota, where it occurs in the coulies at the head waters of the Minnesota river. Propagation.—The Sugar Maple is propagated by seeds, which should be gathered in autumn and. sown at once or kept over winter, as recommended for the Ash, and sown in the spring. Properties of wood.—Very hard, heavy, compact and strong, with a fine satiny surface susceptible of taking a good polish. The perfectly seasoned sapwood is light colored, and the heart- wood is light brown of various shades. Specific gravity 0.6916; ‘weight of a cubic foot 43.08 pounds. Uses.—The Sugar Maple is very hardy over most of Minne- sota in rich, porous, moist soils, when grown in forests, and forms our best fuel wood. It does well as a street tree on suitable soil in the southeastern part of this state if the trunk is shaded. When not thus protected the trunk is liable to sun scald. In the northwestern and western portions it often winter- kills badly in exposed locations, especially when young and before becoming well established, and for this reason is not well adapted to general planting. The wood of the Sugar Maple is more valuable and more generally used than that of any other American Maple. It pos- sesses a high fuel value, is largely used for interior finish olf buildings, especially for floors, in the manufacture of furniture, agricultural implements, school apparatus, mus.cal instruments, . . , ® , gymnasium goods, drawing instruments, surveyors rods, artists MAPLE. 337 Plate 51. Acer saccharum. Sugar Maple. 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. 3. Fruiting branch, one- half natural size. 4. Staminate flower, enlarged. 5. Longitudinal section of staminate flower, enlarged. 6. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 7. Longi- tudinal section of pistillate flower, enlarged. 8. Longitudinal section of fruit, one-half natural size. 9. Longitudinal section of seed, enlarged. 1o. Embryo, enlarged. 11. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size. 22 338 TREES OF MINNESOTA. | M goods, wood type, and engravers’ wood, butter molds, croquet sets, crutches, umbrella sticks and canes, kegs, sugar hogsheads, churns, measures, faucets, wood screws and gauges charcoal, in turnery for handles of tools and clothes pins, and in ship build- ing for keels, etc. In the United States shoe lasts and pegs are made almost exclusively from this wood. Accidental forms in which the grain is beautifully curled and contorted, known as “curled maple’ and “bird’s-eye maple’ are common, and highly prized for cabinet making. The ashes of the wood are rith in alkili, and yield large quantities of potash. The wood of the Minnesota and Wisconsin Sugar Maple is so very hard and uneven in grain that it has not been worked much into lumber, and the supply of Hard Maple lumber manufactured here is mostly imported from Michigan, where clear stock is more plentiful. Maple sugar is almost the exclusive product of this tree. It is made by evaporating the sap, which is procured by tapping the trees in early spring some weeks before the~buds begin to swell. About three or four gallons of sap are usually required to make a pound of sugar. ‘T'wo or three pounds of sugar per tree is the average yield, but large isolated trees will often yield very much more than this. When tapping is prop- erly done it does not seriously impair the health of the tree. Acer platanoides. Norway Maple. Leaves broad, smooth, thin, bright green on both sides, their five short taper-pointed lobes set with coarse taper-pointed teeth. Flowers numerous, with both sepals and petals distinct, yellow- ish, conspicuous, in erect corymbose clusters terminating the shoot of the season, or some from lateral buds appearing with the leaves. Fruit in drooping clusters, with large: divergent wings spreading two and one-half to three and one-half inches, ripening in autumn. Buds blunt pointed and rather divergent; new growth often reddish; juice milky. Resembles the Sugar Maple in general appearance, but is easily distinguished from it. Its leaves hold green later than other maples, and turn a bright yellow in autumn. A round-headed tree attaining a height of from thirty to sixty feet.” Distribution.—Northern and central Europe and Asia. Propagation.-—By seeds for the species and by budding, graft- ing or layering for the varieties. Y Ke Paes = \S a a Plate 52. Acer platanoides. Norway Maple. 339 1. Flowering branch. one-half natural size. 2. Staminate flower. 3. Perfect flower. 4. Underside of flower. 5. Pistil on disk. 6. Stamen, enlarged. 7. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 8. Longitudinal sec- - tion of seed. 9. Leaf, one-half natural size. 340 TREES OF MINNESOTA. | Properties of wood.—Heavy, hard and durable under cover. Specific gravity, air dried, 0.68. Uses.—The Norway Maple has been much used as an orna-. mental tree in the Northeastern States, where it is long lived and often planted in preference to the Sugar Maple near the sea coast. In this section it has not been widely tried, but at the Minnesota Experiment Station it has never been seriously injured by the cold during the past twelve years, and has with- stood drouth extremely well. In the very dry summer of 1894, Birch, Black Cherry and European Larch died out in large numbers in the forest plantation, while on similar land near by the Norway Maple grew vigorously, its leaves retaining their dark green color throughout the season. The wood of the Norway Maple is used by the joiner, wheelwrighf and carver for a variety of purposes. Varieties —There are many varieties of the Norway Maple, the most durable of which are the two following: Acer platanoides schwedlerii. Schwedler Maple. A beautiful variety with new growth, bark and leaves of a bright purplish or crimson color which later changes to a purplish green. A valuable tree which has stood at the Minne- sota Experiment Station for six years. Acer platanoides reitenbachi. Reitenbach Maple. An se boltent and striking variety with dark purple leaves, which hold their color throusheut the season. Acer saccharinum. (4. dasycarfum.) Silver Maple. Soft Maple. White Maple. Silverleaf Maple. Leaves deeply palmately five-lobed, silvery white and smooth beneath but downy while young. Flowers greenish, ‘apetalous, on short pedicles, in axillary clusters, appearing before the leaves; ovary and young fruit downy. Fruit with large di- vergent wings, smooth at maturity though downy when young, ripens in early suminer about the time the leaves are of full size. A large, quick growing tree, often ninety feet high, with more or less pendulous branches and light airy foliage, which gives it a graceful appearance. “MAPLE. 341 , WN ————————— SS 09 1. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. 3. Fruiting branch, one- half natural size. 4. Staminate flower, enlarged. 5. Pistillate flower, en- larged. 6. Pistil, enlarged. 7. Longitudinal section of pistillate flower, en- larged. 8. Longitudinal section of samara one-halt natural size. 9. Longitudinal section of seed, enlarged. 10. Embryo, enlarged. 11. Km- bryo, displayed, enlarged. Plate 53. Acer saccharinum. Silver Maple. 342 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Distribution.—It is found in the north from the valley of the St. John river in New Brunswick to southern Ontario. It ex-. tends southward through the United States to western Florida and west to eastern Dakota and Nebraska. It is adapted to a wide variety of soils, and is especially abundant along rivers, often growing luxuriantly on sand bars and land that is in- undated by spring freshets. A very common tree in southern and central Minnesota and north along the Mississippi valley. \ Propagation.—By seeds, which drop off in early summer, and where they fall on moist soil they soon grow. They are very deli- cate, however, and cannot be kept in good condition many weeks after they are ripe. If sown at once in good moist soil they will often produce plants two feet or more high the first season, and the growth is also very rapid. in subse- quent years. The ornamen- tal varieties are propagated by grafting or budding on the seedlings, and occasion- ally by layering. Properties of wood. — Light, hard (though not nearly so hard as Sugar Maple), rather brittle and Figure 61. Leaf of Wier’s Cutleaf easily worked. It is pale, Maple—one-half natural size. faintly tinged with brown. The sapwood is light colored and thick. Specific gravity 0.5269; weight of a cubic foot 32.84 pounds. Uses.—The Silver Maple is exceedingly hardy and of very rapid growth, but suffers from a deficiency of moisture in the soil. It makes a very good street and lawn tree on retentive land, and is adapted to a wide variety of soils. The limbs are brittle, and the crotches of the tree are weak and likely to break in MAPLE. 343 severe wind storms. ‘This is most apparent where it grows on dry land, but if the trees are pruned occasionally they make very satisfactory shade trees, and are highly esteemed for this purpose in many sections of Minnesota. The Silver Maple is also successfully used for shelter belts. It sun scalds occa- sionally, though not commonly. ‘The wood makes very good fuel, and is well adapted for interior finishing and flooring, and a form of it having a curly figure is used as veneering for ele- gant furniture and interior finishing. It is much used for shoe pegs. Maple sugar is sometimes made from the sap of this tree, but it is estimated that twice as much sap is necessary for a given quantity of sugar from this tree as from the Sugar Maple. Varieties —There are many varieties cultivated for ornamnetal planting, among the best of which is a form known as Wier’s Cutleaf Maple, which has finely divided leaves and a very grace- ful pendent habit. It is about as hardy as the species, and is one of the most satisfactory small ornamental trees. Acer rubrum. Red Maple. Scarlet Maple. Swamp Maple. Leaves palmately three to five-lobed, opposite. Flowers crimson scarlet, or sometimes yellowish, generally dicecious; appearing in sessile lateral clusters before the leaves very early in the spring, often before the snow has disappeared. The fruit on prolonged drooping pedicles ripens in early summer, about the time the leaves are expanded, and then drops off. This is a slender tree, somewhat resembling the Silver Maple, but of much slower growth and more compact habit. It will finally attain as large size as the Silver Maple. Distribution.—It is found naturally distributed over about the same area as the Silver Maple, but does not appear to be a com- mon tree anywhere in Minnesota, and seems to be wholly absent in the western half of this state. Propagation—The Red Maple is propagated in the same man- ner as the Silver Maple. Properties of wood.—Heavy, close grained, easily worked, and not very strong. It is light brown often tinged with red, with a smooth, satiny surface. The sapwood is thick, and lighter colored than the heartwood. Specific gravity 0.6178; weight - of a cubic foot 38.5 pounds. 344 TREES OF MINNESOTA. aE FM TON Is) S SAULT ™ = Plate 54. Acer rubrum. Red Maple. 1, Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, one-half ‘natural size. 3. Staminate flower, en- larged. 4. VPistillate flower, enlarged. 5. Fruiting branch, one-half nat- ural size. 6, Longitudinal section ot fruit, one-hali natural size. 7. n- gitudinal ,section of seed, enlarged. 8. Embryo, displayed, enlarged. 9. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size. MAPLE. 345 Uses.—On account of its slow growth the Red Maple is seldom used for planting, although very hardy. It is, however, very ornamental in the spring when loaded with its brilliant red fruit, which often appears while the branches are still destitute of leaves, and the gorgeous blaze of scarlet coloring of its leaves in autumn makes it a very conspicuous feature of the landscape at that season. It could often be employed to advantage in ornamental planting. The timber is a valuable fuel; it is used for floors, cabinet work, turnery, and in the manufacture of shovels, bowls and small wooden ware generally. The curly figure is sometimes found in this wood, and is sometimes used for choice veneering.. The sap of the Red Maple is not so rich in sugar as that of the Sugar Maple, but produces a very good quality of maple sugar. Acer spicatum. Mountain Maple. Leaves three or slightly five-lobed, thin, downy on the lower surface, at maturity glabrous above. Flowers small, greenish yellow, in upright dense, sometimes compound racemes, ap- pearing after the leaves, the fertile towards the base and the sterile at the ends of the racemes; petals much longer than the sepals. Fruit with small erect or divergent wings. Within our range a low shrub, with slender erect branches; in the shade in moist woods the branches are often rather flexible, and it is probably on this account that it is given the name of Vine Maple in some parts of this section. Distribution —Valley of the St Lawrence to northern Minne- _sota and the Saskatchewan, southwards through the mountains to Georgia. Common in Minnesota south to Mille Lacs. Propagation.—By seeds. Properties of wood.—L ight, soft, light brown with thick lighter colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.5330; weight of a cubic foot 33.22 pounds. Uses —The Mountain Maple may occasionally be used to ad- vantage in shrubbery in shady situations. The tree is so small that the wood is of no special economic importance. 346 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Acer pennsylvanicum. Striped Maple. Moosewood. Leaves large, five to seven inches long, palmately three- nerved, three-lobed at the apex, finely and doubly serrate. Flowers greenish, in slender drooping long-stemmed racemes; the sterile and fertile generally produced on different racemes on the same plant, appearing when the leaves are nearly full grown. Fruit with spreading wings, in long drooping racemes, © ripens in autumn. An upright shrub in this section, seldom tak- ing on a tree form. Distribution—Maine and Minnesota southwards to Virginia and Kentucky. . Propagation.—By seeds, as recommended for Ash. Properties of wood.—Light, soft and close grained, light brown with thick lighter colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.5299; weight of a cubic foot 33.02 pounds. Uses.—The Striped Maple is used in New York and south- wards for lawn planting, and may in this section be used for shrubberies. ‘The brilliant foliage and bud scales in early spring, the: graceful flowers and summer foliage, the brilliant autumn coloring of the leaves and the conspicuously striped markings of the bark make the Striped Maple an interesting and attractive feature of the landscape. Well worthy of a trial in shrubberies on retentive soil. Acer tattaricum. Tartarian Maple. Ijeaves ovate or oblong, mostly undivided, incised-serrate, very bright colored in autumn; young branches tomentose. Flowers conspicuous, white, in erect clusters terminating the shoots of the season, appearing after the leaves. Fruit ripens in autumn. A small tree or shrub. Distribution.—Europe and Asia. Propagation.—By seeds, as recommended for Ash. Uses.—Valuable for variety in, ornamental planting. Very hardy at the Minnesota Experiment Station. V arieties.— Acer tartaricum ginnala. This has mostly three-lobed leaves, which are longer than those of the species. BOXELDER. 347 Plate 55. Acer negundo. Boxelder. 1. Flowering branch from staminate tree, one-half natural size. Flowering branch from pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Diagram of flower. 4. Staminate flower. 5. Pistillate flower. 6. Longitudinal sec- tion of ovary, enlarged. 7. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. Longitudinal section of fruit, one-half natural size. 9. Embryo, enlarged. 2. 8. 348 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Acer negundo. (Negundo aceroides.) Boxelder. Ash- leaf Maple. Leaves opposite, pinnately compound with three to five’ leaflets. Flowers dioecious, apetalous small, greenish, appear- ing just before or with the leaves. ‘~The seeds are oval in form, ripen in autumn, and hang on the trees until winter in this sec- tion. Many trees bear fruits that to outward appearance con- tain perfect seeds but which upon examination will be found to be empty seed vessels. Distribution—One of the most widely distributed and hardi- est trees of North America, ranging from the valley of the Sas- katchewan to Florida and Texas and from Vermont to the east- ern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. In the Minnesota river bottoms this tree grows seventy feet high and three feet in diameter, while in severe locations it becomes a low bushy tree. Propagation.—By seeds sown as soon as ripe in the fall or stratified over winter and sown in the spring. Properties of wood.—L ight, soft, close grained, but weak. It is creamy white, with thick, hardly distinguishable’ sapwood. Specific gravity 0.4328; weight of a cubic foot 26.97 pounds. Uses—The Boxelder is one of the hardiest of trees, and is highly esteemed for street and lawn planting and for wind- breaks in severe locations. It has, however, been too often planted where the White Elm or Green Ash should have been used. The wood makes good fuel; it is sometimes used for interior finishing, woodenware, paper pulp, etc. Maple sugar is sometimes made from this tree, though the sap is not so rich in sugar as the sap of the Sugar Maple. HIPPOCASTANACEAE., BUCKEYE FAMILY. An order consisting of two genera, the following of which contains about fifteen species natives of America and Asia. None are native of Minnesota. Genus ASCULUS. Leaves opposite, digitate, three to nine-foliate. Flowers in a terminal dense panicle, often polygamous, most of them with HORSE CHESTNUT. 349 imperfect pistils, and only those near the base of the branches of the inflorescence perfect and fertile; calyx tubular, five-lobed, often oblique or swollen at the base; petals four or five; more or less unequal with claws; stamens five to eight; ovary three- celled with two ovules in each cell. Fruit a roundish leathery pod, three-celled and three-seeded or usually by suppression one or two-celled and one or two-seeded, the remnants of the abortive cells and seeds commonly visible in the ripened pods, seeds one to one and one-half inches broad, with a hard chestnut brown coat; embryo filling the seed; cotyledons very thick and fleshy. ‘The large seeds of both species contain a large amount of starch, but present with it is a bitter principle, esculine, which renders them unfit for food for man, although they are some- times fed to sheep, goats and swine. ‘This bitter principle may be removed by repeated washings in pure water, and were it not for the cost of the operation the nuts could be made a valuable food for man. Propagation.—Both species here described are easily propa- gated by seeds, which should generally be sown in autumn, for they soon lose their vitality; also, by layers made in spring or fall. ‘The varieties may be grown by grafting. ZEsculus hippocastanum. Horse Chestnut. Leaves made up of five to seven (generally seven) leaflets. Inflorescence large and conspicuous. Petals five, spreading, white, spotted with purple and yellow. A large tree, with rqund top, large sticky buds and very dense foliage. Distribution —Europe and Asia. Propagation.—Described under genus. Properties of wood.—Lght, soft, easily worked, light- colored, not durable in contact with the soil. Uses —The Horse Chestnut is used in the Eastern and Central states as a shade tree. It is not sufficiently hardy for general planting in this state, and should never be used except in very favorable locations in southern Minnesota. The bark has been used in tanning and as a substitute for cinchona in the treatment of fevers and in homeopathic remedies. 350 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Plate 56. Azsculus glabra. Ohio Buckeye. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2, Diagram of flower. 3. Longitudinal section of staminate flower, natural size, 4. Longitudinal section of yaa pros flower, natural size. 5. Transverse sections of pistil, enlarged. Longitudinal! section of ovary, enlarged. 7. Portion of sum- mer branch, one-half natural size. 8 Fruit with portion removed, one- ‘half natural size. 9. Longitudinal section of seed, one-half natural size, 10. Winter bud, one-half natural size. ct BUCKTHORN. 351 #Esculus glabra. Ohio Buckeye. Fetid Buckeye. Leaves made up of five to seven (generally five) leaflets. Inflorescence appearing with the leaves, five to six inches long, not large and showy like the Horse Chestnut. Stamens usually seven, curved, longer than the pale yellow-green corolla; petals four, upright. Buds large, not sticky. Tree generally not more than thirty feet high. Distribution—Pennsylvania, south to northern Alabama and_ west to southern Iowa, central Kansas and Indian Territory. Propagation.—Described under genus. - Properties of wood.—L ight, soft, close grained but not strong, often blemished by dark lines of decay; nearly white with thin, darker colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.4542; weight of a cubic foot 28.31 pounds. Uses—The Ohio Buckeye is much hardier than the Horse Chestnut, and stands fairly well in this section as far north as St. Paul, where there are some very good small specitnens in the parks. It is of value to give variety to ornamental plant- ings. The wood is used in the manufacture of wooden ware, paper pulp and artificial limbs. For the latter purpose it is preferred to that of all other American trees. RHAMNACEAE, BUCKTHORN FAMILY. ~ Genus RHAMNUS. ; We have no native species of importance in this genus. R. catharticus, a foreign species, is so valuable as an ornamental shrub that it is here described. Rhamnus catharticus. Buckthorn. English Buckthorn, Leaves ovate, minutely serrate, opposite or nearly so. Flow- ers usually dioecious, small, greenish. Fruit a three to four seeded black berry, hanging on the branches all winter. ae x eet) . Plate 57. /hamnus catharticus. Buckthorn. 1. Flowering branch from staminate plant, one-half natural size. 2. Flowering branch from pistillate plant, one-half natural size. 3. Staminate flower, enlarged. 4. Longitudinal section of staminate flower, enlarged. 5. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 6. Longitudinal section of pistillate flower, enlarged. 7. Cross section of ovary. 8. Single fruit, one-half natural size. 9. Single fruit with a part removed to show nutlets. 10. Cross section of seed. 11. Embryo. 12. View of grounds showing the use of Buckthorn for a hedge. oo? BASSWOOD. 353 layers. If the fruit is allowed to hang on the bushes until spring in this section many of the seeds may be injured. Uses.—The Buckthorn is used largely for hedges, for which purpose it is one of the hardiest, thriftiest and cleanest plants that can be used in this section. It bears pruning well, and hedges of it can be made very ornamental. As single specimens it is desirable for park planting and for screens. The seeds and innerbark possess medicinal qualities. _ TILIACEAE, LINDEN FAMILY. A family of about thirty-five genera and 245 species, widely distributed in warm and tropical regions, a few in the temperate zone. Genus TILIA. A genus of about twelve species, only one of which is found in Minnesota. They are all handsome, valuable trees, with soit white wood. Leaves alternate, more or less heart-shaped, often soft and downy. Flowers with five spatulate, oblong petals, cream col- ored, in small cymes or clusters, hanging on an axillary, slender peduncle, which is attached to a long, slender and thin leaf-like bract. Fruit a small globular nut, one-celled, one or two seeded, attached to the leaf-like bract and ripening in autumn. The flowers are fragrant, and yield a large quantity of clear, white, delicately flavored honey. The European Linden (7. vulgaris) is mentioned here as being one of promising value for cultivation in this section. ‘Tilia americana. Basswood. American Linden. White Wood. Beetree. Leaves large, alternate, nearly round or more or less heart- ‘shaped, commonly oblique at the base, serrate abruptly pointed, green on both sides and glabrous, or nearly so. Flowers yel- lowish-white, conspicuous, fragrant, appearing in June. Tree large, often attaining a height of seventy feet and a diameter of three feet. ‘The bark of the trunk is furrowed, and its light 23 854 TREES OF MINNESOTA. WINGS ae ZW Se NY \ : Vlarve 58. Tilia americana. Basswood. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Diagram of flower. 3. A flower with two sepals and two petals removed. 4. A cluster of stamens with their petaloid scale, enlarged. 5. A stamen, enlarged. 6. Pistil, showing longitudinal section of ovary, enlarged. 7. Cross section of ovary enlarged. 8. Cluster of fruit separated from bract. 9. .Cross section of fruit. 10, Embryo, showing 5-lobed cotyledons, BASSWOOD. 355 brown surface is broken into small, thin scales. The bark on the young growth is light gray, and gradually becomes dark and finally brown. Very few varieties of this species are cultivated. Distribution—It is found from New Brunswick west to Assiniboia and south to Georgia and Texas. In Minnesota the Basswood is generally common throughout the state, and is very abundant in the Big Woods. Propagation.—The Basswood is generally grown from the seeds, which even when stratified and exposed to frost the first winter will often fail to start until a year from the following spring. : It may also be grown from layers, and from cuttings of the younger wood by using the solar pit. It sprouts readily from the stump if cut in winter, and renews itself very satis- factorily in this way. It may also be grafted. Properties of wood.—Light, soft, tough, close grained, com- pact and easily worked. ‘The sapwood is very thick, and when properly seasoned is nearly white in color; but generally it can hardly be distinguished from the light brown heartwood. It warps badly when exposed to weather, and rots quickly when in contact with moisture. ‘The specific gravity is 0.4525; weight of a cubic foot 28.20 pounds. ' Uses —The Basswood is a good street and lawn tree in suita- ble locations, taking on a very beautiful form, but is not nearly so much used for this purpose as it should be. It is very hardy, and resists drouth well, and is desirable in timber plantings in this section. Newly transplanted street trees of this species are liable to injury from sunscald in this section until they are well established and for this reason should have their trunks protected from the sun for several years after they are set out. The wood is largely sawed into lumber, and under the name of whitewood is used in the manufacture of cheap furniture, wooden ware, carriage boxes, etc., for interior finishing and a variety of other purposes such as churns and butter workers, cheese boxes, bee hives, measures, grape and fruit baskets, boxes, packing, tool handles, map rolls, toothpicks, musical .in- struments, penholders, step ladders, baseball bats and artificial limbs, and toys. It is also used for paper pulp, but makes an inferior quality of paper. ‘The inner bark, known as bast, is occasionally made into coarse cordage and matting. The manu- facture of these latter materials from European Linden has been 356 ~ TREES OF MINNESOTA. conducted on a large scale in Europe, but has never attained any importance in the United States. The bast fiber is ob- tained by stripping the bark from the trees in the spring and soaking it until the mucilage that binds the layers together is soaked out. Tilia vulgaris. European Basswood. European Linden. Native of northern Europe, forming a large tree. The wood of this species is much like that of the American Basswood. The leaves, however, are smaller, and more regularly heart shaped. The tree is compact in habit, and has numerous short, rather slender reddish twigs. There are many varieties. This species has been doing very well for about seven years in the forest plantation at the Minnesota Experiment Station, and seems to be of some value for this section. The varieties of the broad-leaved European Linden (T. Fay p honey have failed _in this section. ELAEAGNACEAE. OLEASTER FAMILY. Genus EL ASAGNUS. Shrubs or trees, silvery-scurfy or stellate pubescent with en- | tire leaves and perfect or polygamous flowers. ‘The lower part of the perianth of fertile flowers incloses the ovary, and ripens into a fleshy or mealy mass around the akene-like true fruit. The upper part is four-cleft and deciduous. Corolla none; stamens four, borne on the tube of the perianth. Eleagnus angustifolia. Russian Olive. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, two to three inches long, white- scurfy on lower side, stellate pubescent on the upper. Perianth whitish outside and yellowish inside. Distribution.—Europe and Asia. Propagation.—By seeds, which grow readily, by layers and by autumn-made cuttings. Uses—The Russian Olive is a very hardy small ornamental tree of very pretty habit, chiefly valued for the contrast it gives RUSSIAN OLIVE. 357 Plate 59. El@wagnus angustifolia. Russian Olive. 1. Flowering branch, natural size. 2. Perfect flower, enlarged. 3. Perfect flower with a part of corolla and stamens removed, enlarged. 4. Upper part of pistil showing style and stigma, enlarged. 5. Corolla, dis- et ig enlarged. 6. Staminate flower with a portion removed, showing rudimentary pistil, enlarged. 7. Portion of branch bearing fruit, natural size. 8 Longitudinal section of fruit, natural size. 9. Embryo, displayed. 10. Portion oi leaf showing stellate pubescence on upper suriace. 11. Gen- eral view of tree. 358 TREES OF MINNESOTA. to plantings. It has proved a very satisfactory tree in this section, and has endured drouth well at the Minnesota Experi- ment Station and at the Coteau Farm in Lyon county, Minne- sota, and in South Dakota. OLEACEAE. OLIVE FAMILY. Genus FRAXINUS. Leaves opposite, petioled, odd-pinnate with three to fifteen toothed or entire leaflets. Flowers small, dicecious or polyga- mous and apetalous in racemes or panicles from the axils of last year’s leaves; stamens two; ovary two-celled. Fruit a flattened samara, winged at the apex, usually one-seeded. Propagation—By seed, which may be sown as gathered in autumn, or which may be stratified over winter and sown in in the spring. A good way to keep these seeds over winter is to place them on the surface of a garden walk, putting a box over them and cutting a trench around the box to keep the water away. They will not grow if kept too dry. Fraxinus americana. White Ash. Leaves with seven to nine leaflets, which are usually rounded at the base and generally entire in outline or very slightly ser- rate. Flowers dicecious, appearing with or rather before the leaves. Fruit ripe in autumn, cylindrical and winged at one end and surrounded at the base by the persistent calyx. The bark on the young twigs is rather dark, nearly smooth and free from spots. A large and valuable tree, commonly confounded in this section with the Green Ash and the Red Ash, both of which, however, are smaller trees and much hardier, produce seed at an earlier age and in larger quantities, and altogether are better adapted to prairie planting than the White Ash. Distribution.—From Nova Scotia west to northern Minne- sota and eastern Nebraska and south to northern Florida and Texas. In Minnesota the White Ash appears to be a rare tree. In the western part of the state and in the Dakotas it is wholly replaced by Green Ash, or what seems to be a hopeless mixture of Green Ash and Red Ash. Ie, ey 4 \ Plate 60. Fraxinus americana, I. ’ ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. enlarged. 4. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 5. enlarged. 6. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 7. tion of fruit, one-half natural size. 8 Seed 1 Winter buds, one-half natural size. Embryo, natural size. 10. one-half natural size. LEY SS - 1] <2 iA \ h, WZ White Ash. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. Staminate flower, Longitudinal section of ovary, Longitudinal sec- two-thirds natural size. Leaf, 359 Flow- 360 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Propagation.—See genus. Properties of wood.—Heavy, hard, strong, coarse grained and tough, although brittle when old; brown, with thick, lighter col+ ored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.6543; weight of a cubic foot 40.77 pounds. Uses.—The White Ash is a good ornamental tree in spite of its late foliage, and is desirable for timber belts in the milder portions of this section, but on the prairies does not grow as fast as the Green Ash. The wood is of less value when grown here than when grown in the Northeastern States. It is used in immense quantities in the manufacture of agricultural imple- ments, carriages and furniture, for the interior finishing of build- ings, and for any purpose where a light-colored, tough wood is needed. It is manufactured into baseball bats, lawn tennis racquets, polo mallets, tool handles, crutches, step ladders, tri- pods, churns, tubs and pails. The wood of what is termed sec- ond growth trees, i. e., those springing up after the original forest has been removed or from seed scattered in open fields, is usually superior in toughness to the first growth or large trees. ‘The inner bark of the White Ash has some medicinal properties and is used in homeopathic practice. Fraxinus pennsylvanica. (/. pubescens.) Red Ash. Leaflets oblong-lanceolate to ovate, mostly coarsely serrate, velvety pubescent on their lower surface like the young shoots. Flowers dioecious; calyx present and persistent in the fruit. This tree is easily distinguished in the Eastern States, but in this section it merges into the Green Ash, and is often difficult to distinguish from it. . Distribution.—It has about the same range as the Green Ash, but is less common west of the Mississippi river. Propagation.—See genus. Properties of wood.—Heavy, hard, rather strong and brittle and coarse grained; light brown, with thick lighter colored sap- wood streaked with yellow. Specific gravity 0.6215; weight of a cubic foot 38.96 pounds. Uses.—In this section the Red Ash is used for planting the same as Green Ash. ‘The wood is often substituted for that of the White Ash, which is much more valuable. ASH. 361 Fraxinus lanceolata. (/. viridis.) Green Ash. The Green Ash closely resembles the Red Ash, from which it is distinguished in extreme forms by its glabrous leaves and branchlets and by its rather narrower and shorter and usually more serrate leaves, which are lustrous and bright green on both surfaces. However, in western Minnesota and the Dakotas - these two species run together, and are often indistinguishable. The flowers and fruit of the two species are alike, although many forms occur on each. Professor Sargent regards the Green Ash as a variety of the Red Ash. “The bark on the preceding year’s growth of the Green Ash is noticeably lighter colored than that of the White Ash, and shows many more rather lighter spots or warts. The leaflets are usually strongly serrate. The leaves are bright dark green in color, although somewhat lighter below. The young growth of new wood is usually smooth and glabrous, while the mid veins of the leaves frequently show some pubescence on the lower side.” (L. R. Moyer.) Distribution.—From the shores of Lake Champlain west to the valley of the Saskatchewan and eastern range of the Rocky Mountains and south to Florida, Texas and Arizona. In Min- nesota one of the most common trees along water courses in the western part of the state. It is probable that about all the Ash in western Minnesota and the Dakotas is Green Ash, or a hopeless mixture of it with Red Ash. Propagation—The Green Ash grows readily from seeds, as described under genus. Properties of wood.—Hard, strong, brittle and rather coarse grained; it is brown, with thicker, lighter colored sapwood. Specific gravity is 0.7117; weight of a cubic foot 44.35 pounds. Uses.—The Green Ash is one of the hardiest trees known, and is very valuable for windbreaks and ornamental plantings on the prairies of Minnesota and the Dakotas, and through- out this section should often take the place of the Cottonwood. Its great hardiness against cold and drouth, its easy propaga- tion from seed and its rapid growth make it especially fitted for general planting. The wood is used for the same purposes as White Ash, but is of inferior quality. 362 TREES OF MINNESOTA. Fraxinus nigra. (/. sambucifolia.) Black Ash. Swamp Ash. Hoop Ash. Flowers dioecious or polygamous without calyx. Leaflets ° seven to eleven, oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed; the lateral sessile. It naturally inhabits cold, wet swamps, and the low banks of streams and lakes. Generally a small, slender tree. The bruised foliage exhales the odor of Elder. Distribution.—Cold swamps and low banks of streams from Newfoundland to Manitoba and south to Virginia and Arkansas. In Minnesota frequent throughout the state. Propagation.—As described under genus, except that seeds of this are different from those of other native species in not grow- ing the first season after planting, but must be kept stratified for one year. Properties of wood.—The Black Ash is heavy, rather soft, not strong, tough, coarse grained, durable in contact with the soil and easily separated into thin layers. It is dark brown, with thin light brown or often nearly white sapwood. ‘The specific gravity is 0.6318; weight of a cubic foot 39.37 pounds. Uses.—The Black Ash is of very little value for planting, but might sometimes be used to advantage in wet lands. It is a slow grower and short lived in our. prairie soils. It is used extensively in the manufacture of furniture, for interior finish- ing, barrel, tub and pail hoops, baskets and chair seats. For this latter purpose the wood is split in as many layers as there are annual rings, which may be done very readily. - There are peculiar excrescences popularly known as knots or “‘burls” that form on the Black Ash, and sometimes these grow as large as a bushel basket or larger. They are a sort of dwarfed branches. It has been found that when these “burls’ are properly sawed they show a pretty curly grain, and make very desirable veneer- ing for furniture and for interior finishing, and they are sought after for this purpose. However, in this section the “burls’” seldom if ever grow to sufficient size to become of commercial importance. ASH. ian 363 Plate 61. Fraxinus nigra. Black Ash. 1. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flow- ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Pistillate flower showing rudimentary stamens, enlarged. 4. Longitudinal section of ovary, enlarged. 5. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 6. Longitudinal sec- tion of fruit, one-half natural size. 7. Embryo. 8. Winter branchlet, one- half natural size. 364 TREES OF MINNESOTA. BIGNONIACEAE. BIGNONIA FAMILY. Genus CATALPA. . A genus of four or five species of trees, natives of the West Indies, North America, Japan and China. Leaves simple, op- posite or in whorls of three. Flowers in terminal panicles; calyx deeply two-lipped; corolla inflated, bell-shaped, the five- lobed border more or less two-lipped and wavy. Fruit a long slender hanging pod; seed, two-winged with silky fringe. Catalpa speciosa. Hardy Catalpa. Western Catalpa. — Leaves large, opposite or in threes, heart-shaped at base, long-pointed, thick, firm, dark green above, falling after the first severe autumn frost. Flowers appear in June in large panicles, very conspicuous and pretty; corolla about two inches long, nearly white, faintly spotted, the lower lobes notched; calyx purple. Fruit nine to twenty inches long, about one-half inch in diameter at the middle and tapering towards both ends. It ripens in autumn, generally remains on the tree until spring, and then splits into two concave valves. The seed is light brown, about an inch long and one-third of an inch wide; the wings are rounded at the ends and terminate with a fringe of silky hairs. ‘The ends of the branches die in winter without forming a terminal bud. A large and important tree in the forests within its range, where: it attains a height of over 100 feet and a diameter of three to four and one-half feet. Distribution.—Borders of streams and lakes and fertile and inundated bottom lands in southern Illinois and Indiana, west- ern Kentucky and Tennessee, southeastern Missouri and north- eastern Arkansas. Propagation.—By seeds, and it is said by cuttings. Properties of wood.—Soft, light, not strong, coarse grained, very durable in contact with soil. Specific gravity 0.4165; weight of a cubic foot 25.96 pounds. Uses.—The Hardy Catalpa is not a very hardy tree in this section, and probably most of the specimens of it growing north of central Iowa are more or less injured by our winters; but they often hold on well in favorable locations as far north as St. Pau! and Minneapolis, and form good small trees. They are HARDY CATALPA. 365 Plate 62. Catalpa speciosa. Hardy Catalpa. 1. Panicle of flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Carolla, displayed, showing stamens, one-half natural size. 3. Single fruit, one-half natural size. 4. Seed, one-half natural size. 5. Longitudinal section of seed, one- half natural size. 366 TREES OF MINNESOTA. occasionally killed to the ground, but generally renew them- selves by sprouts from the roots. ‘The Catalpa is, however, unfit for a street tree in Minnesota; but may often be used in protected locations in parks and lawns, where it is valuable for variety in foliage and for its beautiful flower clusters. It is of remarkably rapid growth when young and has been used in some of the most successful tree plantings that have been made in Kansas and southern Iowa. ‘The wood is used for railway ties, fence posts and rails, and occasionally for furniture and inside finish of houses. The Hardy or Western Catalpa was for a long time con- founded with the Catalpa of the Eastern States (C. bignonioides), which is not nearly so hardy. CAPRIFOLIACEAE. HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY. . A family of a few hundred species, including such well-known — plants as the common Elder (Sambucus), the Snowberry Sidi phoricarpus) and the Honeysuckle (Lonicera). Genus VIBURNUM. Small trees or shrubs with simple opposite leaves. Flowers perfect or neutral; calyx equally five-toothed, persistent; corolla five-lobed; stamens five; ovary inferior, one-celled. Fruit a dry or fleshy one-seeded drupe; seed flattened. This genus includes the well-known Snowball, which is a sterile form of the Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum opulus). Viburnum lentago. Sheepberry. Black Haw. Nanny- berry. Leaves ovate-acuminate, petioles usually winged. Flowers perfect, in flat clusters from three to five inches across, slightly fragrant, appearing the latter part of May or first of June in this section; corolla cream-colored or nearly white, one-fourth inch across when open; filament thick; stigma broad. Fruit borne in drooping clusters, oval, about one-half inch long, SHEEPBERRY. Nears mee Sy . 4, Plate 63. Viburnum lentago. Sheepberry. 1. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Diagram of flower. 3. ' Flower, enlarged. 4. ongitudinal section of flower, the corolla and sta- mens removed, enlarged. 5. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 6. Longitudinal section of fruit, natural size. Longitudinal section of seed. 8. Side view of stone. 9. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size. 368 TREES OF MINNESOTA. sweet, juicy, black or dark blue, thick-skinned, covered with a glaucous bloom, ripens in September. Within our range a broad bush but occasionally a small tree. Distribution —Quebec to the Saskatchewan, and south to‘ Georgia and Missouri. Usually found in moist locations, es- pecially along river and lake shores, but not uncommon in thickets. Propagation.—By seed and by layers. The seeds should be stratified over winter before planting and often remain in the soil a year before starting. Properties of wood.—Heavy, hard and close grained. Specific gravity 0.7303; weight of a cubic foot 45.51 pounds. Uses.—The Sheepberry is a good hardy ornamental shrub for park and lawn planting. It is esteemed for the abundance of its beautiful flowers, its vigorous growth, compact habit and its lustrous foliage, which takes on brilliant colors in autumn. 24 PART III. A List of the Forest Trees of the United States. - a \< phe. Fae ye i: has ‘or < pt 5 ee Ne eee TT ll ee ee LS A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. Pitch Pine Jack Pime so. 2 ici Sis vies Longleaf Pine ....... Shortleaf Pine ........ Cuban Pine eee eeew we ree Loblolly Pine. cis os. Spruce, Pine. 1) .......-. Scrub Pine’............ Jeffrey Pine........:.. Lodgepole Pine....... Monterey Pine........ Sliver Pine, v5.66. 5555 BUSAT UPI yc oo a vite 24 «i Pinus SIV 00US 0550508 33 PINUS VESTNOSA 22. c eee. Pinus rigida ee Pinus divaricata ...... Pinus palustris........ Pinus echinata ee Pinus heterophylla . Pinus taeda......... sa Pinus glabra .........- Pinus virginiana...... Pinus ponderosa....... Pinus ponderosa scopu- lorum . PLEMUS FELT CVE << cleas a9 Pinus murrayana..... Pinus radiata ..... Pinus monticola Pinus lambertiana .... Minnesota and Iowa to the New England States and Georgia, Manitoba to New- foundland, . Minnesota to New England and Pennsylvania, Manitoba and Newfoundland, New Brunswick to Georgia, Ontario and Kentucky. Minnesota to New Brunswick, Hudson Bay, and northwest to Mackenzie River and the Rocky Mountains. South Atlantic and Gulf coasts: Virginia to Texas. New York to Florida, Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Southern and _ southeastern coast regions: South Carol- ina to Florida and Louisiana. Southeastern and Gulf States: New Jersey to Texas and Arkansas to Tennessee, * South Carolina to Florida and Louisiana. New York to South Carolina, Indiana and Alabama. British Columbia to Mexico, Montana and Texas. Rocky Mountains to Nebraska and Montana to Colorado. California: eastern slopes of Sierra Nevadas and Oregon. Alaska to California, Montana and New Mexico. South California coast. British Columbia to Califor- nia. Western Pacific slope: Oregon to California. 372 FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.— Continued. . Limber Pine .......... Foxtail Pine .......... Bristle-cone Pine...... Tamarack... ....ic..20: Western Larch........ Black Spruce.......... Red Spruce ........... White Spruce ......... Engelmann Spruce... Sitka Spruce .......... Hemilotk a 224.5332 Western Hemlock .... Douglas Spruce....... Balsam Firieca ean, Gowland: Fit’: 5.50752 WHEE Bir yased dene. Amabilis Fir.......... Noble Fir Red Fir ee a) Pinus. CPSs os sees Pinus balfouriana..... Pinus artstata......... Larix laricina Larix occidentalis ..... Picea mariana Picea engelmannti...... Picea sttchensts ........ Tsuga heterophylia.... Pseudotsuga taxtfolia . Abies balsaméa........ Abies grandis ........- Abies concolor . .... +++ Abtes amabilis Abies nobilis ee Eastern slopes Rocky Motn- tains: Alberta to Texas, and Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California. California. Colorado to California. Minnesota to Illinois, New- foundland and Labrador, ‘and northwest to Great Bear Take and Mackenzie River. Montana to Oregon and Brit- ish Columbia. Minnesota to North Carolina, Hudson Bay, Mackenzie River and Rocky Mountains. Nova Scotia to North Carolina and Tennessee. Minnesota to Maine, Labrador and Hudson Bay, and Black Hills to Montana, British Columbia and Alaska, Arizona to British Columbia. Pacific coast: Alaska to Cali- fornia. Minnesota to Alleghany Mountains and south to Ala- bama; Nova Scotia and On- tario, Alaska to California and Mon- tana. British Columbia to California, - Mexico, Montana to Texas. Minnesota and Iowa to New- foundland, Virginia, Lab- rador, Hudson Bay and northwest to Great Bear Lake region and Rocky Mountains. Montana to Vancouver Island and California. Oregon to California, Colorado and New Mexico. Oregon to British Columbia, Washington to California, California: Mount Shasta and western slope Sierra Nev- adas. FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. 373 A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.— Continued. Bald Cypress.......... Big Tree Redwood Incense Cedar,........ ee Arborvite ete eee eee Giant Arborvite White Cedar Port Orford Cedar .... Red Juniper........... Rocky M’nt’n Juniper Pacific Yew .......... . Butternut cons feos: Black Walnut.......... eee eee wee Shagbark Hickory.... Shellbark Hickory... Mocker Nut eee ee wee wee ee ee Taxodium distichum.. Sequota washingto- niana Pe Sequoia sempervirens.. Libocedrus decurrens .. Thuja occidentalis ..... Thuja plicata Chamecyparis thyoides Chamecyparts lawso- niana eee eee ee Juniperus virginiana.. Juniperus scopulorum . Taxus brevifolia Juglans cinerea ee ay Juglans nigra Hicorta pecan Hicoria minima eee eee Hicoria glabra eee wee Populus tremulotides... Delaware to Florida, Texas and Missouri. California: western Sierra Nevadas. California coast ranges. Oregon to Lower California and Nevada. Minnesota to Lake Winnipeg, James Bay, Illinois, North Carolina, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Alaska to California and Mon- tana. Coast region: Maine to Flor- ida, and Mississippi. slope Coast region: Oregon to Cal- ifornia. North Dakota to New Bruns- wick, Florida, Texas, Neb- raska and Indian Ter. Nebraska and Black Hills to Montana, British Columbia and Arizona. California to British Columbia and Montana. Minnesota and South Dakota to New Brunswick, Georgia and Arkansas. Minnesota to Ontario and Massachusetts, Florida and Texas. Iowa to Indiana, Alabamaand Mexico. Minnesota to Maine, Florida and Texas. Same as Bitternut. Iowa to New York, Pennsyl- vania, and Indian Ter. Ontario to Florida, Missouri and Texas. Maine to Florida, Nebraska and Texas. Alaska to Labrador, Pennsyl- vania, Missouri and Mexico. 374 FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. « A-LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.— Continued. Largetooth Aspeun..... Balm-of-Gilead ....... Narrowleaf Cottonw’d Black Cottonwood .... Fremont Cottonwood . Cottonwood............ White Birch..... . eeey: Paper Bircl ys c.ccs a , River Birch). ovs65.-44. Yellow Birch.......... Sweet Birch........ Blue Beech............ Goldenl’f Chinquapin ee Chinquapin Chestnut i White Oak California White Oak Post Oak ee BGS OO vs sinsiccis step nin? Chestnut Oak........ Chinquapin Oak ee eeee Populus grandidentata Populus balsamtfera .. Populus angustifolia . Populus trichocarpa ... Populus fremonti2..... Popatie deltoides ...... Betula populifolia..... Betula papyrifera ..... Betula nigra .......++-. Betula lutea Betula: LENE vic eaves Carpinus caroliniana . Fagus atropunicea..... Castanopsis chryso- phylla Quercus alba.......... Quercus lobata ........ Quercus minor .... Quercus macrocarpa... Quercus Pprinus........ Quercus acuminala.... North Dakota to Nova Scotia, North Carolina and Ten- nessee. Alaska to Newfoundland, New York and Nevada. Assiniboia to Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Nebraska. Alaska to California. California to Colorado, Texas and Mexico. Quebec to Florida, Alberta and New Mexico. Nova Scotia to Delaware and Lake Ontario. Alaska to Labrador, Pennsyl- vania and Washington. Minnesota to Massachusetts, Florida and Texas. Minnesota and Western On- tario to Newfoundland, North Carolina and Ten- nessee. Rainy River to Newfoundland, Tennessee and Florida. Minnesota to Quebec, Florida and Texas. Wisconsin to Nova Scotia, Florida and Texas. Oregon to California. Pennsylvania to Florida, Mis- souri and Texas, Maine to Delaware, Michigan and Mississippi. Minnesota to Maine, Florida and Texas, California. Massachusetts to Florida, Nebraska and Texas. Nova Scotia and Maine to Manitoba, Montana, Penn- sylvania and Texas. In mountains from Maine to Alabama. New York to Alabama, Neb- raska and Texas, FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. 375 A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.— Continued. . Swamp White Oak ... Cow Oak iiss Sccess Eive Oalewc costes c. cone Canyon Live Oak ..... Red Opie: os i ak Seariet Oak 1. .3oe. sees Yellow Oak .........5: Spanish Oak.......... Pin Oak. eee ee wee Water Oak Weeiieasceis Tanbark Oak ....... ad Cedar Hitt s5 sis Slippery Elm .... White Hitt. .252.4 92. 3 Wing Elm .... PIBCE DOLLY slo's 9.5 sees 5's Red Mulberry Osage Orange..... asin BUC h gs tol 1: a Cnucumber-tree ........ Quercus platanotdes ... Quercus michauxit.... Quercus virginiana ... Quercus chrysolepts.... Quercus rubra......... Quercus coccinea.. .... Quercus velutina Quercus digitata Quercus palustris...... OUEVCUS RIGTAS <0) 535i Quercus densiflora. .... Ulmus crasstfolia ...... Ulmus pubescens....... Ulmus americana..... re Ulmus racemosa....... OUT HRBS GIGI very neh accao% Celits occtdentalis...... Morus rubra........... Toxylon pomiferum ... Magnolia fetida... ... Magnolia acuminata.. Maine to Georgia, Iowa and Arkansas. Delaware to Florida, Texas and Missouri. Shores from Virginia to Flor- ida, Texas, Mexico, Central America and Cuba. Oregon to Mexico. Minnesota to Nova Scotia, Georgia and Kansas. Minnesota to Maine, Neb- raska, Tennessee and North Carolina. Minnesota to Maine, Florida and Texas. New Jersey to Florida, Illi- nois and Texas. Wisconsin to Massachusetts, Virginia, Kansas and Indian Territory. Delaware to Florida, Missouri and Texas. Oregon to California. Mississippi to Arkansas and Mexico. North Dakota to Quebec, Flor- ida and Texas. Newfoundland to Rocky Mountains, Florida and ‘Texas. Minnesota to Quebec, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Mis- souri and Tennessee. Virginia to Florida, Missouri and Texas. Quebecto Massachusetts, Flor- ida, Texas, Washington and Nevada. Massachusetts and Vermont to Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas. Arkansas to Texas. North Carolina to Florida, Arkansas and Texas. New York to Illinois, Alabama and Arkansas. 376 FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.— Continued. Tulip-tree 35 4is05 20 Sassattas .jacshsavpere Sweet Gum............ SYCAMIOLE © oh Sess oc Black Cherry Honey Locust......... Coffeetree ............. Locust eee eee eee eee wwe American Holly seen wae Oregon Maple Sugar Maple.......... Silver Maple ......... Red Maple........... BORCIGCT | oie cules aes Ohio Buckeye......... Yellow Buckeye ...... Basswood.,............ White Basswood ..... Black Gum............ COLTON Ket Sis ae salou Lirtodendron tulipifera Sassafras sassafras... Liguidambar styra- ctflua . .. Platanus occidentalis .. “Prunus servotina ....... Gleditsia triacanthos... Gymnocladus dioicus .. Robinia pseudacacta... LIEX OPOLE. i hasor cise sinters Acer macrophyllum .. Acer saccharum....... Acer saccharinum..... Acer rubrum.......+. Acer negundo ....:...+ Aesculus glabra ....... Aesculus octandra..... Tilia americana ....+.. Tilia heterophylla...... Nyssa Sylvattca ver. sss. Nyssa aquatica.,...+-+. Vermont and Rhode Island to ’ Florida, Mississippi, Mich- igan and Arkansas. Massachusetts’ to Iowa and Texas. Florida, Connecticut to Florida, Mis- souri and Texas. Maine to Florida, Nebraska and Texas. North Dakota to Nova Scotia, Florida and Texas. Minnesota to Pennsylvania and New York, Georgia, Nebraska and Texas, Minnesota to New York, Neb- raska, Indian Territory and ‘Tennessee. Pennsylvania to Georgia, Min- nesota, Arkansas and Indian Territory. Massachusetts to Florida, In- diana, Missouri and Texas. Alaska to California North Dakota to Newfound- land, Texas and Florida. Minnesota and South Dakota to New Brunswick, Florida and Indian Territory. Lake of the Woods to New Brunswick, Florida and ‘Texas. Vermont to Florida, Saskat- chewan and Texas. Pennsylvania to Alabama, Iowa and Indian Territory. Pennsylvania to Alabama, Iowa and Texas. New Brunswick to Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Assiniboia. Pennsylvania to Florida, Illi- nois and Alabama. Maine to Florida, Michigan and Texas. Virginia to Florida, Illinois and Texas, FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. 377 A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.— Continued. Persimmon ........... Hine Ash ee asses Black ASN)... scoceseysk White Ash. esisiecec Red Ash See eee ee ee eee Green Ash..... SEs ey ar Oreson ASB. is cmes Catalpa Hardy Catalpa...... “. Diospyros virginiana. . Fraxinus quadrangu- FYAXINUS NIYVA ....+.. Fraxinus americana .. Fraxinus pennsylva- Fraxtnus lanceolata... Fraxinus oregona..... Catalpa catalpa........ Catalpa speciosa ....... Connecticut to Florida, Iowa and Texas. Minnesota to Michigan, Ar- kansas. and Alabama, Manitoba to Newfoundland, Arkansas and Virginia. Minnesota to Newfoundland, Texas and Florida. North Dakota to New Bruns- wick, Kansas, Alabama and Florida. Vermont to Saskatchewan River, Florida, Texas and Arizona. Washington to California. Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Indiana to Tennessee, Mis- souriand Texas. GLOSSARY. Accretion. Growth or formation by external additions to the tree. Acorn. The fruit of an oak. Acuminate. Taper-pointed or long-pointed. (e. g. leaves of Willow.) Acute. Pointed. (e. g. leaves of Cork Elm.) - Albumen. Food stored up in seed with embryo; endosperm. Alternate leaves. A single leaf at a node; not opposite. (e. g. Willow.) Altimeter. An instrument for taking grades, level and heights. Angle mirror, | Instruments for turning of angles in subdividing Angle prism. land. Annual. Yearly; a plant which reaches maturity and dies at the end of a single season. (e. g. Pea, Wheat.) © Annual riitg. ‘The layer of wood formed each year. (Page 11.) Anther. The pollen-containing sac; enlarged part of stamen. Apetalous. Without corolla. (e. g. Soft Maple, Oak.) Arboreous. ‘Tree-like. Assimilation. In plants, the production of organic matter from inorganic matter. . Axil. The angle formed by the junction of the leaf-blade, bract, petiole, pedicle or peduncle, with the branch or stalk from which it springs. Back-firing. The burning, under control, of material in front of a fire to prevent its spreading. Bark. A general term applied to all the tissues outside of the wood proper. (Fig. 1.) Basal, Attached to the base. Basal area. The cross-sectional area of a tree near the ground, usually taken about four and one-half feet above ground to avoid the excessive swelling of the root buttresses. Bast. The woody fibrous tissue of the inner bark. (Page 355.) ~ GLOSSARY. 379 Baummesser. An instrument for measuring the height of the trees, height and diameter at any part on the stem of a standing tree. Berry. Botanically a fleshy fruit. (e. g. Grape, Currant.) Commonly applied to many kinds of fruits. (e. g. Straw- berry, Mulberry.) Blade of a leaf. ‘The aeennded portion; the wings. Blight. The dying without apparent cause of the tenderer parts of plants. ' Board-foot. The unit of board measure; equivalent to a board I2 in. xX 12 in. x I in. One cubic foot is considered as equivalent to ten board feet, allowing for waste in working. B. M. Abbreviation for board measure. (q. v.) Board-measure. (B. M.) The system used by lumbermen in which the board-foot (q. v.) is the unit. Bract. A much reduced leaf. Broad-leaved trees. Applies to trees whose leaves have a broad flat surface, unlike the needle or awl-shaped leaves of the conifers. Budding. ‘The operation and process of inserting a bud with the intention that it shall grow. Bud-division. A term including all methods of propagation ex- cept by seed. (e. g. Grafting, Layering, etc.) Bud-variety. A strange variety or form appearing without obvi- ous cause upon a plant or in cuttings or layers; a sport. A bud-variety springs from a bud in distinction from a seed-variety, which springs from a seed. Callus. The new and protruding tissue which forms over a wound as over the end of a cutting. Calyz, Outer circle of perianth, generally inconspicuous. Cambium. In trees and shrubs, the layer of new growing tissue between the bark and wood. Cants. A term used in mills to designate the pieces cut from the sides of a log and which are to be again cut into quarter- sawed lumber. It is sometimes also applied to the squared centerpiece of the log. Carbon dioxide. A gas composed of one part of carbon to two parts of oxygen; carbonic acid gas. Carpel. A simple pistil, or one of the divisions of a compound pistil. 380 GLOSSARY. Catkin. A scaly spike-like dense flower cluster. (e. g. Willow, Birch.) Cell. The anatomical unit of living tissues. Chlorophyll. The green coloring matter of plants; leaf-green. Ciliate. Hairy on the margin. Cleft leaf. Cut into lobes somewhat more than half the depth of wings. (e. g. Silver Maple.) Compass. A magnetic needle used to determine directions in the woods. Compound leaf. One in which the blade or wings are composed of more than one part. (e. g. Ohio Buckeye, Mountain Ash.) Cone. ‘The flower or fruit of a conifer. Conifer. A member of the Pine Family or Conifere. Coniferous. Cone-bearing. Cooperage. ‘The business of making wooden vessels, as casks, barrels, tubs. Cordate. NHeart-shaped. Corolla. Inner series of the perianth; generally distinguished from the calyx by being of a color other than green. ‘ Corymb. A flat-topped flower cluster, in which the outer flowers open first. (e. g. Mountain Ash.) . Cotyledon. One of the leaves of the embryo; a seed leaf. Cross staff head. An instrument for turning off angles in sur- veying land, consisting of an octagonal brass box with slits in the faces for sighting through. Crowded. Said of trees when so closely grown that the develop- ment of their lateral branches is interfered with. (Page 129.) Crown of tree. See tree-crown. Cuttage. The practice or process of multiplying plants by means of cuttings. Cuttings. A piece of a leaf, branch, stem or root which when in- serted in moist material is capable of sending out roots and forming a new plant; a slip. (Page 86.) Cycle. One of the circles of a flower. Cymes. A flower cluster in which the central flowers open first. Deciduous. Falling off; said of leaves that fall in autumn. Dehiscent. Said of fruits that open at regular lines. GLOSSARY. 381 Delinquent tax lands. Lands on which taxes have not been paid. They are offered for sale at stated times after public notice, and tracts which find no buyers revert to the state. Dentate. ‘Toothed, with teeth pointing outward not forward. Diadelphous. Said of stamens when united into two groups. Dibber. A pointed instrument used for making holes. Dicotyledon. One of the class of plants with two seed leaves. Dicotyledonous. Having two cotyledons or seed leaves. Digitate. See palmate. Dioecious. Staminate and pistillate flowers borne on different plants. Distillation product. The substance obtained by the decomposi- tion of a compound. Divided. Said of leaves when the wings are cut into divisions down to base or midrib. Division. See bud-division. Drupe. A fruit with hard pit (endocarp) and soft exterior (exocarp). (e. g. Plum, Cherry, Peach.) Dry-rot. A kind of decay in wood. (Page 177.) Dust-blanket. A layer of loose earth on the surface of the ground. Embryo. The minature plant in the seed. Erosion. Wearing away. 7 Evergreen. Holding leaves over winter until new leaves appear or longer. Family. In botanical classification, a group of plants thrown to- gether because of some natural common resemblances. Sometimes used synonymously with order. Filament. ‘The stalk of the stamen. Firebreak. An opening, piowed strip of land, or anything which prevents the spread of fires in forests or elsewhere. Page 119.) Firefalls. Applied to areas where the trees have fallen owing to their roots having been burned off. Flower.