FORESTRY IN
MINNESOTA
SAMUEL B. GREEN
EXCHANGE
FORESTRY IN MINNESOTA
BY
SAMUEL B. GREEN,
• i
PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE AND FORESTRY,
THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA.
PUBLISHED BY THE
GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY
SURVEY OF MINNESOTA.
ST. PAUL, MINN.:
PIONEER PRKSS COMPANY.
1902.
r
.4
Copyright, 1902, by SAMUEL B. GREEN.
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 commonly 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 careful 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
302597
4 PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
Flora of the United States" (Britton & Brown); the publica-
tions of the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agri-
culture; "Baume und Straucher des Waldes" (Hempel & Wil-
helm) ; and Flora von Dentschland, Oesterreich u. d. Schweiz
(Prof. Dr. Thome).
S. B. G.
University of Minnesota,
St. Anthony- Park,
July 29, 1898.
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
6 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
loaned by Professor John Gifford, Figure 9 is from H. B. Ayres,
Figure 32 from W. H. Rau. By permission of Houghton, Mif-
flin & Co. the typical botanical figures of plates 14, 15, 21, 22,
23, 24, 26, 31, 35, 43, 45, 49, 55 and 63 have been redrawn from
the "Silva of North America." The typical, botanical figures of
plates i, 6, 7, 10, 20 and 25 are redrawn from "Baume und
Straucher des Waldes." Plate 52 is redrawn from Flora von
Deutschland, Oesterreich u. d. Schweiz.
SAMUEL B. GREEN.
January 30, 1902.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
Chapter I. The Tree.
Chapter II. The Forest.
Chapter III. 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 IL
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Pinacecz. Pine Family.
Pines, Larches, Spruces, Hemlock, Douglas Spruce, Firs,
Arborvitse and Junipers.
Juglandacea. Walnut Family.
Walnut, Butternut and Hickories.
Salicacece. Willow Family.
Willows and Poplars.
Betulacca. Birch Family.
Birches, Alders, Hornbeam and Blue Beech.
Fagacea. Oak Family.
Chestnut and Oaks,
8 CONTENTS.
Ulmacece. Elm Family.
Elms and Hackberry.
Moracecp. Mulberry Family.
Mulberries.
Rosacea. Rose Family.
Wild Crab. Mountain Ashes, Serviceberries, Thorns, Wild
Plum and Wild Cherries.
Leguminosce. Pea Family.
Honey Locust, Coffeetree and Locust.
Aceracea. Maple Family.
Maples and Boxelder.
Hippocastanaccce. Buckeye Family.
Horse Chestnut and Ohio Buckeye.
Rhamnacece. Buckthorn Family.
Buckthorn.
Tiliacece. Linden Family.
Basswoods.
Elaeagnacea. Oleaster Family.
Russian Olive.
Olcacca. Olive Family.
Ashes.
Bignoniacea. Bignonia Family.
Catalpa.
Caprifoliacea. Honeysuckle Family.
Sheepberry.
PART III.
FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.
GLOSSARY. .
INDEX.
PART I.
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY
CHAPTER L
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-
wood and heartwood are
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 of
the outer bark and as we sel-
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
counting the rings of wood
in the stem we can determine
very closely the age of trees.
In very rare cases we have
two periods of growth in one
year, as in 1894, when the
drouth of midsummer ripened up the wood of the trees by the
first of August and the rains of autumn started a new growth, and
caused some trees and shrubs to flower in October, but such
occurrences are very uncommon and the extra rings formed
Figure i. Cross-section of Woody
bark, (b) inner bark or bast, tc) cam-
bium, (d,e,f,g and h) annual rings
of wood, and (i) pith.
.••^, ", .' '•' :BLEMENtARY 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
>f 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, atfd 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. is
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 above
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 I/eaves of our trees vary much in size and shape. They
are simple when composed of but one piece, as ihe 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.
The following table gives the approximate length of time
that leaves of conifers remain on trees in Minnesota:
THE TREE.
15
LENGTH OF TIME THAT LEAVES OF CONIFERS REMAIN ON
TREES IN MINNESOTA.
Botanical Name.
Common Name.
Year of Falling.
White Pine
Pinus flexilis
Western White Pine.
Norway Pine
5th and 6th.
Jack Pine
Finns ponderosa scopulorum
Bull Pine
Scotch Pine
3d and 4th.
^d
Dwarf Pine
5th 6th and 7th
Larix laricina
Larix europea
Tamarack
European IYarch
ist winter.
ist winter.
White Spruce ....
4th and 5th
Black Spruce
4th and 5th.
Blue Spruce
6th and 7th
Picea engelmanni
Picea excelsa
Engelmann Spruce . .
Norway Spruce
5th and 6th.
5th.
Tsuga canadensis
Hemlock
2d and 3d.
Pseudotsuga taxifolia
Douglas Spruce
5th.
Balsam Fir ....
5th
White Fir
5th.
Th uja occ ide ntalis
Arborvitse
4th and 5th.
Red Cedar
5th and 6th.
Juniperus communis
Dwarf Juniper
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.
1 p
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY
The Fruit, botanically defined ,'« ft,
derived from a single flower As u!d
~
really the fruit. ' ^ Walnut an^ Basswoo,
Distribution of
in various ways. the
.
oi floats or wings which hnnv tj, ( ' by me
-d (2) by annals The seeds oHh "A '" "" ™ °r Wa
Catalpa, Elm, Maple Pine and q ,' Arborvit<^ Boxelc
'hem to be blown gr'eat d sLn Sp™Ce,have win^ which all
they break loose frtm he " K y ^ Wi"d' eSpecia"y wt
severe winds. The" Tt^L^^ ^ treeS duri
from the pod until after ,Vh %?,°ney L°Cust are "ot sh
inches or more long and s' ir^l? al en> «"<« •» *e pod is t
distances on ,eve, /roll, ££%£ " "»' b/ "'<-" Jo,
lars and willows have a cot £ fl . S6eds of the P°
them up in the air. In L ± L ^ \f "^•"^ Whieh buo
'ike bract attached to thl ,« ^ °ffthe .^asswood. *e parachut
^ carrying them through e Tr^f f" SPreadin« the see,
seeds of Mountain Ash W Id Bhck Cher? H "7 C™St T'
ers are largely distributed by wtld mim 7' ^°f" and °ti
and allow the seeds to passfhroueh >l r W eat the fru
jured or carry off the fruh nd I ?» al™entary canal unir
or seed vessels have b« ,ike OT ^u "* SeedS' Ma^ seed
adhere to animals and are thus caS^ ^^ ^ WhiCh 'he-
Very often bodies of water aid in A H COKnsiderable distances
a" that are spread byTh ag „ y K^f^ °f SeedS' Si"C'
that have fleshy coverings wm fl u a"d most of tho«
and may in thil way ^"red °" SUrfaCe °f ^ ^
s of
Balsam, have a decided tendency to or^T'
take on a conical form in preference to th H°n8, *** *"* f°
crown or head; while others 1 ke th« n d7eI°Pme"t of a
and Boeder, develop their^rott
YHE TR#£., 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,
oiigar, 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.
Tn 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. In a general way it may be said that the sapwood trans-
mits th*e 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 01 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
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 (peihaps 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 I,ife 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-
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 the year round they have periods of rest and of excite-
ment. During 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 I,ost by Trees in Winter. After
many careful experiments, A. L. Knisely, M. S., 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 the
young cellular tissue.
CHAPTER IL
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
22 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
knoVn 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 mentioned 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 il/% inches in diameter,
and a Tamarack under similar conditions formed a diameter of
only i i-io 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 I,and 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
24 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 tjhe 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 mulch 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 by the 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.
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 grow 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:
(i.) 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 retaining 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.
(5.) 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
large 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 most 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 atmosohere 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.
"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
differently 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 Minnesota 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.]
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.
"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 coven
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
WIND-BREAKING POWER OE 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.
36 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 15
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-
phere of the same temperature and humidity.
Now, if it is considered that the average velocity of the winds
which constantly 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 Fcehn, has been noted as from 28 degrees
to 31 degrees Fahr.. and a reduction of relative humidity of 58
per cent. A Foehn of twelve hours' duration has been known
to "eat up" entirely a snow cover 2.^/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 100 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 80 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 (Jrouth 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 open
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.
Birch and Linden 600 to 700
Ash 500 to 600
Beech .>,.-.*......; 450 to 500
Maple -. 400 to 450
Oak 200 to 300
Spruce and Scotch Pine 50 to 70
Fir 30 to 40
Black Pine 30 to 40
Average, deciduous trees 470
Average, evergreen trees , . 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 wholly 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
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 the
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. 43
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 general 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. 45
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 of
protection to the buildings, their occupants and the cattle in the
field should always be first considered. Our crops in this sec-
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 Rfives
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 of the 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 already
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
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
&0 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 thus
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: (i) 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 30
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.
I,ist 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 Nor-
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, Arborvitse, 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 cleans
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.
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-
se 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 k 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 I/ocation 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 BUILDINCzS.
r,7
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
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
•37
Highway
Figure 6. Suggestion in detail for laying out the grounds about the
buildings on a prairie farm. Highway on south, size 30x37 rods enclosing
five acres; windbreak on north and west five rods wide. Two rows of
trees next to highway. Rows of trees indicated.
of general farm crops. The plans are only suggestive and no
attempt is made to work out details, and there are compara-
tively few farrps that they would fit exactly. For instance, while
it is desirable to have the buildings centrally located, their posi-
tion must frequently be pushed to one side on account of a
swamp or lowland which is not suitable for them, or their posi-
tion may be determined by a beautiful natural grove. Figure 6
shows a plan for a south front drawn on a larger scale. It may
often be desirable to change the shape of the land enclosed, but
LOCATION OF FARM BUILDINGS. 59
in the great majority of prairie farms a plan similar to this would
work out to good advantage and the area enclosed by wind-
breaks could often be increased to ten acres to good advantage.
A rule that should be carefully followed in all tree plantings
is that the view from the most commonly used rooms of any-
thing that is suggestive of pleasant associations or that is
especially interesting or entertaining should not be cut off.
Under this head would be included the view, from the living-
room windows, of the traveled wagon , road or perhaps of the
railroad, of the neighboring houses or perhaps a nearby lake,
and of the important fields on the farm, especially those where
stock is pastured. These views can generally be secured without
seriously impairing the value of the windbreaks, by cutting small
openings in them or perhaps by simply shortening the trees, so
that they will not interfere with the line of sight.
CHAPTER V,
FOREST REGENERATION AND TREATMENT.
The timber lands of Minnesota should, as a rule, be managed
so as to get the greatest cash returns from them, for that only
is practical forestry which has this fundamental feature always
in view. Our virgin forests have contained, and those remaining
now contain, a large percentage of trees past their prime and
losing in value each year they stand. Such forest products
should be worked up as soon as a good market is found for
them. In virgin forests there is no increase, the annual growth
being just balanced by the annual decay under normal condi-
tions.
The Cultivation of Trees on timber lands in this section
has never received much attention, and the only data as to the
rate of increase that we have to follow are what can be obtained
from the native forests, and these are for this reason only
approximately correct. In European countries and elsewhere
it has been proved by long experience that more timber is
grown per acre, and that the growth is much more rapid, on land
where some attention is given to systematic forestry than on that
which is left to itself, -and it will seem reasonable to believe this,
when we consider that much of the energy of trees may be
expended in fierce competition with neighbors, which may
weaken them all and perhaps bring about unhealthy conditions,
and that natural forest land is generally unevenly stocked with
trees, many of which are rotten or otherwise defective, and
often with those that are not the most profitable kinds to grow.
In the cultivated forests unnecessary crowding is prevented by
judicious thinning, and the land is kept evenly and completely
stocked with the most profitable kinds.
Succession of Tree Growth is an expression sometimes
used as though there were a natural rotation of trees on the land.
There is nothing of the sort. Sometimes hard woods will follow
pine, or the pine the hard woods, where the two were mixed at
FOREST REGENERATION AND TREATMENT.
Figure 7. Virgin Forest.
White and Red Pine mixed. Near Mille Lacs. Good Natural Regeneration.
62 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
the time of cutting and there was a young growth of one or the
other kind which had a chance to grow when its competitor was
removed. Where land is severely burned after being cut over,
the trees that show first are generally the kinds with seeds that
float long distances in the wind, such as Poplar and Birch, or
those having fruits especially liked by birds, such as the Bird
Cherry, which is very widely distributed. These show first on
account of getting started first. The pine and the other trees
may come in later owing to their being seeded later or owing
to the later advent of conditions favorable to their germination
and growth. It may happen in the case of burnt-over pine land
that pine seed is distributed over it the first year after it is
burned, but owing to there being no protection from the sun
the young seedlings of White and Norway Pine which are very
delicate, are destroyed. After a young growth of Poplars has
appeared the pine seed may find just the right conditions for
growth for a few years and finally get ahead of the poplars and
crowd them out, while in the meantime it is being much
improved by the presence of the poplars, which grow rapidly
and force the pines to make a tall growth. On the other hand,
however, the poplars, birches and other trees and shrubs and
even weeds may sometimes make so strong a growth as to kill
out the young pine seedlings if they are not sufficiently well
established at the time the mature growth is cut.
Regeneration is a term commonly used in forestry to sig-
nify the renewal of forest trees upon the land. It is a convenient
term and well worthy of general introduction into the forest
literature of this country. The different forms of regeneration
may be referred to as (i)' regeneration by natural seeding, (2)
regeneration by artificial seeding, (3) regeneration by sprouts
and suckers, (4) regeneration by planting seedlings, (5) regen-
eration by planting cuttings. The method of regeneration best
adapted for one section may not be at all fitted for another under
different conditions, and often it is best to combine two or more
of the different forms of regeneration.
Regeneration by Seed. Where natural regeneration by
seed can be easily brought about, it is generally the best practice.
This is especially true in sections where timber is comparatively
cheap, as is generally the case in this country. It may be
greatly assisted by stirring the surface of the soil in good seed
NATURAL REGENERATION. 63
years, and in other ways bringing about conditions conducive
to the germination and growth of the seeds. Where it is prac-
ticable to use it, a disk harrow is an admirable implement for
breaking up the forest floor so as to allow the germination of
seeds. Where a disk harrow cannot be used to advantage, and
it can seldom be so used on new land in this country, it is a
good plan to use a drag made by tying together several oak
branches or small logs. Good seed years do not occur very
often in our most desirable species, and it is very important to
take advantage of these good years when they do come. At
such times it is often a good practice to make extra cuttings in
order to let in light and air, as well as to stir the soil and so
make it possible to secure a good catch of the seed.
The methods adopted to secure natural regeneration by
seed may be divided into three systems, each of which may be
best adapted to some special conditions. These are known (i)
as the Selection Method, (2) as the Strip Method and (3) as the
Group Method.
The Selection Method refers to the cutting of the mature
trees and to the removal of inferior trees to make room for the
better kinds. In this system much care should be exercised to
prevent the growth of grass, which generally comes in when
the cutting is done more rapidly than the seeding trees can
seed the bare land. On the other hand it is just as important
to exercise care that the young seedlings which have started
have sufficient light so that they can make a good growth and
not be shaded out by the older trees. The removal of a single
tree often lets in so very Httle light that seedlings cannot get a
good start. On this account the group method is probably best
adapted for general use.
Strip Method is a term that is applied to the system where
the trees are removed in narrow strips across which the remain-
ing older trees can easily scatter their seed. The best width of
strips will depend on the species and the local conditions. Some
who advocate this method claim that the strips should not be
wider than the height of the trees, while others would allow
strips three or four times the height in the case of the elm,
maples and pine, and in the case of birch even eight times may
not be too much. Such strips should generally begin on the
side opposite from the prevailing winds at seeding time, so the
G4
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
seed will be blown onto the denuded land. In the case of hill-
sides the strips should generally extend along near the sum-
mits, and successive strips should be on the lower sides to pre-
vent washing of the soil. The strips may extend on one or two
sides, and in shape should often be adapted to the contour of
the land.
The Group Method is a system of cutting strips suc-
cessively on the inside of certain groups. This may be termed a
Figure 8. Diagram illustrating the system followed in the group
method of cutting. Cuttings are begun at points marked i, and are
gradually extended; by successive cuttings as indicated by figures 2, 3, 4
and 5. After Schlich.
natural method, and for general use, especially in mixed woods
and where the land and conditions are quite valuable, it is much
REGENERATION BY ARTIFICIAL SEEDING. G5
the best. It gives a chance to adapt the method of cutting to
the different species and to the different conditions which may
be found in the forest. For instance, a tamarack swamp, dry
knoll covered with oak, a steep hillside, and level, rich, rocky
land, each covered with the trees peculiar to it, would very
likely all be included in almost any forest tract of any considera-
ble size in the northern states, and each portion should receive
special treatment. We can begin with one group or several,
and we can start our regeneration in each group perhaps where
there is already a good growth of young trees. In fact this sys-
tem gives us a chance to begin regeneration where the greatest
necessity or the best chance for it already exists.
The size of the opening will depend here as in the strip
method on the species grown and their conditions. Generally
the first openings will be from one-fourth to one-half acre or
more, and the strips taken around it should in width not greatly
exceed the height of the trees in the strip next to be cut.
Of course the regeneration in any case should be managed
with the same care that should be given to any well managed
forest to bring about the predominance of the most valuable
kinds under the best light and soil conditions.
Regeneration by Artificial Seeding. Occasionally it may
be desirable to sow seed in woodlands. This is especially so in
the case of some of our nut trees such as black walnut, butter-
nut and oaks, which readily renew themselves by such means.
In the case of pine and Spruce, however, success is quite uncer-
tain under such treatment. Perhaps it is most certain with pine
and spruce where it is practicable to furrow out with the nlow,
as for instance it might be on some of the sandy lands of Min-
nesota where furrows might be run between the trees or the
land loosened in patches with a hoe. In this case the standing
trees afford the proper shade conditions for the seedlings. In
the case of clear fields, it is quite a simple matter to sow the seed
in furrows. Where the moss is thick on the surface of the soil,
it is a good plan to cut it off in squares, or long strips may be
sown after preparation. The seed will seldom grow if it is sown
in deep or thick moss. Where seed is sown broadcast over
ordinary forest land the seedlings are liable to be killed out by
the weeds, which generally come in quickly as soon as the sun-
light is allowed upon the soil. Pine and many other seeds are
5
66 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
sometimes sown in clear fields with oats, when the straw protects
from the sun in summer and the stubble holds the snow and acts
as winter protection. Seed of ash, maple, elm and some other
trees may sometimes be sown in the hills with corn to advantage
in prairie planting, and willow cuttings may also be used in the
same way or with beans.
Natural Reseeding of the land is then almost the only
practical means of restocking the land in this section, which
should receive attention here, as other methods are too expen-
sive. It generally takes place in this section, and the only rea-
son why it is not more successful is the frequent destruction of
the young seedlings by fires. The small crooked branching pine
and other seeding trees that are always left by lumbermen in
their operations here, and generally considered worthless, per-
form a very important work in producing seed, and it is a pity
that there are not more such trees left to produce seed for our
cut-over lands. When such trees escape the first burning after
the land is cut over, they often remain for twenty years doing
their blessed work of distributing seed each year, and when the
conditions exist for germination and growth the seed grows and
lives. Sometimes where such trees are not left by lumbermen,
or where they have been destroyed by fire, it has taken twenty
years to get the land properly reseeded to White Pine by the
slow process of seeding from trees at a distance of half a mile
or more.
The Covering of Tree Seeds in Woodland, whether
the seeds are sown naturally or artificially, can often be best
accomplished by stirring up the soil with a strong harrow or a
brush drag made of the branches of an oak or other tree having
strong wood. This may sometimes be done most advan-
tageously before the seeds fall, and at other times after they
have fallen. Where the soil is made loose and the forest floor
is broken up before the seeds fall, they are generally sufficiently
covered by wind and rain. They may sometimes be covered
most satisfactorily by driving a flock of sheep over the land
after the seed has fallen, the feet of the sheep pressing the seed
into the ground.
Regeneration by Planting Seedlings. This form of
regeneration is practiced to a considerable extent in sections
where timber is high in price. It is often the most economical
REGENERATION BY PLANTING SEEDLINGS. 67
way of securing a stock of coniferous trees upon the land.
Under the conditions which frequently prevail on our cut-over
land there is very little chance for natural or artificial regenera-
tion of desirable kinds by seed, owing to the fact that all the
seed-producing trees were cut when the land was logged, or
have since been destroyed by fire and the ground covered by a
Figure
Old pine cuttings after being once burned over.
growth of weeds and inferior trees; but seedling pines can often
be set out at intervals of perhaps ten feet apart each way where
they would be sufficiently crowded by the weeds, poplar and
other fast growing trees, so that they would take on an upright
form quite free from side branches until their tops interlaced,
after which they would crowd one another. Such planting can
be done here at an expense of about five dollars per acre. It
is necessary for the success of such work that weeds be pre-
vented from smothering the trees, which they are liable to do
68 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
until the seedlings get well started, and to prevent this it may
be necessary to cut back the crowding plants every summer.
It is quite common in European forests to see patches of
land, perhaps four feet square, at twenty-foot intervals, which
have been stripped of their mossy cover and sown to seed.
These afford a sort of nursery throughout the forest, from which
seedlings may be transplanted and on which a number of seed-
ling plants are left and form a good forest cover.
Mound Planting is a term which signifies the planting of
trees on mounds or on the surface of the land. This is some-
times done on wet lands for the purpose of getting the roots
above standing water, and it is a practice which can be followed
in the case of several trees that do well upon rather moist soil,
although they may die if put at once into standing water when
young.
Regeneration by Cuttings. There are few trees that can
be grown in general practice from cuttings, but it is the best way
to start willows, since seedlings of them are generally quite diffi-
cult to obtain. Some species of the poplar can also be grown to
best advantage in this way.
Regeneration by Sprouts and Suckers. Some trees,
such as the willow, poplars, oaks, chestnuts and maples renew
themselves very readily by sprouts and suckers. Land that is
managed on this plan for renewal is termed coppice. With the
exception of the willow and possibly one or two other trees, the
growth from coppice is not so large as that from seedlings, and
it is seldom employed for other purposes than the production
of firewood. In order to get the best growth in this way, the
trees should be cut close to the ground when they are dormant,
and the stumps left highest in the center, so they will tend to
shed water and not rot. The advantage of cutting close to the
ground is that the sprouts that come out from the trunk soon
get roots of their own, which makes them more durable than
when they depend entirely upon the old stump roots and they
are much less liable to be broken off in high winds.
Pollarding consists in cutting back the side branches of a
tree, or cutting off the main stem at a few feet from the ground.
The branches may be cut off close to the main stem or at a short
distance from it, the latter method being preferable. New
PRUNING OF FOREST TREES. 69
sh.oots spring from the cuts, and these are again cut when of
suitable size. What has been said in regard to the season and
manner of cutting in the previous paragraphs is practically true
here. This process is mostly used in the case of willows and
poplars to obtain material for basket work, small poles, fuel, etc.
Time of Rotation is a term used to indicate the age to
which trees are grown. The length of this time will depend on
the species and on the conditions. For some species not less
than eighty years should be allowed for full maturity, while still
others may be successfully worked on a thirty-year rotation
period. It is not used in the same sense as in ordinary agri-
cultural operations, where it signifies frequent changes of the
crop for several years with a view to getting the most out of the
soil. Since trees do not impoverish the soil, but improve it,
there is no necessity for any such method of rotation in forestry
as there is in agriculture.
Pruning of Forest Trees is generally an expensive opera-
tion and little is required if trees are properly crowded when
young, so that they take on an upright form free from side
branches. If they are not crowded when young, many side
branches are formed, which generally die out when the trees get
large enough to shade all the ground. In some cases these dead
branches drop quickly to the ground, and in others they remain
for years, producing knots and irregularity in the wood formed
in the meantime and should be removed. Trees grown in the
open retain their lower branches more or less throughout life
and they produce in consequence timber of inferior value as
compared with trees grown in crowded woods.
Large wounds made by cutting off green branches should be
covered. It is often desirable to remove dead branches and it
is the practice to do so in some of the plantings of Wnite Pine
that have been made in New England. It is said that the lum-
ber there is so greatly improved by so doing that the operation
is a paying one. But under ideal conditions for the develop-
ment of timber trees very little is gained by pruning.
The Young Growth is Often Injured in ordinary lumber-
ing operations by the felling of the trees, which bend them to the
ground and often break them. Where special care is desired to
protect the young growth it may be desirable to lop off the
70 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
branches before felling. This is practiced to some extent where
forests are very valuable.
The Small Dead Twigs on such trees as spruce, and also
the shrubbery which may surround them, are often a very val-
uable protection against sun-scald. This also protects from
drying winds, which would otherwise, perhaps, sweep through
the forests and do them injury. Forest trees seldom do best
where they are subject to a strong" draft of wind around the
trunks. While, under some conditions, it may be desirable to
remove the dead branches from trees, yet even if it is decided
to do this in the interior of the forest, it is generally best to
leave the borders without such pruning in order to protect it
from drafts.
Forest Weed is a term used to signify any growth that
may occur in forests which crowds the other growth, and so pre-
vents it from developing to the best advantage. It may apply
to raspberry bushes, hazel brush, poplars and other similar
materials which often come in our forests in the early growth
of the plantation; or even to large inferior trees which are in
the way of the proper development of the better species. But a
tree may at one period of its growth be of much value in a for-
est in producing shade and acting as a nurse tree, while later on
in its growth, after its usefulness has been completed, it may be
regarded as a weed.
Thinning is the most important part of the forester's art in
securing good timber and in reseeding the land. The ideal con-
dition in the life of timber trees is to secure a natural crop of
seedlings so crowded when young as to increase very rapidly in
height and produce slender trunks free from side branches.
When this crowding has gone far enough the less valuable and
weaker trees should be removed to give the better trees suf-
ficient room for their crowns to develop. These remaining trees
in the course of a few years will again crowd one another too
severely, and this process of removing poorer trees must then
be repeated. Then when the final stand of trees is approaching
maturity, thinning should be commenced to let in light and air
to produce the conditions under which seedlings develop to best
advantage.
Heavy thinning should be practiced only after very careful
IMPROVEMENT CUTTINGS. 71
consideration. It is seldom desirable, as it lets in too much sun-
light and may encourage a growth of grass. Where natural
regeneration is practiced, only such openings should be made
as will be shortly covered with valuable species.
Important Principles that Should be Remembered:
(i) That increase of wood is proportional to leaf surface and
therefore the lands should be kept as nearly as possible covered
with a canopy of leaves, which should be on trees that are valua-
ble for their timber. (2) That leaves need light; therefore
partly shaded branches form but little and imperfect wood, and
those that are very heavily shaded die out; crowding prevents
the formation of branches on trees and is important in securing
the best timber. The amount of waste in branchwood varies
greatly, it being very much in trees that are entirely open grown,
and very little in trees that have been severely crowded. But
as over-crowding causes decay it is important to do the thinning
as soon as the tree has taken on a proper form. Crowding on
one side causes crooks, and these can be prevented by cutting
off the crowding tree or branch.
Waste in Forests occurs, as has been partially stated, in
branchwood, crooks, rot, and in growing of the kinds of trees
that are not marketable. The kinds that are marketable depend
largely oh the demand. In considering this subject it is best
to be conservative and to select kinds that are of stable value,
and not likely to go out of fashion. Since crowding is best done
by small trees among the large timber trees, they should be of
a kind that are marketable when small.
Much waste in timber is caused by cutting trees when small.
The amount of waste in the shafts of straight treej, excluding
trunks, branches and bark, may vary from eighty-one per cent
in a tree eight inches in diameter and ninety feet high, to six
per cent in a tree forty inches in diameter on the stump and
one hundred feet high. It will thus be seen that there is great
loss from cutting trees when small, especially if they are growing
rapidly.
Improvement Cuttings is a term used to signify an
improvement of forests by cutting out inferior and crowding
trees. This is a very important matter in getting almost any
forest tract into a condition where it can be managed to best
72 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
advantage under the group, strip or other systems. Generally
it will at first consist in removing the dead, rotten and mature
trees and those of inferior species, and so give better oppor-
tunity for the more valuable kinds. This is a matter that calls
for much good judgment. Care should be exercised not to
make openings so large but what they will shortly be occupied
by seedlings of valuable trees. Where large openings are made
they are apt to become covered with grass, which is a great
detriment to any forest growth and always indicates that the
cutting has been done too rapidly for best results.
The Ax and Saw, then, as will be seen from the foregoing
paragraphs, furnish the most important means when used
judiciously in securing the best growth of timber in forests of
this section and the proper succession of growth on forest land.
The Farm Woodlot is a customary feature on many farms
in the northeastern states. As a rule it occupies land that is of
very little value for any other purpose. It is generally not man-
aged at all, but left to look after itself,- and often it is pastured.
It is expected to furnish firewood, posts and poles and an occa-
sional stick of dimension stuff. Too often the best is cut and the
poorest left to grow. Under such rough treatment the woodlot
becomes stocked with an inferior growth that is of little value
except for firewood, and it does not produce as much of that as
it might under a different system of management.
Improving the Woodlot. The general rules laid down for
the management of forests will apply here. The cattle should
be kept out, so as to give the young seedlings a chance to grow.
Improvement cuttings should be introduced with a view of get-
ting rid of the crooked and mature trees and those of inferior
species and«of encouraging a growth of young seedlings of val-
uable kinds,
CHAPTER VL
PROPAGATION.
Trees are Grown from Seeds or by Division. The latter
term includes increase by cuttings, layers, buds and grafts.
Plants grown from seeds are generally more vigorous and
longer lived than those of the same species propagated in any
other way. Trees should be grown from seeds when it is prac-
ticable to do so, but willows and some other trees are apparent
exceptions to this rule and seem to do as well when grown from
cuttings as when grown from seeds. Varieties do not generally
perpetuate their peculiar characteristics when grown from seeds,
and must therefore be propagated by some method of division.
The Most Desirable Trees from Which to Propagate
are those of good form and healthy growth; the latter is the one
most important requisite, especially if new plants are to be
grown by any method of division. It is not so essential in
selecting seeds, as even weak plants may produce good seed-
lings, but unhealthy cuttings, layers or grafts are of very uncer-
tain growth. In general, it is best that the stock trees be
healthy throughout, but a tree may have a rotten trunk due to
some injury and still have perfectly healthy branches and be a
desirable tree from which to propagate.
SEEDS.
Sources of Seeds. In growing trees from seeds the
source of the seeds is very important. It may be given as a
safe general rule that seeds are most desirable which come from
trees grown in as severe a climate as that in which the seeds are
to be sown. It has been found that trees of Boxelder and Red
Cedar grown from seeds gathered in Missouri are not nearly so
hardy in this section as those from seeds grown in our own state.
It has also been found that seeds from the western slopes of the
Rocky Mountains, where the climate is very humi'd, produce
trees which are not so well adapted to withstanding the concji-
74 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
tions of this section as trees grown from seeds from the eastern
slopes, where the summers are very dry and hot and the winters
very dry and cold. Our climate is especially trying to trees,
and it is necessary to exercise much more care in the selection
of tree seeds here than it is in the more favored climate of the
eastern and western coast states.
There are Conditions Under Which Uvery Species of
Tree Thrives Best and makes its greatest growth, but the trees
produced under these conditions are not always the hardiest. As
we reach the limits of their growth, trees have a tendency on
account of drouth or cold to become smaller, more compact in
form and to fruit younger; e. g., the Boxelder is a large tree
in Kansas and Missouri, but as it gets towards the Manitoba
line we find it becomes dwarfed and more bushy in habit.
Towards the southern limit of its range the tree becomes more
open in habit and more liable to disease. The Scotch Pine
seeds imported into this country are generally saved from the
small scrubby trees that are found in the higher altitudes of the
mountains of Europe, because such trees produce the most
seeds and they are most easily gathered from them, while seeds
are seldom gathered from the large timber, trees of this species,
and it is very likely that this poor seed stock is responsible for
much of the scrubby appearance of many Scotch Pine planta-
tions in this section.
Trees Have a Strong Tendency to Perpetuate Qualities
which have been developed in them by climate and soil condi-
tions. Hence, even though an essential point in considering the
value of any tree is its hardiness, the question of size is impor-
tant and should be taken into account, as we generally wish to
grow trees of as large size as practicable. We may conclude,
then, that since trees from a very cold climate generally lack in
hardiness, and those from a very severe climate may lack in
size, it is best to procure seeds from the best trees grown near
by or from those grown under similar climatic conditions else-
where. It is not generally necessary to limit this range very
closely, as a hundred miles north or south of a given point will
seldom make much difference in hardiness, unless the climatic
conditions are very dissimilar.
The Place Where the Trees that we are to Set Out are
Grown is not of so great importance as the source of the seeds
GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 75
from which they are grown; e. g., seedlings of Red Cedar grown
in Missouri from seeds of native Minnesota trees would be safer
to plant here than seedlings raised in Minnesota from the seeds
of native Missouri trees.
Seedling" Variations. In our common trees variations are
not sufficiently marked but that we think of the trees as coming
true from seeds, and yet careful observation will show to any
one that each seedling plant is different from neighboring plants
of the same species. Sometimes a seedling will occur that pos-
sesses especially pleasing or curious characteristics that are very
marked and desirable. In such cases the seedling is generally
propagated by some method of bud-division and makes a new
variety. In this way have originated such highly-esteemed kinds
as Wier's Cut-leaf Maple, which was a chance seedling of the
Soft Maple, the Weeping American Elm, Cut-leaf Birch, Weep-
ing Mountain Ash, Pyramidal Arborvitse, and a host of other
kinds that are propagated by bud-division by nurserymen. The
person who is on the lookout for these or other variations will
have no trouble in finding many that may perhaps be worth
naming and propagating.
Gathering Seeds. All kinds of seeds should be gathered
when ripe. In some cases it is best to pick them from the trees
even before they are quite ripe, 'after which they will ripen if
kept dry. Unripe seeds do not keep as well as perfectly ripe
seeds. Most kinds of tree seeds are most cheaply gathered from
the ground. In some cases this method can be greatly facili-
tated by cleaning up the land under the trees so it will be smooth
and even. Seeds of some species can often be swept up at little
expense from under trees growing along the highway.
Germination of Seeds. There are many conditions which
affect the germination of seeds:
(i) Seeds which are thoroughly ripened before they are
gathered produce the best plants. Very immature seeds will
very often grow, but the tendency with them is to produce weak
plants. (2) Freshly gathered seeds, as a rule, are preferable to
old seeds for sowing, and seeds that have never been allowed to
become very dry are more likely to grow than those which have
been severely dried. This is especially true of most of the kinds
of seeds that ripen in early summer, the most of which lose their
76 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
vitality very quickly when stored. (3) Some seeds, such as
those of the Plum, Cherry and Black Walnut, require severe
freezing when moist in order to germinate. (4) Seeds that are
covered with water will not generally grow. This is true at least
of our northern tree seeds. (5) The seeds of some trees germi-
nate at a temperature near freezing, while others require a much
higher temperature. (6) After seeds of some plants have
become very dry, scalding may aid them in germinating, while
with others scalding is injurious. It is sometimes desirable to
soak seeds for one or two days in tepid water, and then mix with
sand and freeze before sowing. Lindley records that seeds found
in raspberry jam grew after passing through the heat necessary
to boil syrup (240 degrees Fahr.) and that seeds of Acacia and
Lophantha grew after being boiled five minutes, but our com-
mon tree seeds will not stand such treatment.
Stratification, as the term is used in this connection, refers
to the storing of seeds mixed with layers of earth, leaves or other
material. It is customary to apply the term solely to seeds that
are mixed in this way and kept frozen over winter. It is the
common practice with the seeds of such trees as the Black Wal-
nut, Hickory, Basswood, Plum, Cherry and Mountain Ash.
Where only small quantities are to be cared for they are gener-
ally mixed in boxes and the boxes buried in well drained soil out
of doors, but where large quantities are to be handled they may
be mixed with soil on the surface of the ground and left until
spring; such a pile is termed a pit. One of the best materials
with which to cover seed pits is inverted grass sod. It is a good
plan to have the material that is mixed with the seed so fine
that it will easily go through a screen and leave the seeds sep-
arated for sowing.
Wintering Acorns and Other Nuts in I/arge Quanti-
ties. On account of the great liability to injury where a large
amount of nuts are stored in heaps, and on account of the imprac-
ticability many times of stratifying them with sand, the following
plan is resorted to in some sections:
A house is made, preferably with a sandy floor, so as to secure
good drainage, and is covered with sod roof and sides, so as to
keep out most of the frost. This may be of any size, but perhaps
20 feet in width and any length would be very convenient. The
CLASSIFICATION OF SEEDS. 77
nuts are spread over the ground about 18 inches thick, and are
kept stirred until frozen in winter. As soon as they thaw out,
they are turned once a day. In this way they are prevented from
molding, and from the other injuries that are so common to nuts
stored in large quantities. It would be desirable .to keep the
temperature from ever going much below freezing.
Seeds May be Classified Into Three Groups: (i) Those
that ripen in spring and early summer, (2) deciduous tree -seeds
that ripen in autumn, and (3) coniferous tree seeds.
Seeds that Ripen in Spring and Early Summer should
be gathered as soon as ripe, and, with the exception of the Red
Elm, sown within a few days or weeks, as they retain their vitality
but a short time. (Red Elm seed will not grow until the follow-
ing spring). In raising seedlings of this class it is important to
have land that will retain its moisture during the summer months
or else that which can be conveniently irrigated, since these seeds
must often be sown during very hot, dry weather, and as they
cannot be covered deeply they are very liable to fail with any but
the best conditions. The thousands of seedlings of Cottonwood,
Elm and Soft Maple that spring up on the sand bars along our
rivers and lake shores show what are the best conditions for
these seeds to germinate.
Cottonwood Seedlings can be grown by scattering the
branches bearing unopened seed pods along rows in moist soil
and covering the seed lightly when it falls, but they are of so
uncertain growth that most of our nurserymen depend upon the
sand bars and lake shores for their supply. .
Blm, Soft Maple and Mulberry seeds generally grow
well on any good moist soil. They should be sown thickly in
drills eight inches wide and three feet apart, or in narrow drills.
Elm seeds should be covered with about one-half inch of soil,
Mulberry with about one-fourth inch and Soft Maple with about
one inch. If the weather is dry the soil over the seeds should
be well packed, and if the weather continues dry the rows should
be watered. Watering, however, is seldom necessary on reten-
tive soil if the soil has been properly packed. With proper con-
ditions seeds so planted will start quickly and grow rapidly; the
Elm will grow from six to eighteen inches and the Soft Maple
twelve to twenty-four inches high before the first autumn. Such
78 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
seedlings are large enough for permanent setting in forest planta-
tions or windbreaks. They may be allowed to grow in the seed
bed another year without injury, but should be transplanted
before the growth of the third season begins.
Seeds of Deciduous Trees that Ripen in Autumn may be
sown to advantage in the autumn; provided, (i) the soil is not
of such a nature as to become too solidly packed over them
before spring; (2) they are not liable to dry up or wash out;
or (3) they are not subject to injuries from rodents, insects or
other animals. In many locations some or all of these possible
injuries may make spring sowing most desirable with most kinds
of seeds. Our most successful nurserymen, however, prefer to
sow in autumn, and try to bring about the conditions that make
it successful.
In the Matter of Storing Seeds it is difficult to lay down
any exact rule to follow, and here, as in all other similar matters,
considerable must be left to good judgment. As a rule, how-
ever, it is perfectly safe to winter over all of the seeds of hardy
plants which ripen in autumn, by burying them in sand out of
doors.
Tree Seeds that Ripen in Autumn may be divided into
four classes, which require different methods of treatment to
grow them, viz., dry seeds, seeds with fleshy coverings, nut seeds
and leguminous tree seeds.
Dry Seeds, like those of the Ash, Birch, Hard Maple and
Boxelder, are very certain to grow when sown in the spring in
drills as soon as the soil can be easily worked, in the same way
as recommended for Soft Maple and Elm. If not sown until
spring they will have to be kept over winter, and when only a
small quantity is to be kept over this is best done by spreading
the seeds on the surface of the hard ground, covering with an
inverted box and digging a ditch around it to carry off the water,
or the seeds may be mixed with sand and kept in a dry, cool
place. Large quantities may be kept on dry ground under a
shed. These seeds will stand considerable drying, but if allowed
to become very dry, hot, or moist, their vitality may be injured
or destroyed.
Seeds with Fleshy Coverings, as those of the Cherry and
Plum, should be kept from getting dry before planting. The best
way to handle them is to separate them from the pulp, mix with
SEEDS OF CONIFEROUS TREES. T9
moist sand out of doors, and keep them moist until planted. It
is generally safe to sow such seeds in the autumn on good land,
but some growers prefer to sow them in the spring. This class
of seeds requires to be frozen before germinating. If allowed to
get dry before being frozen, they should be mixed with moist
sand for a few days until plump, or they may be soaked in water,
but care must be taken that they do not get water soaked. Some-
times the dry, hard shells of such seeds seem to be waterproof.
In this case, if the seeds are of special value, it is'a good plan to
file a hole through the shell, so as to let the seed become moist.
Most seeds of this class grow the first year if properly handled,
but some of them — for example, the Red Cedar and the Wild
Thorn — even with the best management, will remain dormant in
the ground for one year before growing.
Nut Seeds, as those of the Oak, Hickory and Walnut,
should be handled as recommended for seeds with fleshy cover-
ings, but are more sensitive about being severely dried. As they
do not transplant readily, it is very desirable to plant them where
they are to remain permanently. They should be covered about
two inches deep.
Seeds of I/eguminous Trees, as those of the Black Locust,
Honey Locust and Coffeetree, will stand severe drying for a
long time and still grow, provided they are treated with hot water
just before planting. In this case the hot water should be poured
over the seeds shortly before they are sown, and be allowed to
stand until cool, when it will be found that some of the seeds
have swollen up; these should be picked out, and the remainder
be treated again with hot water, and the process repeated until
all have swollen. Seedlings of this class generally transplant
readily, and are managed in the same way that is here recom-
mended for the Ashes and Maples.
Seeds of Coniferous Trees, such as Pine, Spruce, Tamarack
and Arborvitae, are dry and winged, but the Red Cedar has a
fleshy, berry-like covering surrounding its seed. The seeds
that grow in cones are most easily gathered before being shed
from the cones. The cones should be gathered before they open,
and then dried, after which those of most species will open, and
the seeds can be threshed out. Cones of a few trees, as those
of the Jack Pine, will not open without artificial heat. These
80 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
can be opened by gently heating them over a stove or in an
oven to a temperature of from 100 to 150 degrees Fahr. Seeds
of this class grow readily when sown, but must be very carefully
stored or they will lose their vitality. They should be kept simi-
larly to the seed of the Ash and Boxelder, but are more liable
to injury than these kinds from too much moisture or heat, and
for this reason some careful growers prefer to always keep them
mixed with dry sand in a cool shed.
The seeds of the Red Cedar hang on the tree all winter, and
must be picked by hand. They should be soaked in strong lye
for twenty-four hours, the fleshy covering removed by rubbing
them against a fine sieve, and then stratified in sand, where they
will be frozen during the winter. Even with this treatment they
will seldom grow until the second year.
Raising Coniferous Trees from Seed. The land selected
for sowing the seed should have a light, porous surface soil,
preferably underlaid with a moist subsoil that will not dry out
easily. It should be so located as to have good circulation of
air over it, that the plants may dry ort quickly after rains, and it
must be so shaded as to keep off about one-half of the sunlight.
This latter permits a play of light and shade over the bed all
day, and is about the condition under which we find nature rais-
ing such seedlings where trees partially shade the ground and
protect them from the constant rays of the sun. In practice we
aim to secure these conditions as follows: A piece of well
drained, rather sandy soil, in an airy place, is selected, and laid
out in beds four feet wide. In May the seeds are sown rather
thickly (about three good seeds to a square inch), either broad-
cast or in rows, and covered with about one-fourth inch of sandy
loam and then with about one-fourth inch of clear sand. Some
of the smaller seeds, like those of White Spruce, should not be
covered more than one-fourth inch. Before the seedlings break
the ground, a framework, six feet above the beds, is made, and
covered with laths, laid about one and one-half inches apart,
running north and south, or with sufficient brush to shut out
about one-half the sunlight. If the bed is very much exposed
to the winds it should have similar protection on all sides. In
such a place as this, or in woodlands where these conditions can
be fulfilled, evergreens can be raised with much certainty, while
if planted in the open ground most kinds are sure to fail.
RAISING CONIFEROUS 'TREES. si
The most common cause of failure with those who try to
raise evergreens is what is known as "damping off," which
occurs only while the plants are growing rapidly the first year.
In such a case the seeds start well, and the seedlings grow vig-
orously for a short time, or until we have a spell of damp
weather, and then die off with great rapidity. It seems that the
sunlight and the mud that has been spattered on the plants so
weaken* them that they are liable to disease. For this reason
we shade the bed, and cover with sand, which will not allow the
mud to be spattered over the seedlings, and in very moist warm
weather we occasionally apply dry sand to dry off the plants.
Figure 10. Evergreen seed bed shaded with a screen of old brush
blaced on a frame.
For most kinds of conifers the shade is required for at least two
years.
Coniferous tree seedlings grow very slowly when young, sel-
dom making a growth of more than two or three inches the first
year. The most rapid growing of our pines seldom produce a
growth of more than sixteen inches in four years, and should
not be moved to their permanent place until about this time.
They should, however, be transplanted from the seed bed to a
temporary place when two years old, to prevent crowding and
to facilitate root growth.
On the approach of winter the beds of coniferous seedlings
should be covered with about three inches of straw or leaves,
evergreen branches, or other material that will afford protec-
tion from the sun and from alternate freezing and thawing.
6
$2 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
This should be removed in the spring after all danger from dry-
ing cold winds has passed.
Depth to Cover Seeds. Most of our tree seeds should,
in good soil, be covered from one-half to three-quarters of an
inch; but this is rather too much for such small seeds as the
Birch, Alder and Cottonwood, while the Black Walnut, Native
Plum, Acorns and other large seeds and seeds of Boxelder,
Ash, Soft Maple and Basswood may often be covefed two
inches to advantage if the soil is somewhat dry. It is a good
rule not to cover any tree seeds deeper than is necessary to
secure permanent moisture, and on wet or heavy land only a
very thin covering is desirable. If the land is very heavy, it is a
good plan not only to cover lightly but to sow more thickly
than usual, as a large number of seeds may be able to push up
through the surface soil when a few would fail to do this.
The Amount of Seeds of Deciduous Trees to Sow
on a given area depends very much on the kind and quality of
the seeds and the soil in which they are to be sown. As a rule,
thick is better than thin sowing. The seeds of Boxelder, Ash
and Maple should be sown at the rate of about one good seed
to the square inch; Elm and Birch should be sown twice as
thick. Plums and cherries sown in drills should be allowed
about, one inch of row for each good seed. Black Walnut, But-
ternut, Hickory and similar seeds should preferably be planted
three or four in a place, and all but one seedling cut out when
nicely started. If sown in drills they should be placed from
three to six inches apart. Rather thick seeding does not seem
to be any hindrance to the making of a good growth by seed-
lings of most of our broad-leaved trees the first year, but if left
thick in the seed bed the second year they are often seriously
stunted. On this account such seedlings should be transplanted
or thinned out before the beginning of the second year. In
nursery planting it is a good plan to sow in freshly stirred land,
as the seeds are far more likely to get a good start in it than in
soil that has remained untilled long enough to become crusty
and lumpy. Then, if the seeds are planted immediately after
cultivation has been given, and while the soil is still -moist, they
have at least as good a chance as the weeds to start, while oth-
erwise the weeds are soon ahead of the seedlings.
It is important to keep the soil loose and mellow between
HEIGHT OF ONE-YEAR SEEDLINGS.
83
the Seedlings, and to keep the weeds very carefully removed
until at least the middle of July, after which they may sometimes
be left -to advantage to afford winter protection; but in the case
of very small seedlings this protection is best given by a light
mulch, put on in autumn and taken off in spring, and the weeds
should be kept out.
If the seeds of Red Cedar, the Thorn, Mountain Ash, and
other seeds that require a long time to start, are sown in the
spring, and do not germinate, it is a good plan to cover the bed
with about an inch or two of hay or leaves, keep out weeds,
and let this mulch remain until the following spring, when the
seeds will probably be in condition to grow, and the mulch
should then be removed.
TABI^B vSHOWING THE APPROXIMATE HEIGHTS OF ONE-YEAR
SEEDLINGS GROWN ON GOOD AVERAGE SOU, IN MINNESOTA.
BOTANICAL NAMES.
COMMON NAMES.
Height in
Inches.
White Pine
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
3
3
2
3
4
3
0
Western White Pine
Red Pine
Pinus divaricata
Pinus ponderosa scopulorum
Jack Pine
Rock. Pine
Scotch Pine
Austrian Pine
iMrix laricinct
European L,arch
White Spruce
Black Spruce
Engelmann Spruce
Norway Spruce
Hemlock
•
Balsam Fir
White Fir
A bies concolor
84
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
TABLE SHOWING THE APPROXIMATE HEIGHTS OF ONE-YEAR
OLD SEEDLINGS GROWN ON GOOD AVERAGE SOIL
IN MINNESOTA. (.Continued.)
BOTANICAL NAMES.
COMMON NAMES.
Height in
Inches.
Arborvitte
2
Red Cedar
3
Common Juniper
2
Black Walnut
1°
Butternut
12
Shellbark Hickory
g
Hicoria minima
Bitternut Hickory
4
Black Willow
10
Sdlix amvgdctloides
Peachleaf Willow
10
White Willow
10
Salix lucida
Shining Willow
Aspen
6
10
Populus grandidenta
I,argetooth Poplar
Balsam Poplar
12
10
16
Betula papyrifera
Canoe Birch
4-8
European White Birch
6-10
Yellow Birch . ...
4-8
Hop Hornbeam
4-6
Blue Beach
4-6
White Oak
4-8
Bur Oak
4-8
Red Oak
6-12
Scarlet Oak
6-12
White Elm
6-12
Cork Elm
6-10
Slippery Elm
10-20
8-10
Red Mulberry
6-10
HEIGHT OF ONE-YEAR SEEDLINGS.
85
TABLE SHOWING THE APPROXIMATE HEIGHTS OF ONE-YEAR
OLD SEEDLINGS GROWN ON GOOD AVERAGE SOIL
IN MINNESOTA. (.Continued.)
BOTANICAL NAMES.
COMMON NAMES.
Height in
Inches.
010
Wild Crab
4—8
Pyrus ctmtfricana . ....
American Mountain Ash
Pyrus sambucifolia
Elderleaf Mountain Ash
4 8
A melanchier ccinadensis
Juneberry .
g
Black Thorn
4—8
Wild Plum
15
Wild Red Cherry
12
Primus serotina
Prunus virginianct
Wild Black Cherry
Choke Cherry
12
I9
g_|9
8-12
I/)CUSt
24
Sugar Maple
12
Norway Maple . ...
12
Red Maple
10
Acer saccharinum
Soft Maple
24
Acer pennsylvanicum
Striped Maple
4
Acer tartaricuni
Tartarian Maple
4
12
sEsculus hippocastamim
Horse Chestnut
Ohio Buckeye
6
4-6
6-12
Tilia americana
Basswood
Russian Olive
6-12
12
White Ash
12
Fraxinus lanceolata
Green Ash
12
Fraxinus nigra
Black Ash..
Hardy Catalpa
8
24
Viburnum lentago
Black Haw
' 4-6
80 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
CUTTINGS.
Cuttings are pieces of the branches or roots which have the
power of growing and forming new plants when placed in moist
sand, soil or other material. For example, the pieces of the
twigs on branches of many kinds of willows and poplars, when
taken while the tree is dormant, will root when placed in moist
soil, but there are few other trees that grow as readily from cut-
tings as these. Cuttings of the roots of many kinds of trees,
as the White Poplar, Wild Plum, Yellow Locust, and many
others that sprout from the roots, will grow if treated about the
same way as branch cuttings.
In growing trees from cuttings the source of the cuttings is
not of so great importance as the source of the seed from which
the stock trees were grown, for the qualities of individual trees
are probably not permanently or greatly changed by climate.
For instance, trees grown from the cuttings of Russian Poplars
would be as "hardy in Minnesota if the cuttings came from St.
Louis, where they had been growing for years, as they would be
if imported direct from Siberia. However, owing to a longer
growing season at St. Louis, the wood might be. of a more open
texture, and perhaps might not resist cold as well as Minnesota-
grown wood; but after one season's growth in Minnesota it
would probably be as hardy. The same would hold true of
plants propagated by any method of division. With the excep-
tion of Willows and Poplars, very few of our ornamental trees
grow readily from cuttings. The best time to make cuttings is
in the fall, as soon as the leaves will strip easily from the twigs.
Most -of the willows and poplars will grow readily from cuttings
made in the spring, and even those made in summer will gener-
ally grow if planted in moist soil. For this purpose the smaller
branches with the leaves removed should be used. They may
also be rooted from growing twigs with the leaves left on, pro-
vided the cut surfaces are placed in water, as they would be if
stuck in the soil of a swamp or treated the same as cuttings of
geraniums. These latter ways, however, are not to be depended
upon for general propagation purposes.
The Form and Sifce of Cuttings is a matter upon which
there is great difference of opinion. Cuttings of the Willow
from one bud each and only an inch or two long up to those a
PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS.
87
foot or more in diameter and ten or twelve feet in length can
generally be made to grow, but probably the most convenient
size for general planting is one-half inch in diameter and twelve
inches in length. They are generally tied in bunches of 100 or
200 each for convenience in handling, and care should be taken
to keep all the butt ends one way to facilitate planting. Very
large cuttings are liable, to decay in the
center, and are not best to use, although
they often make a very rapid growth.
Poles of willows and poplars are some-
times laid in furrows where they will gen-
erally sprout wherever the bark is laid
bare and often make good trees.
In Planting Cuttings of ordinary
size it is a good plan to have the soil loose,
and then, after marking off the rows, the
cuttings can be pushed into the land the
proper depth. If not desirable to plow
all the land, it may be loosened just where
the rows are lo come. Where a subsoil
plow can be obtained, it can be made very
useful for this purpose.
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 n. A bunch
allow cuttings.
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 mav become loosened
by the settling of the soil 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 roots 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-
I
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
showing6 bundles116 ofSOcurttings pit the rooting process should
in place under glass. not fe 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.
I/ayers 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 practiced 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 sometimes 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 VIL
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 yoimg 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.
^v
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,
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 small
trees in furrows made with a plow.
Very I/arge Trees (those over six inches in diameter) are
sometimes successfully planted in winter, by taking them up
with a ball of earth. This is clone by digging a trench around
the tree, late in the autumn, deep enough to cut most of the
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 all jw 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 inches 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
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 stages of the operation:
ith roots covered; row bent down and the tops covered.
Row of trees
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:
I/arge 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 crookr 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 ;TRKKS. mi
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
land. 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. As a 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;
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.
Figure 18. Soft Maple Figure 19. Soft Maple Figure 20. Soft Maple
not pruned since it was once pruned showing several times pruned
close head that is not preserving a main cen-
liable to break down. A tral axis. A good form.
planted out. liable to
break in its crotches at
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
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
r-~ the trunk with gunny sacking or similar
Figure 21. Elm street material, but a more desirable protection is
:ree properly trimmed afforded by a slatted wooden frame or box
for planting out. for
CHAPTER VIII.
FOREST PROTECTION.
INJURIES TO TREES.
The causes of injury to tree growth are man}' 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-caterpillars. 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-
zle 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-
Figure 22. Elm tree that has been zle to the end of a lonS
planted five years and was pruned to bamboo pole. In most
a bare pole when set out. ^ groyes thjs jg
practicable, but with very high trees it is very difficult if not
entirely impracticable.
INJURIES TO TREES.
105
Borers and I/ice. 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 Iby successive
attacks of saw-fly larvse. A common source of injury to willows.
Mice and Rabbits. Seedlings and small trees of some
kinds 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.
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
Figure 24. HEAVING OUT BY FROST, (a) Tree in
natural position. (&) 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.
I/ate 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 Arborvitae 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 all 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 4of 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
of deep snow drifts may cause injury to
young trees by stripping off their
branches and breaking the stems. It
INJURIES TO TREES.
Ill
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
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 tlr'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 northeast 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-
limes 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, etc., 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. It is undoubt-
Figure 29. ~Agaricus melleus, a fungus that is occasionally very injurious
to trees by destroying their roots, (a ) A fruiting portion of the fungus
edly true that in this section of the country more pine timber has
been destroyed by fire than the lumbermen have ever cut.
On account of this great danger to pine timber, and on
account of high taxes, the lumbermen have been discouraged
from holding their pine lands for a second growth, but prefer to
cut every tree that can be made into salable lumber and then
abandon the land. But even under such conditions it occasion-
ally happens that the land is not burned over, or only slightly
burned, for a number of years, when it will generally produce a
8
114 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
good second cutting. Some land' in this state that was first cut
in the early days of the logging industry, when it was customary
to cut nothing but that which would make a ten-inch log, have
been logged two or three times since, and with a good profit.
Since fires render most of the cut-over lands in this state
entirely non-productive, and since the annual increase on the
trees that should grow on such land is at least 185 feet board
measure per acre, it is plain that the loss to the people of the
state on the 6,000,000 or more acres of cut-over lands is very
large.
Forest fires not only destroy a very great amount of prop-
erty each year, but they occasionally cause great loss of life. In
the Hinckley fire of 1894 (which was entirely the result of ignor-
ance and neglect) there is known to have been 424 lives lost,
besides a large amount of property, and occasionally in other
years settlers have had to flee for their lives, and leave their
houses and crops to be burned.
It is impossible for fires to run over any forest land without
doing great injury. The amount of damage done by them is
difficult to estimate, and varies much according to the time of
year, the age and condition of the trees, the soil and the severity
of the fire.
Forest fires are sometimes grouped into the three following
classes: (i) Underground Fires, that do not show much on
the surface, but which destroy the roots of trees and greatly
injure the soil. (2) Surface Fires, which burn the leaves and
grass in the woods, and do much damage by destroying the for-
est floor and killing the young seedlings. (3) Crown Fires,
which run in the crowns of the trees, and when once started arc
almost irresistible. The latter is one of the worst forms, and is
generally accompanied by surface, and often by underground,
fires.
The Killing of Mature Trees by any of these three kinds
of fires entails -but a slight loss comparatively to the timber,
providing it is accessible to market, as the trees can be cut the
following winter. But fires that kill the mature growth gener-
ally do great damage by killing the young growth and destroy-
ing the forest floor. Timber that is allowed to stand more than
one or two years after being killed by fire generally suffers much
FOREST FIRES. i!5
from insects and fungus diseases. This is most evident in the
case of White Pine, Birch, Foplar and similar soft woods, but
even hard woods are injured by insects if allowed to stand long
after being killed.
The Killing of Half-Grown Trees by forest fires causes
a loss that amounts not only to the value of the timber .trees but
to the value of the seeding and shading trees and the forest
floor. The value of the trees alone in this case is not a fair
standard by which to measure the loss, since at this stage of
their growth they are making their most rapid increase/ and
their value should be computed as the amount upon which the
increase is paying a good interest. For instance, the Division
of Forestry of the Minnesota Experiment Station found land
that was well stocked with young White Pine (six inches in
diameter and fifty feet high) that could be bought for about one
dollar per acre, and yet the annual increase on the trees would
pay five per cent on a valuation of $100,000 for the next twenty
years. The reason why such a state of affairs exists is that there
is such great danger from fire that the investment fails to com-
mand the money of careful investors.
The Destruction of the Forest Floor by fire greatly les-
sens the probability of an immediate renewal of valuable tree
growth upon the land, and therefore is one of the greatest
injuries to forests. The value of the forest floor can hardly be
estimated, but the expense that would be necessary after a fire
to produce conditions as favorable to the seeding of our timber
lands as those found in unburned forests would probably be not
less than twenty-five dollars per acre.
I/ight Fires, which repeatedly run over the ground, and
which by the casual observer are thought to be of no impor-
tance, often destroy the seeds in the surface soil and the young
tree seedlings, besides injuring the forest flo'or, and unless such
fires are prevented it is impossible to secure a good growth of
timber on any land. The fires that burn over the land shortly
after it has been logged, and which feed on the tops and other
waste parts of the trees, generally destroy a large number of
young seedling trees, perhaps all of them, so that in order to
secure a new growth seeds must be brought from a distance.
Owing to the great heat developed by such fires in dry weather,
116
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
they are unusually destructive, and leave very little humus in the
top soil. For this reason land that has been burned over in this
way is a long time in recovering from its injuries. Besides the
injuries already cited, all forest fires kill or drive out much of
the game in our forests.
Spring Fires are very injurious to trees, and especially ten-
der seedlings, for trees in the spring of the year are full of sap,
and can endure but little heat.
Summer and Autumn Fires generally run deep into the
grotfnd, and if the soil is very dry and of a peaty nature burn off
Figure 30. A Fire Fall. Roots burned off and trees blown down in
great confusion.
the roots of the trees. The result of this is that the trees are
blown down in great confusion, and form what are known as
"fire falls." Where a thick growth falls it forms an almost
impassable barrier, which remains in this state until decay and
repeated fires, extending over a long series of years, finally
destroy the trees, and perhaps get the land into condition for a
new growth.
FOREST FIRES. 117
Causes of Forest Fires. The only natural causes of forest
fires are friction and lightning, both of which occasionally start
fires in dead trees, but as such fires are most likely to be set
during a rain they seldom do much damage. Practically all the
injurious forest fires that have devastated the forested part of
this section have resulted indirectly either from a lack of appre-
ciation of the damage done by them or from carelessness and
ignorance. In the disastrous Hinckley fire of 1894 the damage
was done by a large fire formed by the combination of several
small fires that were allowed to smoulder in the swamps near
Hinckley for a week or more, which when fanned by a dry hot
wind attained an irresistible energy. If we had had a fire law
that could have been properly enforced at that time, or if the
people near Hinckley had been aware of their danger, that great
fire, »with its attendant great loss of life and property, need not
have occurred.
Fires Often Escape from Settlers when they are clearing
land, and are sometimes started by them to make pasture for
their stock. The carele'ss use of fire by the hunters, prospectors
and others who camp in the forest and leave their camp fires
unextinguished is another common cause of fires. Railroads set
many fires, and should be required to more rigidly conform to
the law requiring them to use spark arresters and to keep their
right of way free from combustible material.
The moral effect of a properly enforced forest fire law is not
only very great in restraining the careless, but especially in edu-
cating law-abiding citizens in the idea that there is value in
young seedlings and timber trees.
The Prevention of Forest Fires will be most certainly
accomplished by educating our people to an appreciation of the
amount of damage done by them. In some counties in this state
it is impossible to enforce the law against setting forest fires,
owing to the belief that fires are a good thing for their sections
in destroying tree growth and bringing the land into condition
to be easily taken up by settlers. There is some truth in this
claim, but, since the fires destroy all increase on the land they
sweep over, a large amount of it is thereby rendered entirely
unproductive long before settlers are ready for it, while in the
meantime it might be producing a crop of valuable timber.
118 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
Then again, it is the greatest injustice to allow one person to
burn the property of another, which right is practically claimed
by those who advocate the unrestricted use of fire.
With a Desire in the Minds of People to keep out
forest fires, there are many precautions that could be taken that
would lessen the chances of their starting, and when started
would aid in controlling them. The first thing is a good fire
law, such as now stands in Minnesota, which recognizes the fact
that the state and county should protect forest property from
fire for the same reason that a town or city protects the property
of its citizens from fire. This law puts one-third the expense
of enforcing it on the state and the other two-thirds on the
county. The chief reasons why a part of this burden should be
borne by the state and not by the counties alone are that fires
spread from one county to another, and the state must be organ-
ized to extinguish such fires when they have once started, since
it is the only competent authority that can do this. Then again,
the State of Minnesota owns, or will own, when surveys have
been completed, about 3,000,000 acres of land scattered through
the forested area, besides possibly nearly as great an area that
has been bid in by the state for delinquent taxes. A large part
of the land the state owns has a valuable growth of trees on it.
much of which is liable to injury or destruction by fire at any
time, and the state can well afford to provide protection for it.
Firebreaks, in the shape of clean earth roads, plowed strips,
etc., are effective against ordinary forest fires. Very often by
clearing up and widening the course of a brook a very efficient
firebreak may be made which will supplement other firebreaks.
It is stated on good authority that fairly satisfactory and very
cheap firebreaks may be made in rough stump land by fencing
off a strip about three rods wide and pasturing it with sheep
which will kill out all the brush in the course of a year or two.
The sheep do this most effectually if the land is rather over
stocked, and they receive a little grain to make up for their lack
of pasturage. Figure 31 shows a firebreak or lane on Le
Grande Dune in France.
The Burning of Trash left on the ground at the time of
logging is recommended by some of our best woodmen as a
means of doing away with one of the sources of our worst forest
fires. This trash can be burned early in the spring, or at other
FOREST FIRES.
119
Figure 31. Firebreak on a great sand dune in France, whi
successfully covered with Pine,
120 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
times when the ground is wet and fire is not likely to get beyond
control. On the other hand, it is well known that there are
many seedlings on such land that would be seriously injured or
destroyed by such treatment. It is also known that under the
trash left after logging are generally found about the best condi-
tions for pine seeds to start and for the seedlings to grow, so
that some of our best authorities condemn the practice. It
would seem, however, that on account of the great liability of
fires starting in such trash, prudence would generally advocate
the burning of it while it could be controlled, but this should be
done so as to cause as little injury as possible to new growth,
and especial care should be taken to save seeding trees. The
cost of such work has been urged against it, but this has often
been overestimated, and it seems evident that it is entirely prac-
ticable.
The Methods of Fighting Surface Fires are various, and
their use depends on the conditions under which the work must
be done. Where possible the plowing o'f a firebreak a rod or
more wide is most satisfactory, but this is seldom practicable
within our wooded areas. Back Firing is generally the most
successful method of making a firebreak. When this is to be
practiced, a convenient place to fight fire should be chosen, at
some distance ahead of the main fire, where the back fire should
be started, after every precaution has been taken to prevent its
getting beyond control. Where a supply of water can be
obtained, surface fires can be most easily put out by applying it
through a common sprinkling pot, with a good rose sprinkler
on it. This is especially effective where fire is running through
grass, and those who have never tried it will generally be sur-
prised at the effectiveness of this method. Where the fire is
burning several inches of leaves a small strip should be cleaned
of them before applying the water. Gunny sacks or similar
material, wet in water, make very effective weapons with which
to fight fire. Where the soil is sandy, sand is often the best
material obtainable for putting out fires.
Underground Fires, such as occur in bogs and other soils
containing a large amount of organic matter, when once started,
are often very hard to subdue, owing to their great depth, and,
where not looked after, sometimes burn for a year or more
unless we have very heavy rains. They often cause great injury
NOTABLE FOREST FIRES. 121
by burning out all organic matter from the soil and leaving it
in poor shape for crops, though a rather severe but not excessive
firing of bogs may do much to clear the land of roots and put
it in shape for a good hay meadow. Then, too, they often so
reduce the level of the land by burning out the organic matter
as to make it wet and of no value for agricultural crops. If
such fires are attacked soon after they secure a foothold in the
soil they are seldom very difficult to put out. Where not deep
in the ground or of very great extent the burning peat may be
,dug out and watered, but this is often impracticable on account
of the heat. In this latter case a ditch should be dug around the
fire as close to it as practicable and of sufficient depth to reach
standing water or the subsoil. The fire should then be carefully
watched to see that it does not get beyond the ditch. It is sel-
dom that sufficient water can be put on a large bog fire to put
it out, on account of the great amount of water that dry peat
will absorb and the protective covering of ashes and peat usually
found over a bog fire.
NOTABLE FOREST FIRES.
Among the worst forest fires which have occurred on this
continent are the following:
Miramichi Fire of 1825. This occurred near Newcastle,
on the Miramichi river, in New Brunswick. In nine hours it
had destroyed a belt of forest eighty miles long and twenty-five
.miles wide, and almost every living thing was killed on that
amount of territory; even the fish were destroyed in the smaller
lakes and streams. It is estimated that the loss from this fire,
not including the value of the timber burned, was $300,000. One
hundred and sixty persons lost their lives, and nearly 1,000 head
of stock were killed.
The Peshtigo Fire occurred in October, 1871. This burned
an area of over 2,000 square miles in Wisconsin. Between 1,100
and 1,500 persons lost their lives, and property to the amount of
many millions of dollars was destroyed.
Very serious fires have occurred in Michigan from time to
time, in one of which, in about 1871, a strip of territory forty
miles wide and 180 miles long, extending across the central part
of the state from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron, was devastated.
122 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
More than ten million dollars worth of timber was burned, and
several hundred persons perished.
The Hinckley Fire occurred Sept. i. 1894, and was the
most destructive fire of recent years. Hinckley, Minnesota, and
several other towns were destroyed, about 500 lives were lost,
and more than 2,000 persons were left destitute. It is esti-
mated that the loss in property amounted to about $25,000,000.
The loss of life from this fire would have been much more than
stated had it not been for the fact that the railroad companies
ran special trains to carry the settlers away from the flames.
This fire was wholly unnecessary, and could easily have been
put out in its earlier stages. For two weeks previous to the
breaking out of this fire into an uncontrollable mass of flame
small fires had been raging in swamps about Hinckley, and filled
the town with dense smoke, and it was only whe'n these became
united under the direction of a hot south wind that it passed
beyond control. Had the present forest fire law of Minnesota
been in force at that time this fire would undoubtedly have been
prevented.
Forest and Pasture. When forests are used as pasture,
the cattle will eat the foliage of many species, provided it is
within their reach. They also trample on the young seedlings,
and destroy them in this way. As a result, all good foresters are
opposed to the pasturing of cattle in woodlands. Especially is
this the case where the trees are of the broad-leaved species,
which are preferred by cattle. However, in the case of well
established forests, in which there is no special desire for a
renewal of growth from seed, no great injury can come from
moderate pasturing. Cattle are rigidly excluded from most
European forests, but in some of the more remote districts,
where timber is still quite cheap, it is customary to pasture for-
ests. Of course, where the range is large and not fully stocked,
the injury is much less than where the range is crowded. This
combination of forest and. pasture has led to the use of several
methods of protecting young seedlings against cattle, among the
first of which might be mentioned the planting of seedling
conifers between the buttresses of old stumps, where it would be
very unlikely that the cattle would step on them. It is also
practiced to protect the seedlings by driving two strong stakes
FOREST AND PASTURE.
123
in the ground near them, and occasionally over a considerable
acreage the cattle and deer may be fenced out until the trees are
so large that they will not injure them. Under some conditions
the eating off of the leaves from the sides of the trunk of sap-
lings would prove a desirable pruning. It is very certain that
while forests and pastures cannot often be very well combined
together, yet it is possible to combine them under some condi-
tions. It is quite common to see the new growth of spruce
and fir in European forests protected from the browsing of deer
by covering the tips of the young shoots with a little coal tar
Figure 32. Sand dune near Seven Mile Beach, New Jersey.
or common cotton batting. The cotton batting seems to be
yery disagreeable to the deer, and to afford about as good pro-
tection as the coal tar. It is, however, rather more difficult to
put on.
Sand Dunes. In a few places in this state, and in various
parts of this country, notably along portions of the seashore and
along the shores of the Great Lakes, there are quite considera-
ble sand dunes. By this is meant the drifting sands which are
easily blown about after the vegetation which has held them in
124 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
place has been broken. Along the shore of New Jersey, at
Seven Mile Beach, there is a dune which is traveling inward at
the rate of perhaps fifteen feet per year, and is destroying quite
a growth of forest trees. This dune is thirty or forty feet high,
— as high as the trees, — and as the prevailing strong winds are
from the east, its tendency is always inland. There are other
notable sand dunes at Provincetown, on Cape Cod, Mass., which
have been fixed in place by judicious planting.
In some parts of Europe, notably in Gascony, France, dunes
have destroyed an immense amount of territory in former ages.
Whole villages have at times been gradually wiped out by the
encroaching dunes. The sand is so fine and so easily moved
by the wind that there is very little chance for any vegetation to
grow on it, and it is only in recent times that methods have
been successfully adopted to hold it in place.
The Most Improved Way of Checking Sand Dunes
is to first make a windbreak of boards or poles which may be
pulled up as the sand drifts up onto them. These are used tem-
porarily to afford an opportunity of getting vegetable growth
started. As a rule the vegetable growth which has been most
successfully used for fixing sand dunes is that of plants that
grow naturally in such places. Such species are generally those
that throw out long creeping stems at or just below the surface
of the ground, and also such as are capable of healthy growth
even when half buried by encroaching sand. We have a number
of native species that are adapted to this purpose, among which
are the Sand Reed, the Sand Cherry, several varieties of Wil-
lows, and Quack Grass. Where these once gain a foothold upon
a sand dune they hold it better than would be possible by arti-
ficial means. In protecting such land it is generally best to dig
up clumps of these grasses, or use long willow cuttings, and set
them in place in a wet time.
In some sections along the Great Lakes the sand is now held
in place by the natural covering of weeds and shrubs, but should
this be removed and the land broken up there would be much
trouble in getting it again fixed in place. Such is the case along
the southern shore of Lake Michigan.
CHAPTER IX,
RATE OF INCREASE IN TIMBER.
The Rate of Increase on Timber Trees varies accord-
ing to the kind and age of the trees and the conditions under
which they are growing. Most of the pine trees cut for log tim-
ber in this state have been upwards of 100 years old, and some of
the White and Norway Pine that has been cut was over 300
years old. Perhaps the largest White Pine ever cut in this state
was scaled by H. B. Ayres. The tree was 253 years old, meas-
ured forty-eight inches in diameter on the stump, and yielded
4,050 feet board measure of log timber. The most rapidly grown
trees recorded in this state were: Norway Pine 100 years old,
thirty inches on the stump, yielding 1,050 feet board measure;
White Pine, 106 years old, twenty-seven inches on the stump,
yielding 1,050 feet board measure, and White Pine 108 years old,
thirty-two inches on the stump, yielding 1,450 board measure.
The largest recorded acre yield of White Pine in Minnesota was
near Carlton. The full yield of this acre was 111,050 feet board
measure, and after deducting for rot and crooks 94,264 feet of
sound timber remained. The average yield of White Pine is
much below this, and large areas have been cut that did not yield
over 5,000 feet board measure per acre.
Marketable White and Norway Pine may be grown in
about thirty years under the best conditions in this section, and
at this age will probably be about eight inches in diameter and
forty feet high. But such trees are then growing very fast, and
as the approximate increase in volume of the tree is as the square
of the proportionate increase in diameter and the waste in work-
ing greatly decreases with the size of the trees, the cutting of
them at such an early age would be at a loss of future profits.
Such trees have very little, if any, heart wood, and yet this kind
of timber is being grown and marketed in many of the Eastern /
States. In fact, there is very little heart to any of the pine now
cut in the New England States, as it is practically all young
126 ELEMENTARY EORESTRY.
second growth, and is generally marketed about as soon as it
attains sufficient size to be salable, without regard to the fact that
it is then making its most rapid growth.
From careful observation, the Experiment Station of the
University of Minnesota estimates that on land adapted to the
White Pine, with a thick growth of this kind of trees eight inches
in diameter, the annual increase should be about fifty cubic feet,
or 500 feet board measure, per acre. In some cases this rate of
increase has been more than doubled, but under ordinary good
conditions not over one-third as much increase need be ex-
pected.
The Thickness of the Annual Rings on trees varies with
the conditions under which the trees make their growth, and is
therefore a good index to these conditions. Trees that are
crowded so that they make a very rapid upward growth form
very thin rings, and when this upward growth ceases owing to
the removal or suppression of surrounding trees much thicker
rings are formed. Trees that are grown in the open produce
throughout their lives thick annual rings, which vary in thick-
ness according to varying climatic conditions. Those of the
White Pine vary in thickness from one-sixteenth of an inch or
less in trees that are severely crowded to one-third of an inch
in open-grown trees in good soil. Willows sometimes have
annual rings three-fourths of an inch wide.
The I/ife History of a Mature Tree in virgin forest
may often be determined by a study of the annual rings, in con-
nection with the environment of the tree. The Division of For-
estry of the Minnesota Experiment Station has made several
studies of this kind, among which are the following:
Figure 33 shows a section of a White Pine which made its
growth under varying conditions. This tree started into growth
under Birch and Aspen, and when from twenty to twenty-five
years old was nearly suppressed by them. Overcoming them
when thirty years old it pushed upward rapidly, until about its
fiftieth year. It was then set free by fire, which checked its
upward growth for about twenty-five years, when, owing to the
crowding of surrounding trees, it began to again increase rap-
idly in height. When eighty-four years old fire killed the sur-
rounding trees and set this one entirely free, in which condition
LIFE HISTORY OF A TREE.
127
it remained until it was cut eighteen years later. When cut it
measured fifty-five feet high, thirteen inches through at the base
and contained 29.95 cubic feet of timber. During the last ten
years it had made an average annual increase of 1.5 cubic feet.
This study brought out the following facts: (i) While
rapid upward growth is being made the lateral accretions are
slight. (2) Large accretions accompany full leafage. (3)
Figure 33. White Pine crowded and then open grown.
After the surrounding growth is killed, the tree begins to
strengthen the portion which receives the greatest strain by wind,
that is, the lower part of the trunk. (4) In approaching the
top of the tree the accretions are found to diminish as each live
branch is passed.
Figure 34 shows a section of a White Pine that was entirely
open grown. This tree was cut when fifty-six years old, and
measured eighteen inches in diameter on the stump, eight- inches
at twenty-five feet above the stump and forty-eight feet in height.
The volume of the stem when cut was 28.85 cubic feet; the
128 ELEMENTARY EORESTRY.
accretion during the last ten years was 12.52 feet, which is
equivalent to mean annual increment of 1.25 feet.
As the live branches of this tree occupied the whole trunk,
the timber was very knotty. A proper crowding would have
kept it from forming large branches on the lower trunk, stimu-
lated its upward growth, and prevented so large an increment
during the early life of the tree. But if, as with the former tree,
Figure 34. Cross section of White Pine open grown.
it had been first crowded and then set free, the best timber in the
least time would have been secured.
The Profit from an Investment in I/and that is stocked
with only very small coniferous seedlings is altogether too small
and too remote to prove an attraction to investors at present,
even were the danger from fire entirely eliminated. But there
is considerable land that is now stocked with a good growth of
young pine of fair size that could be bought and managed at a
good profit if the danger from fire could be greatly reduced.
This land in many cases would not have to be held more than
ten or fifteen years to secure a good profit on the investment,
PROFITS IN FORESTRY.
129
after which the profit might be made nearly continuous. The
rapid growing deciduous trees, such as the Poplar, Willow.
White and Yellow Birch, Soft Maple, Ash, Red and White Elm,
Hackberry, Basswood, Locust, Black Walnut and Tamarack,
may sometimes be planted and grown at a profit on waste land
Figure 35. Crowded and open grown Norway Pine. Crowded trees
form the most good timber in the shortest time. Open grown trees have
many side branches, and consequently form poor timber.
that is adapted to them, and should there be a stock of young
trees of these kinds already on the land it can perhaps be soon
made to yield a revenue in the shape of posts and fuel, and later
of timber. Even the slower growing deciduous trees, such as
the Red, White and Bur Oak, Hard Maple and Rock Elm,
9
130 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
increase very rapidly in good soil, and could often be made to
yield a good profit if properly managed. However, most of the
hard-wood lands of this section are of such good quality that
they seem destined to be generally cleared for agriculture instead
of being kept for timber.
Willow for Fuel. From a number of careful estimates it
seems quite probable that good soil planted in White Willow
will produce at the rate of from four to six cords of firewood per
acre per year. If, then, ten acres were taken for this purpose.
and one acre cut over clean each year, such amount of land
would yield about fifty cords of fuel per annum, worth probably
from two dollars to three dollars per cord in our prairie sections.
In starting such a woodlot it would be desirable to set the
cuttings two feet apart in rows eight feet apart, since at this
distance, if cultivated, they will soon cover the land, and until
the land is fully shaded cultivation seems to be necessary in
order to keep down the weeds and to protect from drouth.
After the land is well shaded no further cultivation will be
necessary.
At the end of five or six years some thinning should be done
on all the land, and in this thinning probably at least half the
trees should be removed. The remainder will soon fill up the
vacancies, and in the course of three or four years more it should
be again thinned out, and this should be repeated as often as
they crowd one another until the trees on the land remain about
twelve feet apart each way, after which the land should be treated
as coppice, and since this tree renews itself very quickly and
vigorously from sprouts, and continues to do so for a long
period of years, it is probable that such a plantation will last
indefinitely.
Willow wood makes good summer fuel, and as a fence post,
when the bark is removed and the wood well cured, it is quite
satisfactory, and will last in the soil about seven years. It is
also good for poles when peeled and dried.
The Common Cottonwood on very rich soil will probably
yield from five to seven cords of firewood per acre per year.
DIAMETER GROWTH. 131
DIAMETER GROWTH OF SOME MINNESOTA TREES.
Cottonwood . . .
Norway Spruce
Silver Maple . .
White Willow .
Basswood
Sugar Maple . .
White Elm ....
Bur Oak .
inch in 1.4 years
inch in 2.5 years
inch in 2.7 years
inch in 2.8 years
inch in 4.5 years
inch in 6.6 years
inch in 6.8 years
inch in 8.5 years
The height growth of Silver Maple and White Willow is
about two feet per year, Norway Spruce one foot per year. Bur
Oak averaging thirty feet in height makes an average growth of
about .55 feet per year, while the rate of height growth of the
first twenty feet of marketable cordwood is about one foot in 1.5
years. The height growth of Cottonwood varies from two to
eight feet per year. A fifteen-year-old Cottonwood will often
grow in height three feet per year. Black Spruce has shown a
diameter growth of one inch in 14.7 years, and a height growth
of one foot in 2.3 years.
CHAPTER X.
FOREST MENSURATION.
MEASUREMENT OF SINGLE TREES.
Trees which are to be Cut May be Considered in Two
Classes, in the first of which fall all those which contain tim-
ber material, and in the second those which are too small to be
of value for timber. The material of the first class is in the
main part available for timber, and in part for firewood, while
the stump, smaller limbs and leaves are waste; the material of
the second class may be used in part for firewood, fence posts,
etc. For timber purposes the cubic contents of the wood only
is considered, while for firewood the bark is included in the cal-
culation, so that we may measure part of the tree without bark
and part with bark on. For timber usually only the main por-
tion of the trunk is considered, especially in coniferous woods,
but for firewood all limbs that will make a stick of cordwood
must be included. In this discussion we will consider only the
trunks of trees, as the volume of the limbs must be determined
separately, but in the same way.
The Volume of a Standing Tree can be gotten at only
roughly, as there is no geometric figure which exactly represents
the shape of the trunk, the latter varying much under different
conditions of growth. The volume of a paraboloid, the
geometric figure which approaches nearest to the form of a
tree, is equal to the product of the basal cross-sectional area by
one-half the height. The basal area of a tree is taken at breast
height, to avoid the excessive swelling near the ground. Breast
height is usually considered as four feet three inches above the
ground, at which point the diameter is measured by a pair of
calipers in inches, and the area in square feet of the correspond-
ing circle is found in a prepared table of such areas. The height
of the tree may be determined by triangulation, in which various
instruments are used, as the transit, the altimeter, or a mirror
VOLUME OF STANDING TREE.
133
hypsometer. A simple geometrical method is illustrated in the
figure. A measuring rod is set up at a convenient distance from
the tree AB, the eye of the observer is at S, and the lines of
sight to the top and bottom of the tree intersect the rod at a
and b. Then, by measuring the distances from the observer to
the rod and to the tree the height is given by the formula
SD
Now, considering the tree as a paraboloid, its basal area
times one-half the height will give approximately the volume.
Figure 36. Measuring the height of a tree by a simple geometrical
method.
For example: A white pine has a diameter at breast height of
18.7 inches, and the height of the tree is eighty-four feet; what
is the volume? By reference to the table of areas of circles the
area corresponding to a diameter of 18.7 inches is found to be
1.0072 square feet. Multiplying this by one-half the height, the
approximate volume of the tree is found — 1. 9072X42=80- IO24
cubic feet.
The Volume of a Standing Tree may be Obtained
by Bmploying a Form Factor which h#s been previously
determined for that particular species by the felling and accu-
rate measurement of a great many sample trees of approxi-
134 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
mately the same dimensions and grown under the same condi-
tions. The form factor is expressed as a decimal, and is the ratio
of the mean volume of the sample trees to the volume of a cylin-
der with the same diameter as the diameter of the mean sample
tree at breast height, and whose length is equal to the height of
the tree. For example: A tamarack measures 6.9 inches in diam-
eter, breast high, and the height of the tree is fifty-one teet. Its
volume by accurate measurement of the felled tree is 7.21 cubic
feet, and the volume of a cylinder with a diameter of 6.9 inches
and a length of fifty-one feet is 13.24 cubic feet. The form
factor, or factor of shape, is therefore 7.21^13.24=:. 54, and if
this tamarack represents the mean of a large number of trees
of approximately the same dimensions, the factor may be applied
to all of them, or to all trees of the same size and grown under
the same conditions. In the same way factors are determined
Figure 37. Determining the volume of a felled tree.
for all sizes, and tabulated for future use. In application the
volume of a tree 6.9 inches in diameter, breast high, and fifty-
one feet high would be found thus: Volume of cylinder X form
factor equals volume of tree, or T3.24X-54=7-2i. This method
gives a much closer approximation than could be obtained by
using a geometric figure supposed to represent the shape of the
tree.
The Volume of a Felled Tree may be determined more
accurately. It is considered in sections, or log lengths, and the
volume of each section is found by multiplying the middle cross-
sectional area by the length. The degree of accuracy of this
method depends on the length of the sections; the shorter they
are the more accurate the result. The last section at the top,
when small, may be treated as a cone whose volume is equal to
the basal area times one-third its length; or when large and
tapering off suddenly it may be considered as a paraboloid whose
volume is equal to the basal area times one-half its length. The
VOLUME OF A FELLED TREE. 135
sum of the volumes of all the sections will be the volume of the
tree trunk.
For example: A tree is felled at two feet above ground, and
calipered at the stump and every four feet along the trunk down
to three inches in diameter, and also at two feet above the last
measurement. The remaining distance to the top of the tree is
twelve feet. (See Figure 37.)
By reference to the table of areas of circles on page 136 the
areas at each point calipered are found:
Area at diameter of 9 inches 4418
Area at diameter of 8 inches 3491
Area at diameter of 7 inches 2673
Area at diameter of 6 inches 1963
Area at diameter of 5 inches 1364
Area at diameter of 4 inches 0873
Area at diameter of 3 inches 0491
Sum of areas 1.5273
It will be noticed that these areas are taken at the middle of
a four-foot section, so multiplying the sum by four, the volume
of the trunk, from the ground to a height of 28 feet, is found
to be 6.1092 cubic, feet. Treating the top length of twelve feet
as a cone, its volume is one-third times the basal area into the
height, — .0341 Xi2-f-3=. 1364 cubic feet, — which added to the vol-
ume of the lower portion gives total volume of the tree 6.2456
cubic feet.
136
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
AREAS OF CIRCLES.
Diameter II
Inches.
Area
Square Ft.
Diameter
Inches.
£
|
rt co
D 3
$$
Diameter
Inches.
£
g
rt ca
It
Diameter
Inches.
£
£
0) «
0, 3
<$
Diameter
Inches.
Area
Square Ft.
Diameter
Inches.
£
g
S§
*- Q.
<lcn
0.0
0.0000
5.7
0.1772
11.4
0.7089
17.1
1.5949
22.8
2.8352
28.5
4.4301
0.1
0.0001
5.8
0.1835
11.5
0.7214
17.2
1.6136
22.9
2.8602
28.6
4.4612
0.2
0.0002
5.9
0.1899
11.6
0.7340
17.3
1.6324
23.0
2.8852
28.7
4.4925
0.3
0.0005
6.0
0.1963
11.7
0.7467
17.4
.6513
23.1
2.91U3
28.8
4.5238
0.4
0.0009
6.1
0.2029
11.8
0.7595
17.5
.6703
23.2
2.9356
28.9
4.5553
0.5
0.0014
6.2
0.2096
11.9
0.7724
17.6
.6894
23.3
2.9610
29.0
4.5869
o.e
0.0020
6.3
0.2164
12.0
0.7854
17.7
.7087
23.4
2.9864
29.1
4.6186
0.7
0.0027
6.4
0.2234
12.1
0.7986
17.8
.7280
23.5
3.0120
29.2
4.6504
0.8
0.0085
6.5
0.2304
12.2
0.8118
17.9
.7475
23. K
3.0377
29.3
4.6823
0.9
0.0044
6.6
0.2376
12.3
0.8252
18.0
,7671
23.7
3.0635
29.4
4.7143
.0
0.0055
6.7
0.2448
18.4
0.8387
18.1
.78fi8
23.8
3.0894
29.5
4.7464
.1
0.0067
6.8
0.2522
12.5
0.8523
18.2
.8066
23.9
3.1154
29.6
4.7787
.2
0.0079
6.9
0.2597
12.6
0.8660
18.3
.8265
24.0
3.1416
29.7
4.8110
.3
0.0092
7.0
0.2673
12.7
0.8798
18.4
.8465
24.1
3.1679
29.8
4.8435
.4
0.0107
7.1
0.2750
12.8
0.8937
18.5
.8666
24.2
3.1942
29.9
4.8760
.5
0.0123
7.2
0.2828
12.9
0.9077
18.6
.8869
24.3
3.2207
30.0
4.9U87
1.6
0.0140
7.3
0.2907
13.0
0.9218
18.7
.9072
24.4
3.2471
30.1
4.9415
1.7
0.0158
7.4
0.2987
13.1
0.9360
18.8
.9277
24.5
3.2748
30.2
4.9744
1.8
0.0177
7.5
0.3068
13.2
0.9504
18.9
.9482
24.6
3.3006
30.3
5.0074
1.9
0.0197
7.6
0.3151
13.3
0.9684
19.0
.9689
24.7
3.3275
30.4
5.0405
2.0
0.0218
7.7
0.3234
13.4
0.9794
19.1
.9897
24.8
3.3545
30.5
5.0737
2.1
0.0240
7.8
o.ms
13.5
0.9941
19.2
2.0206
24.9
3.3816
30.6
5.1071
2.2
0.0264
7.9
0.3404
13.6
1.0089
19.3
2.0316
25.0
3.4088
30.7
5.1405
2.3
0.0289
8.0
0.3491
13.7
.0287
19.4
2.0527
25.1
3.4361
30.8
5.1740
2.4
0.0314
8.1
0.3579
13.8
.0387
19.5
2.0739
25.2
3.4636
30.9
5.2077
2.5
0.0341
8.2
0.3668
13.9
.0538
19.6
2.0952
25.3
3 4911
31
5.2414
2.6
0.0369
8.3
0.3758
14.0
.0690
19.7
2.1167
25.4
3.5188
32
5.5851
2.7
0.0398
8.4
0.3849
14.1
.0843
19.8
2.1382
25.5
3.5465
33
5.9396
2.8
0-0428
8.5
0.3941
14.2
.0997
19.9
2.1599
25.6
3.5744
34
6.3050
2.9
0.0459
8.6
0.4034
14.3
.1153
20.0
2.1817
25.7
3.6024
35
6.6813
3.0
0.0491
8.7
0.4129
14.4
.1309
20.1
2.2036
25.8
3.6305
36
7.0686
3.1
0.0524
8.8
0.4224
14.5
.1467
20.2
2.2256
25.9
3.6587
37
7.4667
3.2
0.0559
8 9
0.4321
14.6
.1626
20.3
2.2477
26.0
3.6870
38
7.8758
3.3
0.0594
9.0
0.4418
14.7
.1785
20.4
2.2699
26.1
3.7154
39
8.2958
3.4
0.0631
9.1
0.4517
14.8
.1946
20.5
2.2922
26.2
3.7439
40
8.7266
3.5
0.0669
9.2
0.4617
14.9
.2108
20.6
2.3146
26.3
3.7725
41
9.1684
3.6
0.0707
9.3
0.4718
15.0
.2272
20.7
2.3371
26.4
3.8013
42
9.6211
3.7
0.0747
9.4
0.4820
-15.1
.2437
20.8
2.3597
26.5
3.8301
43
10.0847
3.8
0-0788
9.5
0.4923
15.2
.2602
20.9
2.3825
26.6
3.8591
44
10.5592
3.9
0.0830
9.6
0.5027
15.3
.2768
21.0
2.4053
26.7
3.8H82
45
11.0447
4.0
0.0873
9.7
0.5132
15.4
.2936
21.1
2.4283
26.8
3.9174
46
11.5410
4.1
0.0917
9.8
0.5238
15.5
.3104
21.2
2.4514
26.9
3.9467
47
12.0482
4.2
0.0963
9.9
0.5345
15.6
.3274
21.3
2.4745
27.0
3.9761
48
1^.5664
4.3
0.1009
10.0
0.5454
15.7
.3444
21.4
2.4978
27.1
4.0056
49
13.0954
4.4
0.1056
10.1
0.5564
15.8
.3616
21.5
2.5212
27.2
.0353
50
13.6354
4.5
0.1105
10.2
0.5675
15.9
.3789
21.6
2.5447
27.3
.0650
51
14.1863
4.6
0.1154
10.3
0.5787
16.0
.3963
21.7
2 5684
27.4
.0948
52
14.7480
4.7
0.1205
10.4
0.5900
16.1
.4138
21.8
2.5921
27.5
.1248
53
15.3207
4.8
0.1257
10.5
0.6014
16.2
.4314
21.9
2.6159
27.6
. 1548
54
15.9043
4.9
0.1310
10.6
0.6129
16.3
.4492
22.0
2.6398
27.7
.1850
55
16.4988
5.0
0.1364
10.7
0.6245
16.4
.4670
22.1
2.6638
27.8
.2152
56
17.1042
5.1
0.1418
10.8
0.6362
16.5
.4849
22.2
2.6880
27.9
.2456
57
17.7206
5.2
0.1474
10.9
0.6481
16.6
.5030
22.3
2.7122
28.0
.2761
58
18.3478
5.3
0.1632
11.0
0.6600
16.7
.5212
22.4
2.7366
28.1
.3067
59
18.9859
5.4
0.1590
11.1
0.6721
16.8
.5394
22.4
2.7611
28.2
.3374
60
19.6350
5.5
0.1650
11.2
0.6842
16.9
.5578
22.6
2.7857
28.3
.3681
5.6
0.1710
11.3
0.6965
17.0
.5763
22.7
2.8104
28.4
.3991
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 more accurate will be
the results, as trees vary so much in 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.
2 inches I .0218
3 inches 6 .2946
4 inches 6 -5238
5 inches 16 2.1824
6 inches 33 6.4779
7 inches 40 10.6920
8 inches 60 20.9460
9 inches 56 24.7408
10 inches 46 25.0884
1 1 inches 29 29. 1400
12 inches 1 1 8.6394
13 inches 9 8.2962
14 inches 2 2.1380
15 inches 2 2.4544
317 I4I-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
a cord. 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 short 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.
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.
Increase in diameter for ten years 5X2—1 inch
Diameter of tree ten years ago 20 — 1=19 inches
Present cross-sectional area with diameter 20
inches 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
Per cent increase 2128X100-^10X1.9689=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
Relative
Diameter.
Average
Thrifty Tree.
Very
Thrifty Tree.
Relative
Diameter.
Average
Thrifty Tree. |
flj
22
H
£>
^
££
Relative
Diameter.
Average
Thrifty Tree.
Very
Thrifty Tree.
Relative
Diameter.
Average
Thrifty Tree.
1
>>
tK
£g
Relative
Diameter.
Average
Thrifty Tree, j
Very
Thrifty Tree. ; 1
2.0
144
156
5.9
49
54
9.7
29
32
18.5
15
17
39
6.9
7.8
2.1
138
150
6.0
48
53
9.8
29
32
19.0
14
16
40
6.8
7.6
2.2
132
144
6.1
47
53
9.9
28
32
19.5
14
16
41
6.6
7.4
2.3
127
139
6.2
46
52
10.0
28
31
20.0
14
15
42
6.4
7.2
2.4
122
134
6.3
45
51
10.2
27
31
20.5
13
15
43
6.3
7.1
2.5
117
129
6.4
45
5U
10.4
27
30
21.0
13
15
44
6.1
6.9
2.6
113
124
6.5
44
49
10.6
26
30
21.5
13
14
45
6.0
6.7
2.7
109
120
6.6
43
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
23.0
12
13
48
5.6
6.3
3.0
98
109
6.9
41
46
11.4
24
27
23.5
12
13
50
5.4
6.1
3.1
95
105
7.0
40
45
11.6
24
27
24.0
11
13
52
5.2
5.9
3.2
92
102
7.1
40
45
11.8
23
26
24.5
11
12
54
5.1
5.7
3.3
89
99
7.2
39
44
12.0
23
26
25.0
11
12
56
4.9
5.5
3.4
86
96
7.3
39
44
12.2
23
26
25.5
11
12
58
4.7
5.3
3.5
84
93
7.4
38
43
12.4
22
25
26.0
10
12
60
4.5
5.1
3.6
81
91
7.5
38
42
12.6
22
25
26.5
10
12
62
4.4
4.9
3.7
79
88
7.6
37
42
12.8
22
24
27.0
10
11
64
4.2
4.7
3.8
77
86
7.7
37
41
13.0
21
24
27.5
9.9
11
66
4.1
4.6
3.9
75
84
7.8
36
41
13.2
21
24
28.0
9.7
11
68
3.9
4 4
4.0
73
81
7.9
36
40
13.4
21
23
28.5
9.5
11
70
3.8
4.3
.1
71
79
8.0
35
40
13.6
20
28
29.0
9.3
11
72
3.7
4.2
.2
69
77
8.1
35
39
13.8
20
23
29.5
9.2
10.5
74
3.6
4.1
.3
68
76
8.2
34
39
14.0
20
22
30.0
9.0
10.0
76
3.6
4.0
.4
66
74
8.3
34
38
14.2
19
22
30.5
8.9
10.0
78
3.5
3.9
.5
65
72
8.4
34
38
14.4
19
22
31.0
8.7
9.8
80
3.4
3.8
.6
63
70
8.5
33
37
14.6
19
21
31.5
8.6
9.7
85
3.2
3.6
4.7
62
69
8.6
33
37
14.8
19
21
32.0
8.5
9.5
90
3.0
3.4
4.8
60
67
8.7
32
36
15.0
18
21
32.5
8.4
9.4
100
2.7
3.0
4.9
59
66
8 8
32
36
15.2
18
20
33.0
8.2
9.2
110
2.4
2.7
5.0
58
65
8.9
32
35
15.4
18
20
33.5
8.1
9.1
120
2.2
2.5
5.1
56
63
9.0
31
35
15.6
18
20
84.0
7.9
8.9
130
2.1
2.3
5.2
55
62
9.1
31
35
15 8
17
20
34.5
7.8
8.8
140
1.9
2.2
5.3
54
61
9.2
31
34
16.0
17
19
35.0
7.7
8.6
150
1.8
2.0
5.4
53
60
9.3
30
34
16.5
17
19
35.5
7.6
8.5
170
1.6
1.8
5.5
52
59
9.4
30
34
17.0
16
18
36.0
7 5
8.4
200
1.3
1.5
5.6
51
57
9.5
29
33
17.5
16
18
37.0
7 3
8.2
250
1.1
1.2
5.7
50
56
9.6
29
33
18.0
15
17
38.0
7.1
8.0
300
0.9
1.0
5.8
49
55
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
142
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
'»•>- "f" -•-•-— -J.-L...L-.-V-\~- l-V~Y-VSr"*5
s-tt
Figure 38. The progressive volume of a tree.
ACCRETION OF A FELLED TREE.
143
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:
•o
|d
G
h
u
Accretion in inches during past
£S
ii,
&»
Age.
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
11
5§.§
•m
years.
years.
years .
years.
years .
years.
years.
2
9.3
8.52
65
.54
1.10
1.60
2.16
2.80
3.70
4.26
10
7.8
7.16
57
.50
.94
1.34
1.92
2.68
2.70
18
7.1
6.98
51
.57
1.07
1.58
2.30
3.37
3.49
26
6.3
5.88
42
.42
.99
1.51
2.59
2.94
34
5.7
4.92
39
.44
1.03
1.71
2.46
42
4.4
3.94
28
.48
1.23
1.97
50
3.0
2.48
19
.56
1.24
58
.5
.48
5
.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.
I/ogs 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 I/ogs 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 sealer's judgment is depended upon to
make proper deduction, so as to get out good lumber. Private
sealers 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 sealer
to do the work. The sealers 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 RUIvE.
Diameters
Inches.
I,OG lyENGTHS IN FEET.
12
14
16
18
20
22
8
24
28
32
40
44
48
9
30
35
40
45
50
55-
10
40
45
50
55
65
70
11
50
55
65
70
80
90
12
59
69
79
88
98
108
13
73
85
97
109
122
134
14
86
100
114
129
143
157
15
107
125
142
160
178
196
16
119
139
159
178
198
218
17
139
162
185
208
232
255
• 18
160
187
213
240
267
293
19
180
210
240
270
300
330
20
210
245
280
315
350
385
21
228
266
304
342
380
418
22
251
292
334
376
418
460
23
283
330
377
424
470
518
24
303
353
404
454
505
555
25
344
401
459
516
573
631
26
375
439
500
562
625
688
27
411
479
548
616
684
75H
28
436
509
582
654
728
800
29
457
539
609
685
761
838
30
493
575
657
739
821
904
31
532
622
710
799
888
976
32
552
644
736
828
920
1012
33
588
686
784
882
980
34
600
700
800
900
1000
35
657
766
876
985
1095
36
692
807
923
1038
1152
37
772
901
1029
1158
1287
38
801
934
1068
1201
39
840
980
1120
1260
40
903
1053
1204
1354
41
954
1113
1272
1431
42
1007
1175
1343
43
1046
1222
1396
44
1110
1295
1430
45
1139
1315
1587
46
1190
1380
1656
47
1242
1445
1728
48
1296
1512
1818
10
146
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
The Number of Feet B. M. which May be Obtained
from a I/og 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, or more.
The Percentage of the I/ogs,on which the seller or pro-
ducer gets returns varies with different sizes and shapes. The
following table will serve as a comparison:
Diameters
Inches.
I,engths
Feet.
vScale
Volume
C. F.
Per cent
of Actual
Volume
Scaled.
B. M.
C. F.
21-22
16
304
25.3
40.3
62.8
18-19
22
293
24.4
41.1
59.4
18-21
16
213
17.9
33.2
53.9
16-18
16
159
13.3
25.2
52.8
15-22
16
142
11.8
29.9
39.5
1 -16
14
125
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
86
7.2
13.8
52.2
10-14
20
65
5.4
15.7
34.4
11-13
16
65
5.4
12.6
42.9
11-12
16
65
5.4
11.5
47.0
11-15
12
50
4.2
11.1
37.8
10-12
16
50
4.2
10.6
39.6
8-10
16
32
2.7
7:1
37.8
6- 9
16
16
1.3
4.9
27.1
9-11
16
40
3.3
8.7
38.1
8-11
16
32
2.7
7.9
33.8
8-12
16
32
2.7
8.7
30.6
8-13
16
32
2.7
9.6
27.8
8-12
12
24
2.0
6.5
30.6
8-10
12
24
2.0
5.3
37.7
9-11
12
30
2.5
6.5
38 2
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 I,and 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 loo-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 I,and Measurement of a Valuation
Survey a Steel Chain, Thirty-three Feet I/ong, 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 I/ogs 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
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
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
B
Figure 40. Faustman's mirror hypsometer. (ABCD.) Frame of in-
strument, (£) 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, (/) 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 Jhe 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
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 limbs, 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
sealers, 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 XL
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.
I. 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 much
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 spruce 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 such land is generally well adapted.
3. A. has 500 acres of dry, sandy land. The soil blows
badly, and is too light for grain. Clover does very well on this
land when protected with snow in winter, but is liable to kill out
in open winters. The subsoil is clay.
Answer: Such land should never have been cleared for agri-
cultural purposes, and the sooner it can be got into tree growth
again the better for the soil. The land should be seeded down
with rye or other crop, or possibly with clover, until something
of a sod is formed. In this sod Jack Pine might be planted, or
it is very probable that Jack Pine would come well from seed
sown in furrows made in the sod. After the Jack Pine is well
established, about 500 Norway or White Pine per acre could be
planted to advantage. This should receive only a moderate
crowding by the Jack Pine, and should be protected from too
much crowding until it can take care of itself. This number of
FOREST PROBLEMS. 155
trees would be enough to make a well stocked acre at maturity.
Since the land has a heavy subsoil, the chances are that there
would be a good tree growth, as trees are more influenced by
subsoil than by the surface. If such land is very accessible, it
would probably pay better to grow green crops on the soil, and
by careful rotation use it for agricultural purposes, for which it
may be fairly well adapted if carefully managed.
4. B. has 600 acres of Jack Pine, four to twelve inches in
diameter. The soil is typical of Jack Pine land, being very sandy
and unfit for agriculture. What is the best treatment of it?
Answer: Such land is only fit for timber growth, and Jack
Pine is probably the most profitable tree that can be grown upon
it if it can be sold as fuel. The aim should be to keep out fires,
and to cut the trees on the selection plan, removing the larger
ones when they attain a diameter of ten inches. It may, how-
ever, be best to cut clean on certain parts at each cutting, but
the cuttings in such cases should not be so large but what the
trees near by will seed the land. This tree has wonderful regen-
erative power, and soon covers the soil with a new growth. It
is rather impatient of shade, and the young seedlings do not do
well under the old trees. It often happens that the cones on
Jack Pines remain upon the trees unopened for a long time, and
often fire sweeps over the land which scorches them, causing
them to open and shed their seeds. As fire is to be avoided on
such land, in order to protect the young growth, it may be best
to gather the cones, and after roasting them slightly so that the
scales open, scatter the cones broadcast over the cut-over por-
tions. If timber is wanted, it would be worth while to try to
secure a stand of Norway Pine seedlings.
5. A. has a dry, sandy prairie, the soil of which blows badly
when it is broken up. The trees blow out, and it is of very little
value for agricultural purposes. Can it be used for forestry?
The subsoil is fairly good, and there is standing water at a
depth of about ten feet.
Answer: Under such conditions trees should do well after
they have once become established. The difficulty is in getting
the land stocked. By seeding the land down to clover, with oats,
in the spring of the year, the oats would come up quickly, and
prevent the blowing out of the soil early in the spring, and the
156 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
clover would come along and probably make a good showing
the next year. After the oats and clover have started, about one-
half the land can be planted in strips, not more than sixteen feet
wide and twenty-four feet apart. If these strips are planted with
almost any of our hardy trees, they should do well. For this
purpose the White Willow would be very desirable, but seedlings
of Boxelder, Green Ash or Norway Pine should also do well
The strips of land in oats and clover will afford sufficient protec-
tion to the planted strips to protect them from wind injury. After
these strips are established and two or three years old the inter-
vening spaces may be broken up and planted without danger
of any further wind injury.
6. A. has a piece of burned-over timber land on which there
are scarcely any seed-bearing trees of value; the valuable pines
have all been destroyed by successive burnings. Most of the
land is perhaps two miles from any seed-producing White Pine,
which was the most profitable tree on this land, and is undoubt-
edly now the most profitable tree that this so1'! can produce. He
would like to have it restocked with White Pine. How should
he go to work to do it?
Answer: Since the seed-bearing trees are so far distant from
the land there is no use depending upon them for restocking the
soil with their seedlings, and the Poplar, Birch and Bird Cherry
will undoubtedly soon reign supreme here, if they do not already.
The best treatment is probably to gather White Pine seedlings
that are under one foot in height from the nearby forest, if they
can be obtained easily, and set them out, about twenty feet apart
each way, amongst the brush now found on the land, taking care
to make a little clearing, as it were, where each tree is planted.
The tendency will be for the worthless trees now growing on
the land to smother out the pines before they get started, and
it will be necessary each summer for several years to go over the
land and cut away those trees that are crowding the young pines
too severely. After these young pines have become established
it is probable that they will be able to take care of themselves
in competition with the inferior species, and then the crowding
which they receive from the latter will be a good thing for them,
as it will cause them to take on an upright growth. Plantings of
this kind will probably cost somewhere about five dollars per
FOREST PROBLEMS. 157
acre, and if the work is carefully done in the spring, just before
the growth of young pine starts, there should be scarce any fail-
ures. In setting out the seedlings it is important that they be
kept in water or in damp moss from the time they are pulled out
until they are put into .the soil again. They must not ever be
allowed to appear dry.
7. B. has land in Northern Minnesota covered with a mixed
growth of pine and poplar. The poplar is about twelve inches
thick, and overtops the pine, which varies from four to eight
inches in diameter and from .twenty to forty feet high. What
treatment would be best to secure an even stand of White Pine?
Answer: While the poplar is hardly marketable at present,
yet it should be removed even if the material taken out hardly
pays for the expense of so doing. This should be done in order
to give the pine a chance to shoot upward. After the poplar is
removed the pine will probably stand for several years without
serious crowding, when it should be thinned to obtain best
results.
8. A. has 2,000 acres of burned-over land in Northern Min-
nesota. This has quite a number of crooked and branching
seeding trees, probably sufficient to seed the land, but the soil is
so covered with raspberries, grass and poplar that the pine has
very little chance to grow.
Anszvcr: The best way for giving a chance for the pine seed
to grow is to drag the land in good seed years as well as can be
with a drag made df oak branches or logs. This will tear up a
good deal of grass or bushes, and make a loose surface soil in
which the pines can take root; but the next year the weeds will
again start, and will destroy the pine unless they are held in
check in some way. This is probably best done by going over
the land in June and July, and cutting off some of the weeds
where the pines have seeded thickest. This practice should be
followed at least two years, after which but little attention of
this sort will be needed, as the pines will probably be able to take
care of themselves from then on. If the land can be used for
sheep pasture for one or two years, most of the weeds and bushes
will be destroyed, and the land will be left in improved shape
for the treatment outlined in dragging the land to get it into
good shape for a seed bed. In fact, without any further treat-
158 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
ment the pine will probably come in unless the land is very
heavily pastured.
9. A. has 2,000 acres of land in Northern Minnesota without
any seeding trees. How can he secure a stand of pine upon the
land?
Answer: In such a case the best way is probably to set out
pine seedlings, pulled from the woods, setting them about twenty
feet apart each way. This will require about 400 plants per acre.
If the work is done early in the spring there should be no great
trouble about securing a good stand. These trees will be
crowded by weeds on the land, which may help them to take an
upright growth, but they should be watched, and the weeds kept
in check, if they are liable to overcome them. After a few years
the pine will be improved by the crowding of poplar and hazel
brush, which is generally found upon such soil.
10. A. has a half section of moderately good land, covered
with an even-aged growth of White and Norway Pine. He would
like to maintain a stand of pine on this tract, not that he thinks
it especially profitable, but that it would prove an interesting
experiment.
Answer: Even-aged pine is very difficult of renewal without
clean cutting, and it is quite out of the question to handle such
tracts to advantage on the selection system. There is practically
no such thing as even-aged pine over large areas in this state.
It is probable that this land could be best renewed by the group
or strip methods. The land should be burned over clean after
cutting, care being taken to protect any good groups of seed-
lings that may occun A stand of young seedlings should be
secured on each piece of land cut over before further cutting is
done. If grass or brush is coming in too fast, it will probably
be a good plan to go over the land with a log-drag in August of
the first good seeding year after cutting, so as to loosen the soil,
that the seed may have a good chance to start. Grass and weeds
often prevent the growth of pine seed, or even kill out the young
seedlings after they are started.
11. A. would like to have a good shelterbelt about the build-
ings on his prairie farm, in central Minnesota, and would like if
it could be made to furnish fence posts and fuel. He could use
ten acres for this purpose.
FOREST PROBLEMS. 159
Answer:. He will probably come nearest to accomplishing
this if he makes a solid planting of White Willow, as recom-
mended on page 130.
12. C. has a farm on rolling prairie. It is .all under cultiva-
tion or used for pasture. He feels the necessity of having a
home supply of fence posts and light fuel. Thinks of putting his
wood lot on the rich bottom land. The soil is a sandy drift,
some ridges being more sandy than others, and in a few places
are bare from washing.
Answer: Since the bottom land resists drouth better than the
high land, it would be better to keep it for agricultural purposes,
and to place the trees on the ridges, where the soil is too bare
to yield a return from agriculture. He could probably plant
White Willow in these locations to good advantage, and get
what he needs in fence posts and a considerable amount of sum-
mer fuel. It is probable that on such land there would be a
yield of about three cords per acre of fuel wood per year, much
of which material could be used for posts. These trees should
be cultivated until they cover the land well. They should begin
to yield some fuel within six years from the time cuttings are
planted, if they are set two feet apart in rows eight feet apart.
13. A farmer living on the open prairie in the southwestern
part of Minnesota wants a windbreak and wood lot; more par-
ticularly desires a windbreak for buildings and a shelter for
stock. Does not think of raising firewood or his own fence
posts. Can a windbreak be worked to advantage as a wood lot
in such a case?
Ansiver: Under such conditions the windbreak should be
made somewhat wider than recommended on page 50, so as to
include as much area as to give the wood desired. In cutting
under such conditions it would be desirable to cut not more than
one-half of any portion of the windbreak at one time, so that its
value as a windbreak would not be impaired at any time. Work-
ing in such a way would require a rotation period of about ten
years. It would probably be best to plant this largely with
White Willow, but if the soil is heavy or somewhat inclined to
be moist it would be a good plan to put in some Soft Maple and
Boxelder.
160 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
14. What kinds of trees are best adapted to use for live fence
posts? Should the wires be nailed directly to the tree, or on
blocks of wood which are fastened to the tree?
Answer: Probably the best tree for a live fence post is one
of the willows or other hardy tree. Where the White Willow
is used for this purpose there is no special objection to nailing
the wire directly to the tree, except that the tree will soon grow
over the wire, and it cannot then be removed. If it is thought
that the wire might be removed within a few years, it would be
much the better plan to nail it onto blocks of wood which are
nailed to the tree. Willow trees which are used in this way as
live fence posts may be cut off about a foot above the top wire
and allowed to reproduce themselves. Such trees, if properly
managed, will often produce a large amount of firewood, as well
as afford good fence posts.
15. We have thirty acres of rather wet land which we do not
expect to use for many years except as pasture. Would it pay
to grow some White Willows on a portion of it, and would they
interfere with its value as pasture?
Answer: If the land is not heavily pastured, it might be a
good plan to grow a few groups of willow on it, as they will
furnish some protection to the stock, and do not interfere
materially with the pasturage value of the land. Scattered trees
might also be grown, as they would not seriously interfere with
the growth of grass under them where the land is moist; but it
would not be desirable to encourage a very thick growth on the
land, since it is much more valuable for pasturage than it would
probably be for growing wood.
16. B. has come into possession of fifty acres of bluff land
along the Mississippi river, in Southern Minnesota. The bnd is
of good quality, but too much broken for agriculture, and when
used as pasture it washes badly. The southern slopes are nearly
bare of trees, but the other slopes are well covered with White
Oak, Hard Maple, Basswood and Elm, with some Hackberry,
Wild Black Cherry, Black Walnut and Butternut. It has been
pastured for twenty years, and consequently there are no young
trees coming on. He desires to preserve it as a wood lot, since
it has become of little value for pasture.
Answer: The first thing to do is to keep out the cattle, as
FOREST PROBLEMS. 161
i
they destroy all the young seedlings that start, and prevent any
natural regeneration. In good seed years it might pay to loosen
the soil, where it could be done easily, in portions that are not
especially liable to erosion, so as to give the seeds that fall a
good chance to grow. It would also be well to gather Black
Walnuts and Acorns, and plant them in especially favorable loca-
tions. Improvement cuttings should also be made where needed.
17. A. has five acres of overflow lands along the Mississippi
river. This is about four feet above the low water mark. It is,
however, so liable to freshets in the spring that it would not be
safe to use it for agricultural purposes, and it is not desirable
for pasture or meadow. It is now covered with a heavy growth
of White Maple and Cottonwood, and some White and Red Elm.
What is the best way of managing it?
Answer: It would seem quite probable that the White Maple
will become the most valuable wood of any now on the land, and
it should be encouraged by cutting out the Cottonwood wherever
it crowds, and also the White and Red Elm. The aim should be
to have a good stand of White Maple, as it seems probable that
this will produce by far the most profit. This tree makes a very
rapid growth on good soil, and the wood is used for a variety
of purposes. If the maples do not thickly cover the ground,
there may be some chance for good pasturage under the trees;
but under the best conditions there would be no opportunity for
pasturage. This land would possibly yield about 500 feet board
measure per acre per year if well stocked. Such land will proba-
bly be used for meadow when the country is better settled, but
this is perhaps no objection to using it for growing maple for the
next twenty years.
18. A. has a piece of gravelly land. It was originally covered
with a growth of Bur, White, Red and Scarlet Oak, but was cut
over about thirty years ago, and at present has a rather thin
stand of stunted trees, many of which are sprouts from Bur
Oaks. It is burned over every year. The land is of very little
value for agricultural purposes.
Answer: On such land the increase is very little, and there
will be no profit in holding it for tree growth if it is taxed at a
high rate. If, however, the rate of taxation is low, it is quite
likely that the trees will yield a fairly good return. It should be
11
162 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
the aim of the owner to keep out fires, and so encourage the
growth of underbrush and leaf mold, as this protects from dry-
ing out in summer, which is important on such land. The large
trees that are decaying had better be cut out, and the younger
growth favored by occasional thinnings, where too much
crowded.
19. A. has a meadow which is subject to overflow in the
spring of the year. The stream which runs through it is liable
to sudden rises, and has made many channels for itself, and is
continually making new channels. The land affords fairly good
pasturage, but the cutting of new channels by the river is a
source of great annoyance and loss. Is there any way that this
can be prevented by planting trees?
Answer: Such streams may be permanently straightened out
by planting willows across the cuts made, so as to confine the
waters to a straight course. By this treatment a stream soon
clears out a deeper main channel for itself, and the old high
water channels gradually fill up with the sediment from the water
which sets back into them' from the river at times of freshet.
The banks of the stream should also be protected from washing
by planting willows on them. For this purpose willow cuttings
of large size should preferably be used. They should be not less
than two inches in diameter and six feet long, and be put at
least three feet in the ground where exposed to erosion.
20. A. has forty acres near Minneapolis, covered mostly with
a heavy stand of Sugar Maple, twenty-five years old, and two or
three acres of Tamarack, Elm, Basswood and Oak. What treat-
ment would be more profitable than to clear up for pasture or
other purposes?
Answer: Such land as this is probably much more valuable
for agricultural purposes than for forestry, unless it is stony or
on steep hillsides, for the tree growth indicates a strong, valua-
ble soil, and its being located near a large city should enhance its
value for dairying- or similar purposes.
21. Some neglected lowlands have become partially covered
with Cottonwoods and Willows, some of which are a foot or more
in diameter. These trees are in irregular patches, covering per-
haps two-thirds of the tract. The lowest places are quite wet
and boggy. What income might be derived from a careful man-
agement of the growing wood?
FOREST PROBLEMS. 163
Answer: Very little profit can come from it in its present
condition, except as it may be useful for pasturage. If, on fur-
ther consideration, it is decided that it will be more valuable for
forestry purposes than for pasturage, it would probably be best
to encourage a growth oi White Maple, the seeds of which could
be sown in furrows or in patches in June. The Cottonwood
should be kept out as much as possible, as, since it is well
adapted to this class of soil, it is liable to drive out everything
else, and there is very little profit from the growing of it.
22. B. has forty acres of land covered with Maple, White
Oak, Birch, Hackberry and Elm. He cuts his fuel from it, and
makes sugar from the Maple each year, and finds it fairly profit-
able. There are, however, no young trees coming on, the ground
being entirely bare, and it looks as though in the course of time
the old trees would ripen up, and there would be nothing to
take their places. The land is so rough that it would not be
profitable for agriculture nor especially desirable for pasturage.
Answer: The reason why there is no young growth coming
on is probably because the land is closely pastured, since the
foliage of the Maple, Elm, Birch and Oak is readily eaten by
stock. The first thing to do is to keep out the cattle, so that the
young seedlings may have a chance to become established. If
the leaf canopy is rather thin, so that the light has encouraged
the growth of grass under the trees, it would be a good plan to
break up the soil just before the seed falls in good years. Possi-
bly furrows could be made through the woodland with a plow,
but if too rough for this, then it can be broken up by the drag-
ging of several logs tied together over the land. It would be a
good plan to keep out everything but the Sugar Maples, since
these will undoubtedly be the most profitable, both for sugar and
for fuel. As these seedlings come on, they should be encouraged
to cover the land, by letting in a little light occasionally, if neces
sary. This may be done by removing some of the old trees that
are past their prime. After the young trees are seven or eight
feet high no harm would come from the pasturing of stock
among them for a few years, unless the land was so heavily
pastured that the treading of the stock about the roots was
injurious. If treated in this way there should be no trouble
about securing a good stand of young Maples to come on and
take the place of those which are maturing.
CHAPTER XIL
THE USES OF WOOD.
Wood Serves so Many Purposes and enters so largely
into human activities that it may indeed claim to be the most
useful of all natural products, excepting only food. Iron is
looked upon as the most useful of metals. Wood is not a metal,
but in its usefulness it may be placed above iron, which it is
replacing in many cases where the latter was formerly used
exclusively. Iron and wood have displaced and replaced each
other in public favor time and time again, so that their respective
claims to supremacy have not yet been decided. For instance,
in the manufacture of bicycles, wood rims were first used, and
then gave way to iron and steel on account of their lighter
appearance and strength. Now, with better methods of con-
struction, wood is again in use, and giving general satisfaction.
However, each has its place, and the two often work to better
advantage in combination. Experiments have shown that in
tensile strength hickory exceeds iron and steel of the same
length and weight, and hickory and long-leaf pine resist greater
endwise compression than wrought iron. The elasticity of wood
enables it to yield to greater stress than metals without receiving
permanent distortion, and in like manner it will resist high tem-
peratures without warping, holding its shape until consumed or
broken down by mere weight.
In Comparison with Iron, Wood is lighter, easier to
work and handle, at present cheaper, and in many cases stronger
and more durable. These facts, coupled with its abundance and
ready adaptability, have brought it into such extensive use that
the future depletion of the supply has become a matter of some
concern to thoughtful people. Even now, in many parts, the
local supply has already been exhausted (due much to extrava-
gance and carelessness), and the inhabitants are dependent upon
other regions to furnish their wood material, at an increased
cost. Treeless regions, formerly uninhabited, are now teeming
THE USES OF WOOD. 165
with -thriving, industrious populations, whose standard of living
demands the consumption of large quantities of wood, drawn
from limited forest areas. The present supply is rapidly disap-
pearing.
To give the reader a comprehensive view of the manifold
utility of wood, and to impress upon him the importance of main-
taining a permanent source of supply of this essential material,
we may group its uses into general classes, as an enumeration in
detail would be too bulky for this volume, and, by sheer weight,
fail of its purpose. In a general way, wood is thought of as use-
ful for lumber and fuel. As firewood it heats our houses, cooks
our meals, makes steam for driving the engines which run our
flour mills, factories, light and power plants, street cars, laun-
dries, etc. Different woods have their own fuel value, as indi-
cated in another chapter; the supply of different kinds varies in
localities; the price varies; so that we cannot say that one kind
should be used more than another. Poor material must often be
taken where none other is available. In Minnesota there is in
the wooded regions a considerable variety of fuel woods. The
most common are, for the hard woods (or, more properly speak-
ing, broad-leaved trees), Maple, Oak, Elm, Ash, Aspen, Birch,
Cottonwood and Basswood; and of the conifers (or narrow-
leaved trees), Pine, Tamarack, Spruce and Balsam Fir.
As lumber, we may convert wood into a yet more extensive
variety of channels of usefulness, included under the heads of
general building, construction and wood working.
In Carpentry rough material is used in framework, as sills,
studding, plates, joists, rafters; in sheathing, roofing, shingles,
laths; while finished lumber is put into siding, floors, doors, win-
dow frames and sash, blinds, stairways, stationary furniture and
fixtures, columns, moldings, turned and carved work (solid and
veneer). All kinds of wood are used for this work, according to
the purpose and the taste of the builder, but Pine in larger quan-
tities than any other, on account of its cheapness, ease of working
and general utility.
For Railways, wharves, piers, bridges, piling, etc., heavy
material is used; that is, large pieces. For railroad ties, bridges,
pavements and culverts all kinds of wood may be used, but those
best adapted to withstand the usage of the position are most
desired.
16G ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
In Shipbuilding ribs, rib frames, keels and outside planking
take Oak or other hard wood, with trenails of Locust; while for
inside planking Pine is used, and interiors and decks finished to
taste and usage with any wood.
In Joinery, which includes furniture making, cabinet and
box work, packing cases and crates, all kinds of wood are util-
ized.
In the Making of Cars, wagons and carriages the frame-
work is usually of Oak and Ash, with covering of Pine and fancy
woods, while the running gear takes Hickory, Oak, Elm, Ash,
Locust, — butt cuts being especially valuable.
In Cooperage, barrels, casks, tubs, kegs, pails, churns and
tanks (staves, heads and hoops) are made of every description of
wood, but for vessels designed to hold the finer grades of wet
goods, as liquors and wines, White Oak only is desired.
In the Manufacture of Farm and Household Machinery
and implements, mostly hard woods of tough, durable qualities,
as Oak, Ash, Hickory and Elm, are in demand. For wooden-
ware (turned, carved and split-ware goods), again, all kinds of
wood find a place. For baskets and wickerware, Willows and
other pliable growths are used, while sounding boards of pianos
and organs are almost always of spruce. In machine building,
cogs, gears and pulleys are often made of hard wood, while
frames of a stationary nature are of Pine.
Timber for Mining Purposes is in great demand in all
mining regions, and enormous quantities of it are required, so
that the mines are among the largest consumers. In this state
some of the deep mines use as much as eighty miles of log tim-
ber per year, besides lagging. In mining, usually, the wood of
the district is used for props, lagging, etc. The same may be
said fencing— the most convenient wood is taken.
Telegraph Poles require sticks that are free from large knots,
and which are durable in contact with the ground. Cedar is
much used for this purpose. FlagstafTs and masts call for long,
slender, yet resistant, material.
In I/umbering a considerable quantity of timber is used in
roads, skidways, booms, piling, etc., and a much larger quantity
of the skidway and roadway material than is necessary is left to
rot on the ground after a season's work.
DISTILLATION OF WOOD. 107
Wood Pulp and Distillation Products. One of the most
important industries connected with forests is their use for paper
pulp. For this purpose all kinds of wood may be used, but on
account of its superior quality and the ease of working little is
used in this country at present besides Spruce. Many experi-
ments have been made with Poplar, and it also is used to some
extent, but Spruce is very much preferred on account of its bet-
ter fiber. Paper pulp is made in two ways: First, chemical;
second, mechanical. Chemical pulp is made by treating the tis-
sues of the wood with chemicals which dissolve out the lignin
substances until only the cellulose or pulp is left. There are sev-
eral processes used, one of which is by boiling the wood in Glau-
ber salts for seven hours, after which the pulp is washed clean
and bleached with chloride of lime until quite white. This
process is more expensive than the sulphite process, in which sul-
phurous acid is used, but is said to give a better product. All
kinds of wood may be converted into chemical pulp, but very
dark colored and very resinous kinds are usually avoided. Ordi-
nary paper pulp is made by grinding Spruce wood on large
stones, against which it is pressed by hydraulic power. For the
manufacture of very tough paper and of leather board it is cus-
tomary to boil the wood a long time before it is ground. Wood
that is cooked a long time before grinding makes a dark colored
but very tough product. In the manufacture of ordinary print-
ing paper the wood is put at once upon the stone, and the pulp
from it is rolled into paper. It is customary to mix a certain per
cent of chemically prepared paper pulp with ordinary wood pulp
in order to improve its strength. Wood pulp is not only manu-
factured into paper, but boards, buckets, car wheels, and a thou-
sand other things, are made from it. Its use is almost unlimited.
By the Destructive Distillation of Wood (all kinds of
wood, all sizes, — logs, refuse, sawdust) we obtain charcoal, vine-
gar, alcohol, creosote, gas, tar; pyroligeneous, oxalic, acetic and
other acids; acetone, paraffin, naphthalin; lampblack and other
products. From the bark of Oak, Hemlock, Chestnut and other
trees the tannic acid used in tanning leather is obtained.
As we have digressed slightly by including bark under the
term "wood," we may go farther, and take in also the sap from
which is obtained turpentine, resin, gums and rubber, sugar,
liquors, medicines; the pith, which gives us food and fiber for
168 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
clothing and other purposes; the fruit and leaves, which are also
used for food, medicinal and chemical extracts.
Wood is Made up of Cells which vary in form and in
arrangement in different species. The cells are arranged in the
form of irregular concentric cones, so that a cross section of a
tree shows a series of concentric rings. For ordinary purposes,
however, a log may be considered as being made up of a series
of concentric cylinders, each cylinder representing one year's
growth. If each ring is examined closely, it will be noticed that
it is made up of an inner, softer, lighter-colored portion and an
outer portion that is firmer and darker colored. The inner por-
tion was formed in the early part of the season, when growth
was rapid; this portion is termed the spring wood. The outer
portion, where the cells are packed firmly together, grew in
the summer, when the growth was slow, and this is termed the
summer wood. Since the latter portion is very heavy and firm,
it to a large extent determines the weight and strength of the
wood.
Wood a Structure. On account of the peculiar arrange-
ment in its structure, wood should not be regarded as a homo-
geneous mass, but rather as a mechanical structure, the arrang^
ments of the units of which in each case should be carefully con-
sidered in estimating its strength and its value for various pur-
poses.
Methods of Sawing. In sawing wood the relation of the
saw cut to the annual rings is an important matter, and its ref-
erence in relation to them has given rise to the names cross-
cut, tangential and quarter-sawing.
Cross-Cut Sawing simply refers to cutting across th'e grain.
This method of sawing is seldom adopted other than for pur-
poses of division, but occasionally it is used for making thin
veneers, which are used in finishing panels and the like.
"Through and Through," or regular sawing, refers to the
ordinary way of sawing lumber, in which most of the cuts are
tangential to the annual rings.
Quarter-Sawing is sawing that is done perpendicularly to
the annual rings of the wood. Wood thus sawed presents an
evenness of grain not to be found in wood tangentially sawed.
When cut nearly or quite on the radius the beautiful silver grain
of some woods is thus shown to the best advantage.
QUARTER SAWING.
169
Quarter-sawed lumber presents a more durable surface and
warps and shrinks less than that tangentially sawed. If these
points alone are the chief considerations, any wood is considered
quarter-sawed that presents the edge of its annual rings to its
surface at an angle of not less than forty-five degrees. This is
done in various ways.
Figure 44 illustrates one method of quarter sawing such
woods as Yellow Pine, which are so sawed solely to increase
their strength arid wearing qualities. Slabs are taken off the
four sides, then a cant A. B. is removed by cutting to within two
or three inches of the heart. This cant is thrown back on the
deck. Then the mill goes on sawing right through the heart C.,
taking off four to six boards, as the case may be, which are run
c
Figure 44. Common method of
quarter sawing Yellow Pine for floor-
ing.
Figure 45. Showing method of
quarter sawing to bring out the figure
of the wood to best advantage. The
log is first quartered, i,>2, 3 and 4, and
each quarter is sawed as indicated by
lines in 4.
through the edger and have the heart cut out. This leaves two
cants of the same thickness. The one on the deck A. B. is put
back on top of the one D. E. on the carriage and both are cut
up together. Practically all of the stock thus made, except the
boards taken off in slabbing, is edged grained, and if oak about
half of it would show a fair figure.
If Quarter Sawing is Done for the Purpose of Bring-
ing out the Silver Grain of the wood, as is necessary in the
case of White Oak for best effects, then the saw cut should
always be made towards the heart and on the line of the silver
rays. This is a much more wasteful process than the former
170 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
method, and requires very different management. The more
nearly perfect the quarter-sawing is done the more waste there
is, and so it is the object of practical men to avoid the extremes
of perfect quarter-sawing (at great expense in labor and mate-
rial) and through-and-through sawing- (which is cheapest and
most economical of material). In ordinary quarter-sawing of
this kind there is a waste of twenty to thirty per cent in material
as compared with through-and-through sawing. This waste is
found in the feather edged pieces and bevelled edges which have
to be cut off, and in the very narrow strips of no value. Small
logs waste much more than large logs in quarter-sawing. Most
sawyers place the minimum sized log that should be used for
quarter-sawing at twenty-six inches in diameter. It is very
important to have quarter-sawed lumber wide, as narrow stock-
is of comparatively little value. In ordinary sawing there are
always a few cuts made parallel to the silver rays which have the
desired quarter-sawed figure.
In practice, several methods of sawing are used to bring out
the silver grain. The most common is to quarter the logs, and
then saw each quarter, as shown by the lines in Figure 45.
FUEL VALUE OF WOODS.*
"The Relative Fuel Values here given are obtained by
deducting the percentage of ash from the specific gravity, and
are based on the hypothesis that the real value of the combus-
tible material in all woods is the same.
"It appears from Mr. Sharpies' experiments that resinous
woods give upwards of twelve per cent more heat from equal
weights burned than non-resinous woods; the heat produced by
burning a kilogram of dry non-resinous wood being about 4,000
units, while the heat produced by burning a kilogram of dry
resinous wood is about 4,500 units, a unit being the quantity of
heat required to raise one kilogram of water one degree centi-
grade.
"Count Rumford first propounded the theory that the value
of equal weights of wood for fuel was the same, without reference
to specific distinctions; that is, that a pound of wood, whatever
"This article on the fuel value of woods is taken from the "Report of
the Tenth Census," by Prcf. C. S. Sargent,
FUEL VALUE OF WOODS. 173
the variety, would always produce the same amount of heat.
Marcus Bull, experimenting in 1826 upon the fuel value of dif-
ferent woods, found a variation of only eleven per cent between
the different species tested. Rumford's theory must be regarded
as nearly correct, if woods are separated into resinous and non-
resinous classes. The specific gravity gives a direct means of
comparing heat values of equal volumes of wood of different
resinous and non-resinous species. In burning wood, however,
various circumstances affect its value; few fire places are con-
structed to fully utilize the fuel value of resinous woods, and
carbon escapes unconsumed in the form of smoke. Pine, there-
fore, which although capable of yielding more heatf than Oak
or Hickory, may in practice yield considerably less, the Pine
losing both carbon and hydrogen in the form of smoke, while
Hickory or Oak, burning with a smokeless flame, is practically
entirely consumed. The ash in a wood, being non-combustible,
influences its fuel value in proportion to its amount. The state
of dryness of wood also has much influence upon its fuel value,
though to a less degree than is generally supposed. The water
in green wood prevents its rapid combustion, evaporation reduc-
ing the temperature below the point of ignition. Green wood
may often contain as much as fifty per cent of water, and this
water must evaporate during combustion; but as half a kilogram
of ordinary wood will give 2,000 units of heat, while half a kilo-
gram of water requires only 268.5 units to evaporate it, 1,731.5
units remain available for generating heat in wood containing
even a maximum amount of water.
"A factor in the general value of wood as fuel is the ease with
which it can be seasoned; Beech, for example, a very dense wood
of high fuel value when dried, is generally considered of little
value as fuel, on account of the rapidity with which it decays
when cut and the consequent loss of carbon by decomposition."
fFrom a given weight.
172
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
TABLE OF TREES ARRANGED IN ORDER OF THE WEIGHT OF
DRY WOOD.f
BOTANICAL NAMES.
COMMON NAMES.
Approxi-
mate rela-
tive fuel
value.
Specific
gravity of
absolutely
dry wood.
Crataegus coccinea
White Thorn
85.85
0.8618
Shellbark Hickory
83 11
0 8372
Hop Hornbeam
82 43
0 8984
Service-berrv
0 8962
77 95
0 7838
Black Thorn
75 49
0 7585
Bitternut Hickory
74 74
0 7552
White Oak
74 39
0 7470
Quercus macrocarpa
Robinia pseudacacia
Bur Oak
lyOCUSt
74.06
72 96
0.7453
0 7333
Prunus ntnericana
Wild Plum
73 00
0 7313
Black Haw
72 82
0 7303
Celtis occidentalis
Hack berry
79 08
0 7287
Carpinus caroliniana
Blue' Beech
72 26
0 7286
Ulmus racemosa
Cork Elm
72 20
0 7263
Crataegus crus-galli
Cockspur Thorn .
71 54
0 7194
70 71
0 7117
Quercus coccinea
70 82
0 7095
Pyrus coronaria
Wild Crab
70 11
0 7048
Ulmus pubescens
68 98
0 6956
Prunus virginiana
Choke Cherry
69.16
0.6951
Gymnocladus dioicus
Coffee Tree
68 88
0 6934
Acer saccharum
68 75
0 6916
Acer platanoides
0 6800*
Gleditsia triacanlhos
66 86
0 6740
Quercus rubra
Red Oak
66.04
0.6621
iTn this table the figures relating to North American species have been
taken directly from or calculated from data in Sargent's Silva of North
America and the report of the Tenth Census, and those relating to Eu-
ropean species are from various European sources.
*Air dried.
WEIGHTS OF DRY WOOD.
173
TABLE OF TREES ARRANGED IN ORDER OF THE WEIGHT OF
DRY WOOD. (Continued.)
BOTANICAL NAMES.
COMMON NAMES.
Approxi-
mate rela-
tive fuel
value.
Specific
gravity of
absolutely
dry wood,
Betula lutea
Yellow Birch . . .
65 34
0 6553
Fraxinus americana
White Ash
65 16
0 6543
White Elm
64 54
0 6506
0 6400*
Fraxinus nigra
Black Ash
62.72
0 6318
Tamarack
62 16
0 6318
Fraxinus pennsylvanica ....
Red Ash
61 99
0 6215
Red Maple . . .
61 65
0 6178
Black Walnut
60 91
0 6115
Betula papyrifera
Canoe Birch
59 40
0 5955
Pyrus sambucifolia
Elderleaf Mount'n Ash
58 08
0 5928
Red Mulberry
58 56
0 5898
Wild Black Cherry
58 14
0 5822
57 42
0 6762
0 5700*
54 08
0 5451
A cer spicatum
53 07
0 5330
Acer saccharinum
Silver Maple ...
52 52
0 5269
Pinus sylvestris
Scotch Pine
0 5200*
Pseudotsuga taxifolia
Douglas Spruce
51 53
0 5157
Prunus pennsylvanica . •
Juniperus iiirginiana
Pinus resinosa
Wild Red Cherry
Red Juniper
Red Pine
50.03
49.11
48 41
0.5023
0.4926
0 4854
Populus alba
White Poplar
0 4800*
Pinus divaricata
Jack Pine
47 50
0 4761
46 99
0 4715
Picea evcelsa . .
0 4700*
Pofulus grandidenta
I^argetooth Poplar —
46.11
0.4632
*Air dried.
174
ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
TABLE OF TREES ARRANGED IN ORDER OF THE WEIGHT OF
DRY WOOD. (Continued.)
BOTANICAL NAMES.
COMMON NAMES.
Approxi-
mate rela-
tive fuel
valne.
Specific
gravity of
absolutely
dry wood.
Alnus incana
Speckled Alder
45.88
45.71
45.03
45,00
44.95
44.68
0.4607
0.4584
0.4542
0.4525
0.4504
0.4502
0.4500*
0.4500*
0.4456*
0.4358
0.4358
0.4239
0.4165
0.4161
0.4086
0.4051
0.4032
0.8912
0.3889
0.3854
0.3819
0.3740
0.3638
0.3635
0.3449
0.3164
Black Spruce .
^Lsculus glabra
Tilia antericana
Ohio Buckeye
Basswood
Castanea dentata
Chestnut
Salix amygdaloides
Peachleaf Willow
White Willow
Populus nigra
Salix nigra
Pinus flexilis
Black Poplar
Black Willow
Western White Pine . .
Boxelder
Hemlock
Hardy Catalpa
Balm of Gilead
Butternut
White Spruce
Aspen
43.42
42.82
42.20
41.48
41.42
40.66
40.38
40.10
38.81
38.52
38.47
38.02
37.26
36.07
36.11
33.38
31.53
Catalpa speciosa
Populus balsamifera candicans
Juglans cinerea.
Picea canadensis
Populus tremuloides
Populus angustifolia
Populus deltoides
Pinus strobus
Narrowleaf Cotton w'd
Cottonwood
White Pine
A bies balsamea
Balsam Fir
Picea parryana
Blue Spruce
A bies concolor
White Fir
Populus balsamifera
Picea engelmanni
Balsam Poplar
Kngelmann Spruce . .
ArborvitEe
Thuja occidentalis
*Air dried.
CHAPTER XIIL
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 upMhe 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-
times in the Oak, or unpleas-
ant, as those infesting some
of the Poplars. By studying
both the favorable and the
unfavorable conditions for the
growth of the rot-producing
fungi we may learn the best
methods of increasing the
durability of our woods, and
thus avoid unnecessary waste.
The soil and conditions
under which wood is grown
affect its durability. Conifer-
Figure 46. "Shelf" fungus on
the stem of a Pine (Hartig).
(a) Sound wood; (b) resinous wood;
(c) partly decayed wood or punk;
(d) layer of living spore tubes;
(e) old spore tubes filled up;
(/) fluted upper surface of the fruit-
ous woods with narrow annual
rings are most durable, espe-
cially when grown on compar-
atively poor soils, in dense
forests, and at high altitudes. On the contrary, the hard woods
ing body of the fungus which gets
its food through a .great number of
fine threads (the mycelium), its
vegetative tissues penetrating the
wood and causing it to decay.
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 ba^rk. 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 willow 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. 17?
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 100 Degrees Fahr.), Moisture
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.
Perfectly 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:
12
178 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
TABLE SHOWING RANGE OF DURABILITY OF FENCE POSTS IN
MINNESOTA. (Air dry.)
Red Cedar 30 years
White Cedar (quartered 6-inch face) 10-15 years
White Oak (6-inch round) 8 years
Red and Black Oak 4 years
Tamarack (Redwood) 9 years
Elm 6-7 years
Ash, Beech, Maple 4 years
Black Walnut 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. 179
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.
I/ime 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.
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 thi?
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:
Kyanifcing 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
182 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY.
this account more liable to wash out of the wood when in con-
tact with the soil.
£inc Tannin Process. In this process the chloride 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.
Burnettifcing. 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 describing 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 China^and 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
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 othei
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 Minnesota 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 1000:
Sash and door manufacturers 1,186
Sawmills, shingle and lath mills ' 9J79
Planing mills 1,707
Rattan and willow works 48
Paper mills 229
Lumber yards 276
Wood-working shops 830
Furniture and fixtures 1,405
Cooperage 772
Box manufacturing 356
Total 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.-
ooo 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.
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: (i) 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 I/and. 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 Systems 'of 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 I/ands. 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 BFst 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 as a 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
Figure .
A fine young growth of Norway Spruce (Picea excelsa) in
n of the "Giessen Forestry School" in Hessen, Germany.
the forest garden
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 br^ng 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 mor£ 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
lire 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.
PART II.
TREES OF MINNESOTA
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, Arborvitae 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 soft, 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.
Plate i. Pinus strobus. White Pine.
i. 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.
Scale of cone with seeds attached, one-half natural size. 9. Seeds with
wings attached, one-half natural size. ic. Seeds, enlarged. IT. 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. In the 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 soft, 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 buildingxand 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. I/imber 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 five 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
PINE.
203
Plate 2. Pinus resinosa. Red Pine.
i. Branch bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Staminate
flower, natural size. 3. Pistillate flower, natural size. 4. Anther, open, en-
larged. 5. Scale of pistillate flower, enlarged. 6. Branch bearing ripened
cones and young cones. 7. Scale of cone with seeds attached, one-half
natural size. 8. Cross section of needle. 9. Seedling plant, one-half nat-
ural size.
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
PittUS divaricata. (P. bankszana.} 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
206
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 3. Pinus divaricata. Jack Pine.
i. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch
bearing pistillate flowers, one-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. 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.
Plate 4. Pinus ponderosa scopulorum. Rock Pine.
i. 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 showing young growth, one-half natural size. 10. Fascicle of
three needles, one-half natural size. n. 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 largely 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
210
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 5. Pinits sylvestris. Scotch Pine.
i. 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, enlarged. 5. Scale of pistillate flower, rear view,
enlarged. 6. Scale of pistillate flower, front view, enlarged. 7. Anther, en-
larged. 8. 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
sire. it. 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. (P. 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.
Plate 6. Finns laricio austriaca. Austrian Pine.
i. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. BYanch
bearing pistillate 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, enlarged. 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. n. 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 central 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
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 I^ARIX.
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.
I/arix laricina. (L. 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
Plate 7. Larix europea. European Larch.
i. 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. 9. A leaf from fascicle on old growth. 10. A leaf
from new growth, n. Winter branch showing persistent cone. 12. Seed-
ling.
216 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
I/arix 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 PICIJA.
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. (P. 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.
Plate 8. Picea canadensis. White Spruce.
i. 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. (P. 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
Plate 9. Picea mariana. Black Spruce.
i. 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. Specific 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. (P. 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 tn^ncate 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
glanca.
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
Spruce. 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 some nurseries 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;
sap wood 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, often 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
Plate 10. Picea excelsa. Norway Spruce.
i. 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.
10. Scale of cone with seeds attached, one-half natural size. n. Seeds with
wings attached. 12. Seed, natural size. 13. Seedling, one-half natural size.
14. General view of tree showing drooping branches and pyramidal form.
224 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 our native spruces and is very graceful and
stately in form. There are many plantings of this tree in Minne-
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. (P. 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 giving
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 Wood. — 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.
15
226
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate ii. Psendotsuga taxifolia. Douglas Spruce.
i. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Stam
iuate 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. Uone-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, n. Winter buds.
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. — Northeastern 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.
Plate 12. Abies balsamea. Balsam Fir.
i. 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 coae, 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 ol
cone, upper view, natural size. 9. Scale of cone, lower view, natural size.
BALSAM FIR. 229
Propagation. — 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.
Distribtition. — 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 Arborvitae, comes within
our range.
Thuja occidentalis. Arborvitae. 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 sdutheastern 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.
ARBORVITJE.
231
Plate 13. Thuja occidentalis. Arborvitae.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Staminate flower, en-
larged. 3. Stamens, enlarged. 4. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 5. Scale of
pistillate flower, enlarged. 6. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 7.
Cone. 8. Scale with seed attached, natural size. 9. Longitudinal section
of seed. 10. Embryo, n. A leaf, natural size. 12. Cross section of a
branch, reduced. 13. Seedling, reduced.
232 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Propagation. — The seeds of the Arborvitae 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 Arborvitae 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.
Varieties. —
Thuja occidentalis wareana. (T. sibiHca.} Siberian
Arborvitae.
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". o. fyramidalis.')
Pyramidal Arborvitse.
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-
vitae.
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 sunscalds severely.
Genus JUNIP^RUS.
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.
i. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Stam-
inate flower, enlarged. 3. 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-
half natural" size. 9. Transverse sections of iruit, enlarged. 10. Longi-
tudinal section of seed, enlarged, n. 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
H
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 homeopathic remedies. Oil of Red Cedar is
distilled from the leaves and wood, and is used principally in per-
fumery.
Jtmiperus 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 becomes
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 JUGI,ANS.
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 (/. 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.
i. 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. VVinter branchlet, one-half natural size. 10. Mature
fruit, one-half natural size. n. 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. — Light, soft, not strong, rather coarse
grained, easily worked, with a satiny surface capable of receiving
BUTTERNUT.
241
Plate 16. Juglans cinerea. Butternut.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Pistillate flower, en-
larged. 3. Staminate flower, enlarged. 4. Diagram of pistillate flower. 5.
Diagram of staminate flower. 6. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 7.
Leaf, reduced. 8. Winter branch, one-half natural size.
16
242 TREES OE 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 planted 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, cennecting 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.
Plate 17. Hicoria minima. Bitternut Hickory.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Staminate flower, en-
larged. 3. Longitudinal section of pistillate flower, enlarged. 4. Fruiting
branch, one-half natural size. 5. Cross section of nut, one-half natural
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 Wood. — 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 grav-
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 thatfof 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. Leaves 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 SAI/IX.
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 wijlows increase readily from 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. The 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 Willow.
i. 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. Fruiting 'branch, one-half* natural size. 7.
Summer branch, one-half natural size.
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.
Figure 50. Wisconsin Weeping 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.
Salix amygdaloides. Almondleaf Willow.
Willow.
Peachleaf
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.
i. 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. 5. Fruiting
branch, one-half natural size. 6. Summer branch, one-half natural size. 7.
Bud and leaf scar. {
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 gath-
ered.
Properties of Wood. — Light, soft, weak, close grained, light
brown with thick whitish sapwood. Specific gravity, 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 5. 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.
i. Flowering branch from staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2.
Flowering branch from pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Scale of
staminate catkin, enlarged. 4. Scale of pistillate catkin, front view, en-
larged. 5. Scale of pistillate catkin, rear view, enlarged. 6. Fruiting
branch, one-half natural size. 7. Leaf, one-half natural size. 8. Winter
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. — Soft; 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
bright yellow, conspicuous,
fragrant, staminate catkins,
appearing with the leaves in
ri.i'1'-
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.
Figure 51. Russian Golden Wil-
low. A round-topped tree.
Salix alba britsensis.
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 regalis. (Salix
regalts.) 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.
Figure 52 Salix alba britzensis.
A conical-shaped tree.
WILLOW.
257
Salix peiltandra. (Salix laurifolia of horticulturists.)
I/aurelleaf 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 larvae 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 planting 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
broad yellow midribs. Stipules one-eighth to
one-quarter of an inch broad, remaining all
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 Almondleaf 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
17
Figure 53- Leaf
of Laurel leaf Wil-
low, one-half nat-
ural size.
258
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 21. Salix lucida. Glossyleaf Willow.
i. 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 fruit, enlarged. 7. Summer branch,
one-half 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. (S. na^oleonis.} 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
. -s^
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 POPUI/US.
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 Salicacea, 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 tretnuloid.es. 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 penduloife 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.
i. 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. 10.
Longitudinal section of seed, enlarged, n. Embryo, enlarged. 12. Fruit-
ing branch, one-half natural size.
262 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Populus grandidenta. I/argetooth 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 brow.n 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.
Plate 23. Populus balsamifera. Balm of Gilead.
i- Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. F.ow
ering branch ot pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Fruiting branch,
one-half natural size. 4. Scale oi staminate catkin, enlarged. 5. Scale ot
pistillate catkin, enlarged. 6. Scale without flower, displayed, enlarged. 7.
Mature fruit. 8. Seed, enlarged. 9. Longitudinal section of seed, en-
larged. 10. Embryo, enlarged, u. 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 Torm, 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
suavcolens.
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. Noksti 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-
lar.
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. (P. monilifera.) Cottonwood. Car-
olina Poplar. Yellow Cottonwood.
Leaves large, deltoid or broadly ovate, usually abruptly acu-
minate, coarsely crenate; petioles laterally compressed. Twigs
Figure 55. Leaves of Narrow
leaf Cottonwood, one-third nat
ural size.
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. — Light, soft, spongy and weak, although
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.
2G7
Plate 24. Populus delioidcs. Cottonwood.
i. 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.
2G8 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.
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, 111., 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. 2GU
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 so'ft 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."
Varieties. —
Populus deltoides aurea. (P. Van Gertii, 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.
*70 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
bctulifolia i%s 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. — Light, soft, compact, not strong. Specific
gravity of air-dried wood 0.45.
j. Uses. — The Black Poplar and its several varie-
.*•£» ties are used for shade and ornamental trees
v& , where a quick effect is needed. The wood is
'>J§£ used for cheap packing cases, crates and for light
9£$$$? ^ue*- I*1 pharmacy the buds are used for preserv-
ing fats.
Varieties.—
Populus nigra italica.
I/ombardy Poplar.
*$$% A common tree with upright branches,
making a very straight columnar growth, and
, .-J^Ur on this account very conspicuous. Leaves small
Fi ure 6 ^^ &enerally with a more tapering base than
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
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."
Varieties. —
Populus alba nivea, (P. argentea, Koch.} Snowy Poplar.
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.
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 25. Populus alba. White Poplar.
i. Flowering branch from staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2.
Flowering branch from pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Scale of
staminate catkin, enlarged. 4. Scale of pistillate catkin, enlarged. 5. Sum-
mer 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.
Figure 57. Leaf
OneBthird natwS Populus laurifolia. (P. 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 BETUI/A.
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,
BIRCH.
275
Plate 26. Betula papyrifera. Paper Birch.
i. 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.
277
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. Ciitleaf 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
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
and glabrous or tomentose be-
neath. Flowers open in early
spring; staminate catkins mostly
clustered in twos or threes, two
and one-half to three and one-
third inches- long; pistillate cat-
kins soft downy, oblong, cylindri-
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 rnoist places.
Propagation: — By seeds, which ripen in June, and should be
sown at once, making plants eight to ten inches high by autumn.
Figure 58. Leaf of Cut-
leaf Birch. One-half natural
size.
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. A large and very valuable timber tree.
Distribution. — From Newfoundland to the valley of the Rainy
river, and south to North Carolina and Tennessee. In Minne-
sota common in woods in north half of the state and rare in the
western and southwestern portion.
Propagation. — See genus Betula.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, very strong, hard and close
grained, with a satiny surface that takes a fine polish; it is light
brown tinged with red, with thin white sapwood. Specific grav-
ity 0.6553; weight of a cubic foot 40.84 pounds.
Uses. — The wood of the Yellow Birch is one of the most valu-
able of our northern woods, and is sometimes termed American
Mahogany. It is largely used in the manufacture of fine furni-
ture, the hubs of wheels, and for small wooden articles such as
clothes pins, pill boxes, shoe pegs, tool handles, tripods, and
also for keels for ships. As fuel it is much superior to Paper
Birch. The bark is used to some extent for tanning purposes.
The volatile oil used for imparting the flavor of Birch to can-
dies, soda water, etc., is derived to some extent from this species
though mostly from the Sweet Birch (B. lenta.) It requires a
cold, moist soil to develop its best form, and suffers severely
from drouth. On this account it is not desirable as an orna-
mental tree or for prairie planting.
BIRCH.
Plate 27. Betula lutca. Yellow Birch.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Staminate flower, en-
larged. 3. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 4. Fruiting branch, one-half nat-
ural size. 5. Nut, enlarged. 6. Scale of iruiting catkin, enlarged. 7. Wm-
ver branch, showing staminate catkin, one-half natural size.
280 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Genus AI,NUS.
A genus comprising five species in the Northern States, two
of which are in Minnesota. Flowers monoecious, both kinds
in catkins pendulous when expanded. Apetalons, calyx usually
four-parted. Fruit a winged or wingless minute flat nut. Flow-
ers appearing before, with or after the leaves. The species here
referred to is one of the smaller and least valuable of the genus.
The Alnus glutinosa of Europe makes a large timber tree, grow-
ing to the height of seventy feet, and Alnus oregona of the Pa-
cific slope sometimes attains a height of eighty feet and a diam-
eter of three feet. The specius of Alnus produce soft, straight-
grained wood which soon decays, but is of great durability
when placed underground or in water. In some places it is
largely grown for making charcoal, which is used for inferior
kinds of gunpowder. Bowls and other domestic utensils are
also made of its wood. The bark and cones are astringent,
and are used in tanning leather and in medicine.
Alnus incana. Speckled or Hoary Alder.
Leaves oval or ovate, finely dentate, dark green above, pale
or glaucous, with some pubescens beneath, veins prominent on
lower surface. Catkins appearing much before the leaves;
staminate catkins conspicuous in autumn and winter, one and
one-half to three inches when unfolded; pistillate catkins about
one-half inch long when expanded, but are protected in buds
during winter. The fruit is a small cone, and opens in autumn
and early winter, and generally remains on the tree until spring.
The seed is flat, roundish, with a hard margin. A shrub or
small tree eight to twenty-five feet high.
Distribution. — Newfoundland west to the Rocky Mountains
and throughout Canada, south to Nebraska and Pennsylvania.
Also in Europe and Asia. Generally found in moist places.
Propagation. — By seeds.
Properties of wood. — Light, soft, brittle, not strong.
Uses. — Seldom used in this country for any purpose, but the
wood is undoubtedly of value for charcoal for the manufacture
of inferior kinds of gunpowder. As a shrub for use in land-
scape gardening in wet places it is of some value.
ALDER.
281
5 Jg-*.^ f ^W 3
Plate 28. Alnus incana. Speckled or Hoary Alder.
i. A fruiting mature branch, one-half natural size. 2. A flowering
branch, one-hall natural size. 3. Pistillate flower and scale, front view,
enlarged. 4. A staminate flower, enlarged. 5. Scale of a staminate catkin,
rear view, enlarged. 6. A nut. 7. Scale of a cone.
282 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Genus OSTRYA.
Flowers monoecious, apetalous; the staminate naked in long
pendulous catkins; the pistillate in erect loose catkins; ovary
two-celled, inferior, surrounded by small deciduous bracts and
each inclosed in a sac-like involucre which grows and forms a
sort of cluster, like that of the common hop. Leaves alternate.
Only one species comes within our range.
Ostrya virginiana. Hornbeam. Ironwood. Hop Horn-
beam.
Leaves oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed, very sharply and
doubly serrate, green above and downy beneath. Flowers
minute, appearing with the leaves. Seed in short imbricated
catkin-like clusters, ripe in August but hanging on into late
autumn; nut one-fourth to one-third of an inch long. Bark
on old trees dark brown and furrowed, not smooth as in Car-
pinus. A handsome tree, generally small, but occasionally a
foot or more in diameter.
Distribution. — From Cape Breton to northern Minnesota and
Black Hills of Dakota and south to northern Florida and east-
ern Texas. In Minnesota common throughout the timbered
portions of the state except close to the shore of Lake Superior.
. Propagation. — Generally grown from seeds, but may be grown
from layers or grafts.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, very strong, hard and tough, ex-
ceedingly close grained, durable in contact with the soil and
susceptible of a fine polish. It is light brown tinged with red,
or ofter nearly white with thick pale sapwood. Specific gravity
0.8284; weight of a cubic foot 51.62 pounds. /-
Uses. — The Hornbeam is a very beautiful, hardy tree, and is
occasionally used for ornamental purposes, for umbrella sticks
and canes, but on account of its rather slow growth it is not
generally desirable for this purpose. The wood is used for
fence posts, levers, mallets, handles of tools, and medicinally in
homeopathic practice.
HORNBEAM.
283
Plate 29. Ostrya virginiana. Hornbeam.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Scale of staminate cat-
kin, enlarged. 3. Stamen, enlarged. 4. Diagram of pistillate inflorescence.
5. Scale of pistillate catkin, enlarged. 6. Pistillate flower enclosed in bract
and bractlets, enlarged. 7. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 8. Lon-
gitudinal section ot fruiting involucre, showing nut, one-half natural size.
9. Longitudinal section ot nut, natural size.
284 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Genus CARPINUS.
Tall, slender trees or small shrubs. About twelve species in
the northern hemisphere, only one of which is indigenous to
North America.
Carpinus caroliniana. Blue Beech. Water Beech.
Hornbeam.
Leaves ovate, oblong, sharply serrate, pale blue-green on
upper surface and light yellow-green on the lower, smooth and
thin, two and one-half to four inches long, resembling those
of the common Beech. Flowers monoecious, appearing with
the leaves; the staminate in rather dense catkins and the pistil-
late in small slender loose catkins with a three-lobed bracelet
to each seed. Fruit in loose clusters at the ends of the new
growth, with large three-lobed bracts to the involucre, ripening
late in the autumn. The nut is one-sixth to one-third of an
inch long. Shrubs or trees twenty or more feet high, with
smooth, grayish bark and stems often deeply furrowed.
Distribution. — From southwestern Quebec westward to north-
ern Minnesota and eastern Nebraska and south to Florida and
Texas. Also found in southern Mexico and Central America.
In Minnesota common throughout the south half of the state,
along streams and around lakes.
Propagation. — By seeds, which grow irregularly. The varie-
ties may be grafted or budded on seedling stocks.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, very strong, hard and close
grained; light brown, with thick, nearly white sapwood. Spe-
cific gravity 0.7286; weight of a cubic foot 45.41 pounds.
Uses. — The graceful habit, dark blue-green foliage and beauti-
ful autumn tints of the Blue Beech make it a desirable tree for
parks and lawns on good soil in somewhat sheltered situations.
The wood is so very tough that it was used by the early settlers
in the northern states for brooms, ox-gads, withes, etc. The
toughest wood of our northern forests.
BLUE BEECH.
285
Plate 30. Carpinus caroiliana. Blue Beech.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Scale of staminate cat-
kin, enlarged. 3. Stamen, enlarged. 4. Scale of pistillate catkin, enlarged.
5. Pistillate flower with bract and bractlets, enlarged. 6. Fruiting branch,
one-half natural size. 7. Nut with involucre, one-half natural size. 8.
Nut, enlarged. 9. Longitudinal section of nut, enlarged. 10. Winter
branch, one-half natural size. n. Staminate catkin in winter, enlarged.
286 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
FAGACEAE. OAK FAMILY.
Genus CASTAN^A.
Trees or shrubs with watery juice and serrate straight veined
leaves. Flowers monoecious, strong smelling, in axillary cat-
kins near the ends of the branches, appearing after the leaves.
The staminate flowers in erect or spreading yellowish cylindrical
catkins; calyx mostly six-parted; stamens numerous, some-
times with abortive ovary; filaments slender. t The fertile
flowers usually two to five in an ovoid scaly prickly involucre
at the base of the androgynous catkins; calyx with a six-lobed
border crowning the mostly six-celled ovary and usually with
four to twelve abortive stamens; ovules two in each cavity,
but only one to each ovary usually maturing; styles corre-
sponding in number with the cavities in the ovary, slender,
exserted; stigmas small. Involucre of fertile flowers enlarging
and becoming globose, mostly four-valved; in fruit a thick,
very prickly bur inclosing from one to three ovoid nuts.
Cotyledons very thick, cohering anil remaining underground in
germination.
Castanea dentata. Chestnut.
Leaves oblong lanceolate, pointed, acute at base, serrate with
coarse pointed teeth; when mature smooth and green on both
sides. Fruit sweet and edible, ripening in autumn. A large
forest tree with gray bark.
Distribution.' — Maine and Ontario to Delaware, Michigan,
Tennessee and Mississippi.
Propagation. — Most commonly by seed, which should be sown
in autumn or stratified over winter and sown in the spring.
The seed is very difficult to preserve in good condition for
germination unless carefully stratified out of doors. When
dried it soon loses its vitality and when stratified in the cellar
is very liable to mould. The foreign sorts, of which there are
a number in cultivation, are mostly propagated by grafting on
the species.
Properties of ivood. — Light, soft, not strong, coarse grained,
liable to check and warp in drying, easily split, very durable in
CHESTNUT.
287
Plate 31. Castanca dentaia. Chestnut.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Staminate flower, en-
larged. 3. Diagram of pistillate flower cluster. 4. Pistillate flower, en-
larged. 5. Longitudinal section of involucre ot pistillate flowers. 6. Por-
tion of iruiting branch, one-half natural size. 7. Longitudinal section of
fruit, one-half natural size. 8. Involucral spine. 9. End of young branch-
let.
288 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
contact with the soil, reddish brown, with thin, light colored
sapwood. Specific gravity 0.4504; weight of a cubic foot 28.07
pounds.
Uses.— Within and near its range the Chestnut is an im-
portant and very fast-growing timber tree that readily renews
itself from sprouts from the roots. As an ornamental tree it
is highly esteemed wherever it is hardy. In this section it is
not sufficiently hardy to warrant any extensive planting of it,
but has held on well for twenty years in Houston county, where
are found thrifty trees eight inches in diameter and forty feet
high at the home of Mr. J. S. Harris. In the forest plantation
at the Minnesota Experiment Station the young trees are doing
very well.
The wood is used in the manufacture of cheap furniture,
school globes and object forms, tool handles, kegs, for interior
finishing of houses, for railway ties, fence posts and rails. Its
durability is due to the large amount of tannic acid which it
contains. An extract of the wood is largely used in tanning.
Genus QUERCUS.
A very large genus of about 200 species, which are not
always clearly defined. The four here described are nearly dis-
tinct, but there are great variations in the species, and many
undoubted hybrids. Flowers greenish or yellowish, monoeci-
ous; the staminate in slender naked catkins, ea.ch flower con-
sisting of a four to seven-parted or lobed calyx and four to
twelve stamens; the pistillate flowers scattered or somewhat
clustered, each consisting of a nearly three-celled, six-ovuled,
inferior ovary with a three-lobed stigma and inclosed by a
scaly bud-like involucre, which becomes the hardened cup
(cupule) around the base of the fruit, which is a rounded one-
celled nut or acorn. Cotyledons remain underground in germ-
ination. All our species flower in the spring and shed their
acorns in the autumn of the same or following year. This
genus is readily divided into the White Oak and the Black
Oak classes.
The White Oak class is characterized by leaves with rounded
lobes, teeth that are never bristle pointed; edible acorns ma-
turing the first year, inner surface of shell glabrous; wood
hard, close grained, durable; tree with deep permanent tap root.
OAK. 289
The Black Oak class is characterized by leaves having acute
lobes and bristle-pointed teeth; acorns bitter, maturing the
second year, inner surface of shell of acorn woolly; wood por-
ous and brittle; roots spreading, seldom having clearly defined
tap roots except when young.
Oak bark is used for tanning leather. The cork of com-
merce is the older bark of the Quercus suber of southern Europe.
Galls caused by insects puncturing the young and tender shoots
are produced on the branches of most oak trees, and are im-
ported in large quantities from Asia Minor, China and else-
where to be used in the manufacture of inks and dyes. The
bark of most species is tonic and astringent, and as a decoction
is sometimes employed as an external remedy.
Oak is in general use for ship and car building, general con-
struction, canoes, carriages and wagons, furniture and finish-
ing, school apparatus, billiard tables, cooperage, gunstocks,
drawing instruments, pumps, cheese boxes, basket work, um-
brella sticks and canes.
Propagation. — All the species grow readily from seeds which
have been kept properly, but if allowed to get dry they are
liable to lose their vitality. The seedlings have tap roots often
three to four feet long when the top is not more than a foot
high. On this account the trees are often very difficult and un-
certain to transplant, but if the tap roots are cut off a foot from
the surface of the ground when the trees are one year old they
form side roots and then may be moved with a reasonable
degree of certainty within the next few years before they have
formed new tap roots.
Quercus alba. White Oak.
Leaves short petioled, oblong or obovate in outline, obliquely
cut into three to nine oblong or linear and obtuse mostly entire
lobes, smooth excepting when young, pale or glaucous under-
neath, bright green above, turning to a soft wine color in
autumn. Fruit an edible acorn maturing the first year, hence
borne on the shoot of the season, three-fourths to one inch
long, oblong, often peduncled, not more than one-third covered
by the hemispherical saucer-shaped naked cup which is rough
or tubercled at maturity. A noble and picturesque tree some-
times attaining a height of 100 feet with a trunk six feet in di-
ameter, but much smaller within our range. Its bark is rough,
19
290
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 32. Querciis alba. White Oak.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Portion of a staminate
catkin, enlarged. 3. Staminate flower, enlarged. 4. Cluster of pistillate
flowers, enlarged. 5. Cross section of ovary, enlarged. 6. Fruiting branch,
one-half natural size. 7. Cup, one-half natural size. 8. Longitudinal sec-
tion of acorn, one-half natural size. 9. A germinated acorn, one-half natur-
al size.
OAK. 291
with longitudinal fissures and of a whitish gray color, whence
its name. It is also conspicuous from its holding many of its
dead withered leaves until nearly spring, and in this respect it
differs from the Bur Oak, to which it is. closely allied but which
sheds all its leaves in autumn.
Distribution. — From southern Maine westward through On-
tario to southern and central Minnesota and eastern Kansas,
south to Florida and Texas. In Minnesota frequent in che
southeastern and central parts of the state.
Propagation. — The acorns of the White Oak naturally start
into growth in the first of autumn, and often form roots several
inches long by the time the ground freezes. In consequence of
this there is but a short time in which to sow them, and this
should be done as soon as they can be gathered in autumn or
if planted later great pains must be taken not to break the
radicle which will probably have pushed out. The seeds require
only ordinary care to secure a good stand if properly managed.
Properties of wood. — Strong, very heavy, hard, tough, close
grained, durable in contact with soil although liable to check
unless carefully seasoned; color light brown with thin light
brown sapwood. Specific gravity 0.747; weight of a cubic foot
46.35 pounds.
Uses. — The White Oak is highly esteemed as an ornamental
tree on account of its sturdiness, longevity and magnificent
spreading form, although it is seldom planted on account of
its slow growth; one of our hardiest trees, although it will not
endure as much drouth as the Bur Oak or White Elm. The
wood is of great value on account of its adaptability to many
purposes where a tough, strong, close grained wood is needed.
It is largely used in ship building, in construction, in cooperT
age, for casks, barrels, kegs, tubs, pails and measures (large
quantities being exported to Europe in the form of staves), in
the manufacture of agricultural implements, carriages and
baskets, for flooring and the interior finishing of houses, in furni-
ture and cabinet making, tool handles and for railway ties, fence
posts and fuel.
Quercus platanoides. Swamp White Oak.
Leaves obovate or oblong-obovate, coarsely sinuately toothed
or sometimes lobed, dark green above and usually densely
white-tomehtose beneath, except on foliage that is much shaded.
292
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 33. Quercus platanoides. Swamp White Oak.
i. Staminate inflorescence, one-half natural size. 2. Pistillate inflores-
cence and young branch, one-half natural size. 3. A leaf grown in the
shade. 4. A fruiting branch, reduced.
OAK. 293
Fruit usually in pairs and matures the first year; borne on
slender erect peduncles from one and one-half to two and one-
half inches long. The rather deep cup- incloses about one-third
of the acorn, which is oblong-oval in form and about one inch
long. Bark, gray, flaky, especially on young trees or branches.
A large tree, attaining commonly a height of about seventy
feet in this section, with a diameter of three or four feet. Easily
recognized by the flaky bark of the young growth and the small
dwarfed, twisted and generally pendulous branches, which often
occur on the larger limbs and trunk.
Distribution. — From Maine to Minnesota and Missouri, and
from Ontario south to northern Kentucky and Arkansas, where
it is generally found along the borders of streams and swamps,
in moist, fertile soil.
Propagation. — By seed, as for white oak.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, hard, strong and tough; liable to
check badly in seasoning. Color light brown, with sapwood of
about the same shade. Durable in contact with the soil. Spe-
cific gravity 0.7662; weight of a cubic foot 47.75.
Uses. — The Swamp White Oak is excellent for carriage build-
ing, cooperage, agricultural implements, railway ties, fence posts,
cabinetmaking, interior finish of houses and for fuel.
Quercus macrocarpa. Bur Oak. Mossy-Cup Oak. Bur
White Oak.
Leaves large, ovate or oblong, lyrate-pinnatifid or deeply
sinuate-lobed or parted, the lobes sparingly toothed or entire,
irregular, downy or pale beneath and bright green above, turn-
ing to a dull yellow before falling in autumn. Cup (cupule)
deep, thick, woody, conspicuously imbricated with hard, thick
pointed scales, the upper ones generally awned so as to make
a mossy, fringed border, but this is occasionally lacking.
Acorns ovoid, almost spherical, half or wholly inclosed by the
cup. Bark rougher and darker colored than that of the White
Oak. A large tree, varying greatly in form, sometimes growing
100 feet high and six or seven feet through the trunk, but in
this section seldom over seventy feet high and three feet
through.
Distribution. — From New Brunswick and Nova Scotia west-
ward to Manitoba, Montana and Kansas, and southwestward to
294 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 34. Quercus tnacrocarpa. Bur Oak.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Fruiting branch one-
natural size. 3. Staminate flower, enlarged. 4. Pistillate inflores-
cence, enlarged.
OAK. -05
Tennessee, Indian Territory and Texas. In Minnesota common
or abundant in all except the extreme northeastern part.
Prorogation. — Very easily grown from seeds planted in au-
tumn. The seedlings in good prairie soil attain a height of
about four feet in five years.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, hard, rather brittle, coarse
grained and very durable in contact with the soil; color, rich
brown with much lighter brown sapwood. Specific gravity
°-74535 weight of a cubic foot 46.45 pounds.
Uses. — The Bur Oak is the most magnificent, most durable
and longest lived tree for planting throughout this whole sec-
tion. It is also one of the most valuable timber trees of North
America. Although its wood is rather coarser grained and in-
ferior in strength to that of the White Oak, with which it is
commercially confounded, yet it is used for the same purposes.
Quercus rubra. Red Oak.
-Leaves oblong-obovate to oblong, moderately sometimes
deeply pinnatifid with rounded sinuses, seven to nine narrow
lobes, these and the teeth being bristle pointed; mature leaves
rather thin, turning dark red after frost in autumn. Cup saucer-
shaped or flat, with a narrow raised border of fine scales, sessile
or on a very short stalk, very much shorter than the acorn,
which is oblong-ovoid or turgid-ovoid, one inch or less in
length, with a bitter kernel. Two years are required to ripen,
the nut, which is consequently found on the old wood below
the leaves of the season. Bark smoother than that of most
oaks. A tree seventy to eighty or more feet high, with a trunk
three or four feet in diameter.
Distribution. — From Nova Scotia to the divide west of Lake
Superior and to central Kansas, south to Georgia and Ten-
nessee. In Minnesota found along the Mississippi river and
occasionally in other parts, but is not very common anywhere
in the state.
Propagation. — Easily grown from fall sown seeds.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, hard, strong, coarse grained and
liable to check badly in drying. Specific gravity 0.6621 ; weight
of a cubic foot, 41.25 pounds.
Uses. — The Red Oak has been used to a limited extent in this
country and Europe as an ornamental tree, for which its stately
296
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 35. Quercus rubra. Red Oak.
i. Flowering branch showing immature fruit of one year's growth, one-
half natural size. 2. Stammate flower, enlarged. 3. Pistillate flower, en-
larged. 4. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 5. Longitudinal section
of fruit, one-half natural size. 6\ Cup, one-half natural size. 7. Mature
leaf, one-half natural size.
OAK. 297
form, vigorous growth and fine autumn coloring make it es-
pecially desirable. No oak of the Northern States is more
easily transplanted. The wood, which in trade is not distin-
guished from that of the Scarlet Oak, is used for interior finish-
ing, furniture and in construction, and has a beautiful grain for
finishing. It is often used for fuel, but is generally though not
universally considered much inferior to the White Oak for this
purpose.
Quercus coccinea. Scarlet Oak. Black Oak.
Leaves oblong or obovate, deeply pinnatifid with broad
rounded sinuses and slender lobes divergent and divided at the
apex into several teeth which are bristle-pointed. When the
leaves unfold they are bright red and covered with pubescence,
but towards maturity they become shining green and generally
glabrous above, the lower side in this section often furnished
with tufts of hair in the axils of the veins. The leaves turn a
brilliant red or scarlet in autumn, remain on the trees in this
section all winter and fall in the spring. The buds are often
slightly pubescent, and are smaller and very different from the
large tomentose buds of Quercus velutina. The fruit, which
ripens in the autumn of the second year, is sessile, or on a stalk
which is sometimes an inch long. It is oval or globular ovoid,
with a bitter kernel. A 'common and often large tree in this
section, where it is generally termed Black Oak, and is found
on gravelly ridges and sandy land interspersed with Bur and
Red Oak.
Distribution. — From Maine to the District of Columbia and
west to Minnesota and Nebraska.
Propagation. — By fall-sown seeds.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, hard, strong, coarse grained, light
or reddish brown with thick darker colored sapwood. Specific
gravity 0.7095; weight of a cubic foot 42.20 pounds.
Uses. — The Scarlet Oak is not planted to so great an extent
as the Red Oak for ornamental purposes, but is fully as desir-
able because of its beautiful scarlet autumn coloring and rapid
growth. The wood is largely used in the manufacture of furni-
ture, for interior finishing and for fuel, and is not distinguished
commercially from that of Red Oak.
298 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 36. Quercus coccinea. Scarlet Oak.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Pistillate flower cluster,
enlarged. 3. Staminate flower, enlarged. 4. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 5.
Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 6, Acorn, one-half natural size.
ELM. 290
ULMACEAE. ELM FAMILY.
Genus UlyMUS.
Leaves simple, alternate, two-ranked, short petioled, straight
veined, usually rather rough. Flowers appear before the leaves
in our species; perfect or rarely polygamous, apetalous, green-
ish, in lateral clusters; calyx four to nine lobed; stamens four
to nine with long slender filaments; ovary superior, one-celled
or rarely two-celled, flattened; styles two, short and diverging.
Fruit a samara with a broad membranous margin, one-celled,
one-seeded, ripens in early summer; seed all embryo. A genus
of about fifteen widely distributed species, which are mostly
large deciduous trees, three of which occur in our range. Most
of the elms produce hard, tough wood, that is often difficult to
split. The European species have given rise to many varieties
differing from the parent species in many ways, but chiefly in
habit of growth and color of foliage. A form of the European
Scotch Elm (U. Montana) with pendulous habit, known in nur-
series as Camperdown Weeping Elm, has done very well in a
somewhat protected location at the Minnesota Experiment Sta-
tion, -and bids fair to make a very ornamental specimen. The
stock on which it is worked (probably U. campestris), however,
has sunscalded. In China a white mucilaginous meal is made
from the inner bark of the Elm, and is used as food by the
mountaineers of the northern provinces and in the composition
of incense sticks. The fruit is employed in medicine, and the
bark and young fruits are eaten in periods of severe famine.
Propagation. — The species are grown from seeds and the
varieties by layers, budding, and grafting. With the exception
of the Slippery Elm (q. v.) the seeds should be sown as soon
as gathered.
Ulmus americana. White I£lm. American Elm. Water
Elm.
Leaves three to four inches long, obovate-oblong to oval,
usually smooth on the upper and soft and velvety on the lower
surface, coarsely and doubly serrate, taper-pointed, turning to
a bright yellow before falling. Branches small, slender, ascend-
ing, at length spreading and pendulous; twigs and buds smooth,
300
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 37. Ulmus americana. White Eim.
i. Portion of summer branch, one-half natural size. 2. Flowering
branch, one-half natural size. 3. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size.
4. Portion of winter branch, one-half natural size. 5. Flower, enlarged.
6. Longitudinal section of flower, enlarged. 7. Longitudinal section of
pistillate flower, enlarged. 8. Longitudinal section of fruit, natural size. 9.
'Lmbryo, enlarged. 10. Longitudinal section of seed, natural size.
ELM. 301
not corky. Flower? appear in April, in dense clusters, with
slender drooping pedicels. Fruit ripe in May, smooth except
the edges, which are hairy, with incurved sharp points at the
apex. A large common tree, sometimes 120 feet high and six
feet or more in diameter. This tree varies greatly in habit;
some specimens may be quite upright in growth while others
are very pendulous. One having the drooping habit, that was
found in Illinois, is now offered by nurserymen.
Distribution. — From Newfoundland and along the northern
shores of Lake " Superior to the eastern base of Rocky Moun-
tains, south to Florida and Texas and west in the United States
to the Black Hills of Dakota and western Kansas. In Minne-
sota common throughout the state.
Propagation. — Described under genus Ulmus. The seeds can
often be swept up on roadways and pavements in large quan-
tities.
Properties of wood. — Very tough in young trees, light and
moderately strong in old, difficult to split and rather coarse
grained; color light brown, with lighter colored sapwood.
Specific gravity 0.6506; weight of a cubic foot 40.55 pounds.
Uses. — The White Elm has always been the favorite shade
and ornamental tree in the Northern States, and is the best
street and park tree for general planting in this section. It
is also one of the hardiest trees for prairie planting, and will
perhaps withstand as great extremes of temperature and moist-
ure as any of our shade trees. It is a rapid and often strag-
gling grower, and should have a little attention in the way of
pruning when young to keep it in its best form. The wood
is largely used in the manufacture of agricultural implements,
for hubs of wagon wheels, for saddletrees, for flooring, in coop-
erage, for flour and meal barrels, cheese boxes, etc. The bark
was used by the Indians when they could not procure birch
bark in making their canoes 'and houses.. In some parts of
this country the tough inner bark was formerly twisted into
ropes.
Ulmus racemosa. Cork Elm. Rock Elm.
Leaves ovate-oblong or obovate, taper-pointed, smooth
above, pubescent beneath, resembling those of the White Elm,
but less sharply serrate. Twigs and bud scales pubescent;
302
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 38. Ulmus racemosa. Cork Elm.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Cluster of flowers sub-
tended by bud scale, enlarged. 3. Flower, enlarged. 4. Longitudinal sec-
tion of flower, enlarged. 5. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 6.
Longitudinal section of fruit, two-thirds natural size. 7. Summer branch,
one-half natural size.
ELM. 303
branches generally with corky ridges or wings. Flowers in
April, in open loose racemes with slender pedicels not in clus-
ters. Fruit ripe in May, an ovate elliptical samara about three-
fourths of an inch long, pubescent, with margins thickly fringed,
much like the fruit of the White Elm, but somewhat larger.
Occasionally a tree eighty to one hu: \red feet high and three
feet in diameter.
Distribution. — From Quebec, Ontario, Vermont and northern
New York west to Minnesota and south to Missouri and Ten-
nessee.
In Minnesota frequent in the eastern part and extending
into the Minnesota Valley west at least to Montevideo, Chip-
pewa county.
Propagation. — Described under genus Ulmus.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, hard, very strong and tough,
close grained, susceptible of receiving a high polish, very diffi-
cult to split. It is light brown, with yellowish or greenish
white sapwood. Specific gravity 0.7265; weight of a cubic foot
45.63 pounds.
Uses. — As an ornamental tree the Cork Elm is occasionally
used in place of the White Elm, and though a slower grower
its great hardiness and sturdy form make it very desirable for
park and street planting. It should be used more frequently
than at present. The wood, having so many valuable qualities,
is much sought for, and its extinction seems possible. It is
largely used in the manufacture of large agricultural imple-
ments, like plows and threshing and mowing machines, for
beams of stump pullers, bridge timbers, piles, wagon hubs, rims
of bicycle wheels and ax handles. For the latter purpose it is
superior to hickory. In fact, it is superior to most other woods
wherever great strength, toughness, solidity, flexibility and
durability are required.
Ulmus pubescens. (U. fulva.} Slippery Elm. -Red
Elm. Moose Elm.
Leaves ovate-oblong, doubly serrate, very rough above and
slightly rough or soft downy beneath, often four to six inches
long, taper-pointed, trough shaped, turning to a dull yellow
before falling, fragrant while drying. Buds before expansion
soft, downy, large; branchlets downy. Flowers in April, borne
304
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 39. Ulmus pubescens. Slippery Elm.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Fruiting branch, one-halt
natural size. 3. A young winter branch with buds, one-half natural size.
4. Winter branch, showing flower buds beginning to enlarge, one-half
natural size. 5. Summer branch, one-half natural size. 6. Flower, en-
larged. 7. Longitudinal section of flower, enlarged. 8. Longitudinal sec-
tion of pistil, enlarged. 9. Stamen, enlarged. 10. Cross section of ovary,
enlarged, n. Longitudinal section of fruit, one-half natural size. 12. Seed,
enlarged. 13. Longitudinal section of seed, enlarged. 14. Embryo, en-
larged.
SOS
on short pedicels. Fruit in May or June, nearly circular, about
three-fourths inch long, only slightly if at all downy. Tree
of medium size, forty to sixty feet high, with a trunk occa-
sionally two feet in diameter.
Distribution. — From Quebec and Ontario west to North Da-
kota and south to Florida and Texas; less common than the
White Elm. In Minnesota frequent throughout the state ex-
cept far nothward.
Propagation. — By seeds kept stratified until the spring follow-
ing the period of ripening. Unlike the other elms, the seeds
will not grow the same season that they mature.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, hard, strong, very close grained,
durable in contact with the soil, splits as freely and easily as
that of young chestnut. It is dark brown, with thin, light-
colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.6956; weight of a cubic
foot 43.35 pounds.
Uses. — In cultivation the Slippery Elm is a shapely, fast
growing tree, well adapted to this section; not of as pretty a
form nor as hardy in dry locations as the White or Rock Elm,
but more valuable in home timber lots. When planted as a
street tree, the bark is likely to be stripped off by boys. The
trees when planted closely together grow straight and tall and
make excellent poles for farm use. When used for posts, they
should be cut in summer and be peeled and dried before set-
ting. When this is done they will last a long time. The wood
'is used for sleigh runners, the running gear of carriages, hubs
of wheels, and in the manufacture of agricultural implements.
It is tough when boiled or steamed, hence is one of the best
woods for ribs of canoes and skiffs. The thick fragrant inner
bark is soft, mucilaginous and slightly nutritious. It has been
known to support life in case of scarcity of food. It is re-
ported that during the last war with Great Britain the soldiers
on the Canadian frontier found it a grateful and nutritious food
for their horses in times of scarcity of forage. It is used in
medicines for affections of the throat and lungs and for other
troubles.
20
306 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Genus CEI/TIS.
Leaves alternate, simple, short petioled. Flowers monoe-
ciously polygamous, appearing in the axils of the leaves of the
season; the staminate in little clusters or racemes; the perfect
flowers solitary or in pairs, peduncled; styles two. Fruit a
globular drupe; embryo curved, nearly inclosing a little gela-
tinous albumen. Only one species in the Northern States of
interest to us here.
Celtis occidentalis. Hackberry. Sugarberry. Nettle
Tree.
Leaves quite various, but usually ovate to ovate-lancelate,
sharply and coarsely serrate or sparingly so, taper-pointed, more
or less rough above and unusually soft pubescent beneath, at
least when young. Flowers appear in April and May, solitary,
small, white, on rather long peduncles. Fruit a small, solitary,
round, sweet edible drupe, reddish or yellowish, turning a dark
purple when fully matured, remaining on tree into the winter;
peduncle twice the length of the petioles. Generally a small,
but sometimes a large tree over 100 feet high and two or
three feet in diameter. The tree resembles the White Elm,
but the branches come out more at right angles and the bark
is rougher and more closely divided than that of the White Elm.
Distribution. — From Montreal west to Lake of the Woods and
North Dakota, and south to Florida and eastern Texas. West
of the Rocky Mountains it is rare, but occurs on banks of
streams. It has been found in Idaho, Washington, Oregon.
Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. In Minnesota fre-
quent in the southern half of the state, and not uncommon in
the valley of the Red River even near the extreme northern
limit of the state.
Propagation. — Easily grown from seeds, which should be
sown as soon as ripe or stratified over winter and sown in the
spring.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, rather soft, not strong, coarse
grained, dark or light brown, with thick, light colored, often
yellowish, sapwood. Specific gravity 0.7287; weight of a cubic
foot 45.41 pounds.
Uses. — The Hackberry is of rapid growth, and is one of the
best trees for general park, lawn and prairie planting here.
HACKBERRY.
307
Plate 40. Celtis occidentalis. Hackberry.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Fruiting branch, one-
half natural size. 3. Winter twig, one-half natural size. 4. Staminate flower
before straightening of filaments, enlarged. 5- Staminate flower, expanded,
enlarged. 6. Perfect flower, enlarged. 7. Longitudinal section of perfect
flower, enlarged. 8. Longitudinal section of fruit, natural size. 9. Trans-
verse section of fruit, natural size. 10. Diagram of flower.
308 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
No deciduous tree presents a more graceful appearance in
winter when the finely divided spray of the limbs, and the small
size of the young growth make it very attractive. In this sec-
tion it is preferred to the White Elm for a shade tree by some
experienced planters. It endures drouth well, but is probably
not as hardy in this way as the White Elm. It is also less
liable to split in the crotches. The wood to some extent is
used to take the place of elm, as in harness making.
MORACEAE. MULBERRY FAMILY.
The largest genus of this family is Ficus, which contains over
600 known species, including the cultivated fig (Ficus carica)
and the Indiarubber Tree (Ficus elastica). The following genus
contains about ten species, natives of the northern hemisphere.
Genus MORUS.
Trees or shrubs with milky sap and alternate, dentate and
often lobed leaves. Flowers monoecious or dioecious (rarely
polygamous) in axillary catkin.-like spikes, the pistillate spikes
ripening into succulent aggregated fruits. Calyx four-parted,
in the pistillate flower becoming fleshy; stamens four; pistils
one; stigma two.
Morus rubra. Red Mulberry.
Leaves ovate or nearly orbicular in outline, acute or taper-
pointed, occasionally deeply lobed, glabrous above, persistently
pubescent beneath, or when young almost tomentose. Flowers
appear with the unfolding of the leaves. The fruit, which is at first
bright red, when fully grown becomes dark purple or nearly black,
and when fully ripe is sweet, juicy and pleasant to the taste. It
ripens in summer, and is from one to one and one-fourth inches
long. South, it forms a large tree, with brown rough bark,
but within our range it is a small tree or mere shrub.
Distribution. — Vermont to Ontario, Michigan, and South Da-
kota and south to Florida and Texas. In Minnesota it reaches
its northern limit in the southern part of the state.
MULBERRY. 309
Propagation. — By seeds or by cuttings.
Properties of ivood. — Light, soft, not strong, rather tough,
coarse grained, and very durable in contact with the soil. Spe-
cific gravity 0.5898; weight of a cubic foot 36.75 pounds.
Uses. — The Red Mulberry is sometimes used in the Middle
and Southern States as an ornamental tree, where it forms a
large spreading tree forty feet high. It well deserves a place
on lawns or in parks, but is not very hardy in Minnesota. The
wood is valued for fence posts, and is used in cooperage; in
the Southern States it is often used in boat building. The
inner bark is fibrous, and was used by the Indians of the South-
ern States for making a coarse cloth; in early days this fiber;
was used for cordage. The leaves have been largely experi-
mented with as food for silk worms, but they are not so good
for this purpose as those of the White Mulberry (Morus.alba).
Morus alba tartarica. Russian Mulberry.
Leaves thin, smooth, glabrous and somewhat shining on both
sides, heart-shaped, ovate or orbicular, generally deeply lobed
and dentate. The same plant will often have leaves of several
forms. Flowers appear with the leaves, generally dioecious
or monoecious, but rarely polygamous. The fruit ripens early
in July, and is white or purplish in color, and varies from three-
fourths to one and one-half inches in length. As commonly
seen it is a low-growing, very bushy-topped, small tree with
light gray bark and spreading branches.
Distribution. — Native of central Asia.
Propagation. — By seeds, cuttings, layers or graftage. The
seeds, if sown as soon as gathered, will make plants about one
foot high the first season.
Properties of wood. — Probably much the same as those of the
Red Mulberry.
Uses. — The Russian Mulberry was introduced into the West-
ern States by the Russian Mennonites, who esteem it very
highly for its many good qualities, among which is the ease
with which it is propagated, its rapid growth, the value of the
leaves as food for silk worms, its fruit, ornamental appearance
and the durability of the wood in contact with the soil. It is
not perfectly hardy in this section, but generally holds on well
as far north as St. Paul, although it generally kills back con-
310
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 41. Morus alba tartanca. Russian Mulberry.
i. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch
bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. 3. Staminate flower-cluster,
enlarged. 4. Pistillate flower-cluster, natural size. 5. Staminate flower, en-
larged. 6. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 7. Longitudinal section of pistil,
enlarged. 8. Full grown lobed leaf, one-half natural size.
MULBERRY. 311
siderably for the first few years after planting. While it can
be grown in tree form, it is much better adapted to being grown
in this section in the form of a windbreak. It bears pruning
well, and makes a very pretty hedge, but is not adapted to turn-
ing cattle, as it is unarmed. The fruit is insipid and generally
small, but in almost every large lot of seedlings a few speci-
mens will be found producing fruit of good size and fair
quality. While the fruit is not marketable, it is often used
domestically, and also furnishes a large amount of food for
birds just when strawberries and raspberries are ripening, and
is preferred by them to the more acid berries, hence affords
some protection to these more important crops. Objections
to its use in ornamental planting are its susceptibility to injury
by late spring frosts, which blacken the new growth, and the
early falling of the leaves in autumn. While its leaves are well
adapted to feeding the silk worm, and have been successfully
used for this purpose in this section in a small way, yet the
industry has not become profitable.
Varieties. — A variety known as Teas Weeping Mulberry has
been partially tried at the Minnesota Experiment Station, and
gives promise of proving sufficiently hardy for somewhat pro-
tected places. This variety is vigorous, naturally sprawls on
the ground, and when worked on straight stems, its very
pendulous branches make it a very conspicuous object. Foli-
age excellent.
ROSACEAE. ROSE FAMILY.
A large family of trees, shrubs and herbs, including many of
our cultivated fruits and ornamental plants.
Genus PYRUS.
Leaves simple or pinnately compound, flowers white or
rose colored, in corymbs, cymes or clusters, perfect, regular;
stamens numerous; styles five (sometimes two or three);
carpels of the same number, two-seeded. Seeds in cells that
are made up of horny, parchment-like thin walls. Fruit a pome.
312 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
PytUS ioensiS. Iowa Crab. Wild Crab. Western Crab.
Leaves simple, oblong or obovate-oval, variously notched
and toothed; the lower surface as well as the leaf stalks, short
pedicels and young growth densely white pubescent. Flowers
rose-colored, fragrant, much like those of Pyrus coronaria, with
which this species was formerly classed and is now sometimes
referred to as a variety. Fruit round, somewhat flattened, dull
green with small light dots, hard, bitter, keeps through the
winter. A small tree.
Distribution. — Minnesota and Wisconsin, south to Kentucky
and Indian Territory.
Propagation. — By seeds or by graftage. It does not form a
durable union wth Pyrus mains, although such unions may last
several years.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, close grained, not hard nor
strong; brown to light red in color, with thick yellow sap-
wood. Specific gravity 0.7048; weight of a cubic foot 43.92
pounds.
Uses. — The Iowa Crab, with its large fragrant flowers, forms
a very pretty small ornamental tree. The fruit is made into
preserves and cider. Wrhen growing in its natural state the
tree is hardy and is seldom injured by fire-blight, but seems
to be very much subject to this disease when cultivated, es-
pecially after it has been transplanted.
Pyrus americana. Mountain Ash. American Mountain
Ash.
Leaves odd-pinnate; leaflets eleven to seventeen, lanceolate,
taper-pointed, bright green above, generally paler beneath. •
Flowers in large compound leafy cymes, appearing in May or
June. Fruit usually three-celled, globose or slightly pear-
shaped, bright red with thin flesh, one-fourth inch in diameter,
ripens in late autumn and remains on the tree all winter unless
eaten by birds. A small tree with smooth bark seldom reach-
ing a height of thirty feet, and often a mere shrub.
Distribution.— From Newfoundland to Manitoba and south-
wards through the more elevated portions of northeastern
United States and the region of the Great Lakes. It reaches
its greatest size north of Lake Superior and Lake Huron. In
IOWA CRAB.
313
Plate 42. Pyrus ioensis. Iowa Crab.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Longitudinal section of
flower with petals removed, natural size. 3. Fruiting branch, one-half
natural size. 4. Longitudinal section of fruit, one-half natural size. 5.
Summer branch, one-half natural size.
314 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
!
Minnesota common through the northern part of the state, ex-
tending south to Pine and Mille Lacs counties.
Propagation. — The species is erown from seeds and the varie-
ties by budding and grafting. The seeds may be gathered dur-
ing the autumn, stratified over winter and sown in the spring,
but seeds thus treated will seldom start until the second sea-
son. A better way is to put the seeds ten inches deep in a
hole, and cover .with three inches of sand in the autumn. They
should remain in such a place until a year trom the follow-
ing spring, when the berries will be thoroughly rotted and the
seeds may be sifted out from the pulp and sown. Thus treated,
they come up the season of planting.
Properties of wood. — Soft, light and weak, pale brown with
lighter colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.5451; weight of
a cubic foot 33.97 pounds.
Uses. — The American Mountain Ash is used as an orna-
mental tree on account of its abundant bright colored fruit, but
is not so pretty in this respect as the European or Elderleaf
Mountain Ash. The trunk of the tree is liable to sunscald,
and when planted in exposed places it should be encouraged to
send up sprouts from the roots and from the lower parts of the
trunk. Treated in this way it forms a large shrub of great
value from an ornamental point of view, and is very hardy
even in exceedingly severe locations. The fruit is astringent.
It is used in some homeopathic and domestic remedies. The
wood is sometimes used as a veneer in cabinet work.
Pyrus sambucifolia. Elderleaf Mountain Ash.
Leaves odd-pinnate; leaflets seven to -fifteen, oblong-ovate,
mostly obtuse. Flowers appear in July, in small dense pubes-
cent cymes. The fruit is globose, bright scarlet, and some-
times nearly a half inch in diameter. It is produced in dense
red-branched clusters, and remains on the tree into the winter.
A small tree that is often mistaken for Pyrus americana, from
which it is best distinguished by its smaller cymes, its larger
and later flowers and its more obtuse and broader leaflets.
Distribution. — It is found growing from southern Greenland
to Labrador and northern New England, along the northern
shores of the Great Lakes to Little Slave Lake, through the
MOUNTAIN ASH.
315
2.
Plate 43. Pyrus sambitcifolia. Elderleaf Mountain Ash.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Longitudinal section of
flower, enlarged. 3. Traverse sections of ovary, enlarged. 4. Cluster of
fruit, one-half natural size. 5. Longitudinal section of fruit. 6. Cross
section of fruit. 7. Longitudinal section of seed. 8. Embryo, magnified.
9. Winter buds, one-half natural size.
316 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Rocky Mountains to Alaska and northeastern Asia. In Minne-
sota it is common northward extending south to Lake Itasca
and rarely found farther south.
Propagation. — Same as recommended for American Mountain
Ash.
Properties of wood. — Practically the same as American Moun-
tain Ash.
Uses. — The large and brilliant fruit of the Elderleaf Moun-
tain Ash makes it the handsomest of all Mountain Ashes, and
as it is very hardy it is a desirable lawn tree. Like all the
Mountain Ashes it is likely to sunscald on , the trunk when
grown singly and the trunk left unprotected, and will do best
if several sprouts are encouraged to grow from the trunk as
recommended for the American Mountain Ash.
Pyrus aucuparia. European Mountain Ash.
Leaves odd-pinnate, softer and more graceful than those of
Pyrus americana; leaflets thirteen to fifteen, ovate, generally
blunt pointed, lower surfaces and stalks downy, at length
glabrous. Flowers in May or June followed by large red ber-
ries (one-half inch in diameter) which hold on into the winter,
There are varieties with yellow and orange fruit. Tree of fair
size, often thirty feet high, much more graceful than the Ameri-
can Mountain Ash.
Distribution. — Europe and Asia.
Propagation and properties of wood. — About the same as the
American Mountain Ash.
Uses. — The European Mountain Ash is a good, small orna-
mental tree of graceful
habit, conspicuous for its
numerous large clusters
of white flowers in May
or June and for its
bright red and orange
fruit in autumn and win-
ter. It is about as hardy
as the American Moun-
tain Ash, but of more
rapid growth. It should
Figure 59- Weeping Mountain Ash. be treated in the SamC
way.
MOUNTAIN ASH.
317
Varieties. — There are several varieties, varying in habit of
growth and color of fruit. The following are the ones most
commonly planted:
Pyrus aucuparia pendula. Weeping Mountain Ash.
A form with pendulous, graceful habit. It
grows freely, is hardy and is interesting for
variety. It is largely used as a lawn curiosity.
Propagated by grafting onto the American or
European Mountain Ash.
Pyrus hybrida.
Ash.
Oakleaf Mountain
Leaves five to six inches long, lyrate pin-
natifid, often pinnate at the base, irregularly
and sharply serrate, dark green and glabrous
above, pale and densely pubescent beneath.
Flowers white, in large conspicuous clusters.
Propagated by grafting onto the European or
American species. This Mountain Ash forms
a very pretty lawn or park tree of upright
pyramidal habit, attaining a height of twenty
or thirty feet. In hardiness it ranks with the
European Mountain Ash. It is said to be a
hybrid between Pyrus aria (Sweet Beam Ash, one-third nat-
Tree) and Pyrus aucuparia.
Genus AMEI,ANCHIER.
A small genus of trees and shrubs with alternate simple
leaves, racemose white flowers and edible fruit.
Amelanchier canadensis. Serviceberry. Juneberry.
Servicetree.
Leaves ovate or oval, pointed, finely serrate, reddish brown,
with scattered white hairs when young, becoming dark green
above and paler beneath at maturity; stipules early decidu-
ous. Flowers appear after the leaves in spreading or drooping
racemes; petals thin, pure white, about one-half inch long;
calyx much shorter than petals. Fruit one-fourth to one-half
inch in diameter; ripens in early summer, dark purple when
318 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
fully ripe, sweet and edible. A tree sometimes reaching a
height of fifty feet, but seldom over twenty-five feet, and often
a mere shrub.
Distribution. — From Newfoundland westward along the north-
ern shores of the Great Lakes to eastern Nebraska, and south
to Florida and Louisiana.
Propagation. — The species by seeds and the varieties by suck-
ers, layers and cuttings.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, very hard, close-grained, sus-
ceptible of a good polish; dark brown in color, with thick
lighter-colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.7838; weight of a
cubic foot 48.85 pounds.
Uses. — The profusion of white flowers produced by the Serv-
iceberry in early spring makes it a pretty ornamental tree or
shrub at that time of the year. It may be planted to supply
food for the birds or to produce fruit for home use. The
wood is occasionally used for handles of tools or other small
implements.
Varieties. — Amelanchier canadcnsis varies considerably in the
form of the leaves, size of flowers and fruit and in habit of
growth. The following is the most distinct of these varieties.
Amelanchier canadensis obovalis. I<ongleaf Service-
tree. Dwarf Juneberry. Suscutanberry.
Leaves oblong or broadly elliptical, acute or rounded at the
apex, remotely serrate or nearly entire below the middle, coated
at first on the lower surface with thick white tomentum. Flow-
ers smaller than those of the species. A small bush or tree
common in Quebec, Ontario and the Northeastern States, and
in localities westward to the Mackenzie river, North Dakota,
Minnesota and Missouri. A dwarf form of this, with large
fruit, is cultivated to some extent through the Northern States.
The Indians of Minnesota and Dakota gather the berries in
rather large quantities and sell small quantities -in some of the
remote towns.
Amelanchier alnifolia. Western Serviceberry. Ser-
viceberry.
Leaves broadly ovate, obtuse or rarely acute, coarsely dentate
or serrate towards the apex. Flowers in erect rather dense
DOTTED HAW. 319
racemes. Fruit dark blue or almost black, sweet and juicy.
A shrub or small tree which in the eastern limits of its range
is hardly distinguishable from some of the broad-leaved forms
of Amelanchicr canadensis.
Distribution. — From the valley of the Yukon river south
through the coast ranges to southern California and east to
Michigan and Nebraska.
Propagation. — By seeds and suckers.
Properties of wood. — Very heavy, hard and close grained,
light brown. Specific gravity 0.8262; weight of a cubic foot
51.55 pounds.
Uses. — The fruit as found in the wild state is gathered by the
Indians and used by them for food.
Genus CRAT^GUS.
Leaves alternate, simple, lobed or pinnatifid. Flowers
mostly in terminal corymbs, regular, perfect, white or rarely
rose colored. Fruit a fleshy, drupe-like pome, containing one
to five hard one-seeded carpels, and having on its summit the
persistent calyx lobes. Small trees or shrubs, armed with
thorns. It is very difficult to identify accurately the species of
this genus on account of their varying and conflicting charac-
teristics. There are undoubtedly six or more species in Minne-
sota, and they are now being studied by specialists, but are not
accurately defined.
Propagation. — The fruit should be stratified over winter be-
fore sowing the seeds, which seldom germinate until the second
year.
Crataegus punctata. Dotted Haw.
Leaves wedge-obovate or ovate, midribs and principal veins
prominent on lower surface. Petioles more or less winged.
Flowers in broad corymbs, appearing about June ist. Each
flower has twenty stamens, which characteristic seems to be
constant. Fruit dull red, one-half to one inch in length, flesh
dry; ripens in late autumn. A tree twenty to thirty feet high,
with branches that come out nearly at right angles, and often
a broad flat top. Thorns on the older branches and trunks
generally compound and gray in color.
320
TREES OE MINNESOTA.
Plate 44. Craiaegus punctata. Dotted Haw.
i. A flowering branch'. 2. A flower. 3. A fruiting branch. 4. Cross-
section of fruit. 5. A nutlet divided transversely. 6. A characteristic
thorny branch.
WILD PLUM. 321
Distribution. — At least quite common in the southern half of
Minnesota.
Uses. — Valuable for hedges and as a lawn tree in good soil.
The wood is heavy, hard and strong, and is often used for walk-
ing sticks and firewood.
Genus PRUNUS.
Shrubs or trees with alternate, simple leaves. Flowers with
calyx that is deciduous after flowering; a single pistil with a
superior ovary containing a pair of ovules and becoming a
single drupe or stone fruit. This genus comprises some of our
most valued fruits, such as the Plum, Peach, Cherry, Apricot
and Nectarine, and ornamental plants such as the Double Flow-
ering Almond. All the species here referred to are ornamental
when in flower.
This genus seems to divide more or less into two groups,
which are distinguished by the form of inflorescence, one group
bearing its flowers in racemes and the other in umbels. It is
of interest to notice that it is difficult, if not quite impossible,
to graft or bud trees of the different groups together, while
within each group trees of the different species can be grafted
quite readily.
Prunus americana. Wild Plum.
Leaves oval or slightly obovate. Flowers appear when the
leaves are about one-half unfolded. Fruit large, colored with
red and yellow, often with a heavy bloom; generally ascerb but
frequently good; the parent of our cultivated sorts such as
Rollingstone, Wolf, Forest Garden, De Soto, Cheney and
others; ripens August to September. A small thorny tree,
seldom over twenty feet high, and generally found growing
in thickets. A form of this that flowers very early and has
fruit with a thin pit is considered a variety or perhaps a separate
species. (P. nigra.) The Aitkin Plum comes under this head.
Distribution. — It is found from New York and New Jersey to
Nebraska and the upper Missouri Valley south to northern
Mexico and western Florida. In Minnesota throughout the
state, in thickets along banks of streams.
Propagation. — Grown from the seeds, which should not be
allowed to become hard and dry, but should be stratified if they
21
322 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
are expected to grow the following spring. Lf planted in the
autumn as soon as separated from the pulp about two-thirds
of the seeds will grow the following spring and the remainder
the second year. It may also be grown from sprouts and roots
cuttings.
Properties of zvood. — Heavy, hard, close grained and strong,
It is dark brown in color, with a thin light-colored sapwood,
and takes a good polish. Specific gravity 0.7313; weight of a
cubic foot 46.95 pounds.
Uses. — The Wild Plum is pretty in flower and in fruit, and
is a good hardy ornamental tree, as well as a good fruit tree.
The fruit of the wild kinds is readily sold, and is much used
for culinary purposes, and many of the cultivated kinds afford
excellent table fruits. This is one of the best undershrubs that
can be put in our prairie groves, where it affords protection to
the soil from evaporation and at the same time yields desirable
though of course inferior fruit under such conditions.
Prunus pennsylvanica. Wild Red Cherry. Bird
Cherry. Pigeon Cherry. Pin Cherry.
Leaves oblong-lanceolate, long pointed, finely and sharply
serrate, with incurved teeth often tipped with minute glands,
thin, shining, green and smooth on both sides. Fruit ripens
in July or August, a very small, bright red drupe with thin sour
flesh and smooth oblong stone that is ridged on the ventral
margin. A small, handsome tree that seldom reaches a height
of forty feet, and is often a mere shrub. It has smooth, red-
dish-brown, bark, which peels off in transverse strips around
the tree.
Distribution. — Found in moist, rather rich soil from New-
foundland west to the eastern slopes of the Coast Range and
south to northern Illinois and Pennsylvania; also in North
Carolina, Tennessee and Colorado. In Minnesota common
throughout all but the southwestern part of the state, where it
rarely occurs.
Propagation. — Grown from seeds, which should be stratified
and sown in the spring or sown in autumn. They are dis-
tributed by robins, wax-wings and other birds that eat largely
of the fruit. The Wild Red Cherry has thus become a very
common tree in waste places, although not so common in our
CHERRY.
323
Plate 45. Prunus pennsylvanica. Wild Red Cherry.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Longitudinal section ol
flower. 3. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 4. Longitudinal sec-
tion of fruit, slightly enlarged. 5. Cross section of fruit. 6. Embryo
enlarged. 7. Axil of leaf showing stipules, one-half natural size. 8. Win-
ter branchlet, one-half natural size.
324 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
section as eastward, where it is one of the first trees to come
in on old timber lands.
Properties of wood. — Light, soft, close grained, light brown in
color, with thin yellow sapwood. Specific gravity 0.5023; a
cubic foot weighs 31.30 pounds.
Uses. — The Wild Red Cherfy is very hardy, grows rapidly
under cultivation, and is well adapted to prairie planting. It
is shapely and handsome, although a short lived tree. In the
early spring it is conspicuous by reason of its great quantity
of white flowers. It might be used for shade in timber plant-
ings and for bird food. The fruit is used for domestic pur-
poses and in the preparation of cough mixtures. Seedlings
have been used to a limited extent as a stock for the cultivated
cherries.
Prunus serotina. Black Cherry. Wild Black Cherry.
Rum Cherry.
L/eaves oval oblong, or lanceolate-oblong taper-pointed, ser-
rate, with two to four reddish glands on petiole. Flowers ap-
pear in June after the leaves are full grown, in long pendulous
white racemes. Fruit somewhat larger than a pea, purplish
black when ripe, smooth, one-seeded, rarely two-seeded, ripens
in August or September in Minnesota. A large tree, sixty or
more feet high, but generally much smaller at the limit of its
range.
Distribution. — From Nova Scotia westward through the
Canadian Provinces and Northern States to Dakota, and south
to Texas and Florida. In Minnesota common throughout all
but the extreme northern part of the state, in woods along
shaded lake shores and banks.
Propagation. — The Black Cherry is grown from seeds which
are produced in great abundance. They should be sown when
gathered in the autumn, or stratified over winter and sown in
the spring.
Properties of wood. — Light, strong and rather hard, with a
close, straight grain and satiny surface susceptible of receiving a
beautiful polish. It is light brown or red, with a thin layer of
yellow sapwood, but grows darker on exposure to the air. Spe-
cific gravity 0.5822; weight of a cubic foot 36.28 pounds.
CHERRY.
320
Plate 46. frunus scrotina. Black Cherry.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Longitudinal section ol
flower, enlarged. 3. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 4. Cross sec-
tion of fruit, natural size. 5. Longitudinal section of fruit, natural size. 6.
Winter branchlet, one-half natural size.
320 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Uses.— The Black Cherry has a pretty and often a stately
form when growing single, and is very ornamental when in
flower and fruit. It is, however, liable to injuries from the
tent caterpillar, which is very fond of its leaves. It can often
be introduced to advantage into timber plantings in this section,
and is an object of much interest on account of its flowers and
fruit. It is also a good timber tree. The fruit is often used in
a small way for making cherry brandy and in flavoring alco-
holic liquors. Medicinal properties are found in the bark, es-
pecially in that of the branches and roots, and are readily yielded
to cold water, for owing to volatilization and chemical change
boiling water must not be used. This extract contains hydro-
cyanic acid, and is employed for infusions, syrups and fluid ex-
tracts, which are used as tonics and sedatives in the treatment
of pulmonary consumption and nervous debility. Cattle have
been frequently poisoned by eating the wilted leaves. Children
occasionally die -from eating the kernels of the pits or by swal-
lowing the fruit whole. Fresh leaves are considered harmless,
as the poison is formed by chemical action in the leaves after
being separated from the plant. The wood is valuable for
cabinet making and fine interior finishing, and is in great de-
mand, on account of its fine reddish brown color, for tripods,
surveyors' rods and cases, and spirit levels. It is also used
for printers' furniture and wood type, school apparatus, drawing
instruments, gunstocks. crutches, toys and tool handles.
Prunus virginiana. Choke Cherry.
Leaves thin, broadly oval to oblong, usually abruptly pointed.
Flowers in racemes (shorter and closer than in P. serotina), ap-
pearing in June. Fruit ripens in summer, red, turning dark
crimson, astringent when first colored, but later loses much of
its astringency and becomes sweet and edible. A small tree
with scented bark, rarely thirty feet high, and generally short
and crooked. (In this section it is generally covered with the
excrescences called Black Knot, which are caused by the fungus
Plowrightia morbosa.)
Distribution. — From Labrador to British Columbia, north to
within the Arctic Circle and south to Georgia, Texas and Cali-
fornia. Very widely distributed. In Minnesota common
throughout the state along banks of streams and lakeshore,
CHERRY.
327
Plate 47. Prunus vlrginiana. Choke .Cherry.
i. A flowering branch. 2. A fruiting branch. 3. Part of a leafy branch
with stipules. 4. A winter branchlet, reduced. 5. Vertical section of
flower, enlarged. 6. Vertical section of fruit, enlarged. 7- A stone, one-
half natural size, 8. Branch showing Black Knot, reduced.
328 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Propagation. — Grown from seeds, which should be stratified
over winter and sown in the spring.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, hard and close grained, but not
strong. It is light brown in color, with a thick light colored
sapwood. The specific gravity 0.6951; weight of a cubic foot
43.42 pounds.
Uses. — The Choke Cherry is a very handsome tree when cov-
ered with its abundant racemes of pure white flowers and also
when in fruit, but generally it is so disfigured by Black Knot as
to make it unsightly. The fruit is used in large quantities by
the French Canadians and was formerly an important article of
food among the northern Indians, and is now used to some
extent in the Western States. In Minnesota and the Dakotas
there is a form that is much superior to the common Choke
Cherry, in that it has larger, less astringent fruit. Some authors
make it a separate species (Prunus demissa), but Professor
Sargent regards it as a variety whose variations are due to the
drier climate of the mid-continental states.
LEGUMINOSAE. PEA FAMILY,
Distinguished by the butterfly-shaped (occasionally regular)
corolla, usually accompanied by ten monadelphous or diadelphus
stamens (rarely distinct); fruit a legume; leaves alternate, com-
pound with stipules.
A large and important family, comprising trees, shrubs and
herbs. Some of our most important agricultural plants belong
here, such as the pea, bean, clover, alfalfa, vetch, peanut, etc.,
and among shrubs the Siberian Pea Tree (Caragana), Cytisus,
Bladder-senna (Colutea) and Wistaria. Important trees be-
longing here that are beyond our range are the Yellow-wood
(Cladrastis), Sophora, Laburnum, Mesquit and Red Bud*
(Cercis).
*Perhaps found in Southern Minnesota.
HONEY LOCUST. 321)
Genus
Gleditsia triacanthos. Honey I/ocust. Threethorn
Acacia. Black Locust.
Leaves evenly once or twice pinnately compound; thorns
very stout, from two to twelve inches in length, and usually
sending out two thorns as branches; but in some sections,
notably in Iowa, many trees may be found without thorns, and
these are especially desirable for windbreaks. Flowers in June,
polygamous, greenish and inconspicuous in small spike-like
axillary racemes. Fruit a flat, linear, dark-colored pod, often
twelve inches long, which becomes much twisted as the seed
ripens. This pod contains a pulp which is sweet at first, but
after a few weeks ferments and becomes astringent. The seed
ripens in autumn, and the pods fall off in late autumn or early
winter. The twisted form of the pods assists in the distribu-
tion of the seed, as the pods do not open until some time after
they fall, and may be rolled for long distances by the wind over
the frozen ground or on the snow.
Distribution.— It inhabits rich woods and borders of streams
from western New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia west to
southern Ontario, eastern Nebraska, Louisiana and Texas..
Propagation. — The Honey Locust is easily grown from seeds
which should be gathered in late autumn, early winter or as soon
as the pods fall. The seeds must be scalded in the same man-
ner as recommended for the Common Locust, or they may re-
main in the soil a year before growing.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, hard, strong and very durable in
contact with the ground. It is coarse grained, of a red or
bright reddish brown color, with thin, pale sapwood. Specific
gravity 0.6740; weight of a cubic foot 42 pounds.
Uses. — The Honey Locust is a valuable tree for street and
ornamental planting, for timber belts, windbreaks and for
hedges wherever it is hardy. It has a graceful form, is a rapid
grower, easy to transplant, very free from insect and fungous
diseases, and not given to sprouting from the root. The wood
is used for fence posts and rails, for the hubs of wheels and to
some extent for construction. It also makes good fuel. This
tree is not generally hardy in Minnesota, though it has stood very
well in favorable locations in the southeastern portion of the
state, and even at St. Paul has done fairly well where protected,
330
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 48. Gleditsia triacanthos. Honey Locust.
i. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flow-
ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Diagram of flower.
4. Longitudinal section of staminate flower, enlarged. 5. Longitudinal
section of pistillate flower, enlarged.^ 6. Longitudinal section of ovary, en-
larged. 7. A spine and a single fruit showing seed, cross section of seed
and embryo, one-half natural size. 8. Doubly pinnate leaf, one-half natural
size. 9. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size.
COFFEETREE. 331
but is likely to kill back in severe winters, though the roots are
very hardy and generally renew the top the season following any
winter injury. In Iowa and Missouri it forms a large tree,
often three feet through the trunk. The one-year-old seedlings
are rather tender the first winter, and should be dug and heeled
in or heavily mulched at the end of the first season, after which
they are rather hardy.
Genus GYMNOCI,ADUS.
Gymnocladus dioicus. (G. canadensis.) Coffeetree.
Kentucky Coffeetree.
Leaves very large, two to three feet long, twice pinnate, each
partial leaf stalk bearing seven to thirteen ovate leaflets, the
lowest pair with single leaflets. The leaflets stand vertically.
The color of the leaves is a bluish green. The flowers are
dioecious or polygamous, whitish, borne in large racemes which
are much longer on the fertile than on the sterile trees. Fruit
a large flat pod, containing large seeds over one-half inch in
diameter, surrounded by a thick layer of dark colored sweet
pulp. The fruit generally remains unopened on the tree all
winter. Flowers appear from May to July.
Distribution. — One of the rarest forest trees of North America,
found growing from western New York and southern Ontario
west to the Minnesota Valley, and eastern Nebraska and south
between the Mississippi river and the Allegheny Mountains to
Tennessee. In Minnesota it is found sparingly in southern and
southeastern portions of the state north .to near St. Paul and as
far west as New Ulm.
Propagation. — Grown from root cuttings or from seeds, which
should be scalded before being sown, as recommended for the
seeds of Locust.
Properties of wood. — Heavy, not very hard, strong, coarse
grained, likely to check in drying, but very durable in contact
with the ground. It can be easily worked, and takes a good
polish. It is rich brown in color, with thin rather lighter
colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.6934; weight of a cubic
foot 43.21 pounds.
Uses. — The Coffeetree is graceful and ornamental when in
leaf, and in winter is interesting from its peculiar naked a.n4
382
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 49. Gymnocladus dioicus. Coffeetree.
i. 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. Pistillate 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 attains 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. I^ocust. Yellow Locust. Black
Locust. Common Locust. False Acacia.
Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, composed of from
nine 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 d%own as if for rest. The young
growth 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 slender 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 pscudacacia. Locust.
i. 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. (A. 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 of
buildings, especially for floors, in the manufacture of furniture,
agricultural implements, school apparatus, musical instruments,
gymnasium goods, drawing instruments, surveyors' rods, artists'
MAPLE.
337
Plate 51. Acer saccharum. Sugar Maple.
i. 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. 10.
Embryo, enlarged, u. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size.
338 TREES OF MINNESOTA. ^ ...
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
rich 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. Two 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.
MAPLE.
339
Plate 52. Acer platanoides. Norway Maple.
i. 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. g. 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, wheelwright 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 excellent and striking variety with dark purple leaves,
which hold their color throughout the season.
Acer saccharinum. (A. dasycarpum.} 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 summer 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
Plate 53. Acer saccharinum. Silver Maple.
i. 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-half natural size. 9.
Longitudinal section of seed, enlarged. 10. Embryo, enlarged, n. .Em-
bryo, displayed, enlarged.
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
easily worked. It is pale,
Figure 61. Leaf of Wier's Cutleaf
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 primed 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 cultiA^ated 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 dioecious;
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.
Plate 54. Acer rubrum. Red Maple.
i. Branch bearing staminate flowers, one-half natural size. 2. Branch
bearing pistillate flowers, one-half natural size. 3. Staminate flower, en-
larged. 4. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 5. Fruiting branch, one-half nat
ural size. 6. Longitudinal section ot fruit, one-halt natural size. 7. Lon-
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 of,ten 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. — Light, 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.
340 TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Acer pennsylvanicum. Striped Maple. Moosewood.
Leaves large, five to seven inches long, palmately three-
nerved, thre.e-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 zvood. — 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 tartaricum. Tartarian Maple.
Leaves 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.
Varieties. —
Acer tartaricum ginnala.
This has mostly three-lobed leaves, which are longer than
those of the species.
BOXELDER.
347
Plate 55. Acer negundo. Boxelder.
i. Flowering branch from staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2.
Flowering branch from pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Diagram
of flower. 4. Staminate n'ower. 5. Pistillate flower. 6. Longitudinal sec-
tion of ovary, enlarged. 7. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 8.
Longitudinal section of fruit, one-half natural size. 9. Embryo, enlarged.
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. — Light, 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 ^SCUI/US.
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. -
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 round
top, large sticky buds and very dense foliage.
Distribution. — Europe and Asia.
Propagation. — Described under genus.
Properties of wood. — Light, 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 OE MINNESOTA.
Plate 56. JEsculus glabra. Ohio Buckeye.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Diagram of flower. 3.
Longitudinal section of staminate flower, natural size. 4. Longitudinal
section of pistillate flower, natural size. 5. Transverse sections of pistil,
enlarged. 6. 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.
BUCKTHORN. 351
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. — Light, 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 specimens 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.
RHAMNACEAK 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. A
shrub or small tree with thorny branchlets.
Distribution. — Throughout northern Europe, where it is na-
tive.
Propagation. — By seeds, which should be gathered in autumn,
kept stratified over winter, and planted in the spring or by
352
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate 57. Rhamnus catharticus. Buckthorn.
i. 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. ii. Embryo. 12. View of grounds showing the use of Buckthorn
for a hedge.
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
Genus TII,IA.
A genus of about twelve species, only one of which is found
in Minnesota. They are all handsome, valuable trees, with
soft 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 (T.
vulgaris) is mentioned here as being one of promising value
for cultivation in this section.
Tilia ameticana. 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
254
TREES OF MINNESOTA.
Plate
Tilia americana. Basswocd.
i. 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 petalpid 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 s-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. Platyphyllos) have failed
in this section.
ELAEAGNACEAK OLEASTER FAMILY.
Genus EI,^AGNTJS.
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.
Elaeagnus 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. Elwagnus anguslifolia. Russian Olive.
i. Flowering branch, natural si/e. 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-
played, enlarged. 6. Stamiuate 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 surface, u. 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, dioecious 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 dioecious, 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,
ASH.
351)
Plate 60. Fraxinus amcricana. White Ash.
i. Flowering branch of staminate tree, one-half natural size. 2. Flow-
ering branch of pistillate tree, one-half natural size. 3. Staminate flower,
enlarged. 4. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 5. Longitudinal section of ovary,
enlarged. 6. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 7. Longitudinal sec-
tion of fruit, one-half natural size. 8. Seed, two-thirds natural size. 9.
Embryo, natural size. 10. Winter buds, one-balf natural size. u. Leaf,
pne-half natural size,
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. (F. 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 ivood. — 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. 301
Fraxinus lanceolata. (F. 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. (F. 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
3. 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.
363
Plate 61. Fraxinus nigra. Black Ash.
i. 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,
3(54 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.
Paul and Minneapolis, and form good small trees. They are
HARDY CATALPA.
365
Plate 62. Catalpa speciosa. Hardy Catalpa.
i. 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.
CAPRIFOLIACEAK HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY.
A family of a few hundred species, including such well-known
plants as the common Elder (Sambucus), the Snowberry (Sym-
phoricarpus) and the Honeysuckle (Lonicera).
I
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.
307
Plate 63. Viburnum lentago. Sheepberry.
i. Flowering branch, one-half natural size. 2. Diagram of flower. 3.
Flower, enlarged. 4. Longitudinal section of flower, the corolla and sta-
mens removed, enlarged. 5. Fruiting branch, one-half natural size. 6.
Longitudinal section of fruit, natural size. 7. Longitudinal section of
seed. 8. Side view of stone. 9. Winter branchlet, one-half natural size.
3G8 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.
PART III.
A List of the Forest Trees
of the United States.
A LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE
UNITED STATES.
White Pine.
Red Pine
Pitch Pine
Jack Pine
^ongleaf Pine . .
Shortleaf Pine . .
Cuban Pine
loblolly Pine . . .
Spruce Pine
Scrub Pine
Bull Pine
Rock Pine
Jeffrey Pine
Pine
Monterey Pine ........
Silver Pine ............
Sugar Pine ............
Pinus strobus
Pin us resinosa.
Pinus rigida
Pinus divaricata
Pinus palustris
Pinus echinaia :
Pinus heterophylla
Pinus taeda ...
Pinus glabra
Pinus virginiana ......
Pinus ponderosa .......
Pinus ponder osa scopu
lorum ...............
Pin us jejfreyi ..........
Pinus murrayana
Pinus radiata
Pinus monticola
Pin us la m berlia na
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 l,ouisiana.
Southeastern and Gulf States:
New Jersey to Texas and
Arkansas to Tennessee.
South Carolina to Florida and
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 UST OF THE MORR IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED
STATES.— Continued.
lumber Pine .
Foxtail Pine
Bristle-cone Pine
Tamarack . . .
Western Larch
Black Spruce
Red Spruce
White Spruce
Engelraann Spruce.
Sitka Spruce
Hemlock .
Western Hemlock . .
Douglas Spruce
Balsam Fir...
Rowland Fir
White Fir ...
Amabilis Fir
Noble Fir . . . ,
Red Fir . .
Pinus flexilis.
Pinus balfouriana .
Pinus aristata
Larix laricina . .
Larix occidentalis
Picea man' an a —
Picea rub ens
Picea canadensis. .
Picea engelmanni
Picea sitchensis
Tsuga canadensis
Tsuga heterophylla . . .
Pseudotsuga taxifolia
A bies balsamea
A bies gra ndis
A bies concolor
A bies amabilis
A bies nobilis ,
A bies magnified ,
Eastern slopes Rocky Moun-
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
Lake 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 legion 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 UST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED
STATES.— Continued.
Bald Cypress . .
Big Tree
Redwood
Incense Cedar.
Arborvitae
Giant Arborvitae . .
White Cedar
Port Orford Cedar
Red Juniper
Rocky M'nt'n Juniper
Pacific Yew
Butternut
Black Walnut...
Pecan
Bitternut
Shagbark Hickory
Shellbark Hickory....
Mocker Nut
Pignut
Aspen
Taxodium distich um.
Sequoia washingto-
niana
Sequoia sempervirens.
Libocedrus decurrens .
Thuja occidentalis
Thuja plicata
ChamcEcyparis thy aides
Chamcecyparis lawso-
niana
Juniperus virginiana. .
Juniper us scopulotum .
Taxus brevifolia
Juglans cinerea
Jtiglans nigra
Hicoria pecan
Hicoria minima .
Hicoria ovata
Hicoria laciniosa . . .
Hicoria alba . . .
Hicoria glabra
Populus tremuloides.
Delaware to Florida, Texas
and Missouri.
California : western slope
Sierra Nevadas.
California coast ranges.
Oregon to I,ower California
and Nevada.
Minnesota to l,ake 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.
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, Alabama and
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 I,abrador, Pennsyl-
vania, Missouri and Mexico.
374 FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.
A UST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED
STATES.— Continued.
Ivargetooth Aspen
Balm-of-Gilead
Populus grandidentata
Populus balsamifera. . .
North Dakota to Nova Scotia,
North Carolina and Ten-
nessee.
Alaska to Newfoundland, New
Narrowleaf Cottonw'd
Black Cottonwood —
Fremont Cottonwood .
Populus angustifolia . .
Populus trichocarpa . . .
Populus fremontii
Populus deltoides
York and Nevada.
Assiniboia to Nevada, Arizona,
New Mexico and Nebraska.
Alaska to California.
California to Colorado, Texas
and Mexico.
Quebec to Florida Alberta
White Birch
Betula populifolia
and New Mexico.
Nova Scotia to Delaware and
I,ake Ontario.
Alaska to I^abrador Pennsyl-
River Birch
Yellow Birch
Betula nigra
vania and Washington.
Minnesota to Massachusetts,
Florida and Texas.
Minnesota and Western On-
Sweet Birch
Betula lento,
tario to Newfoundland,
North Carolina and Ten-
nessee.
Rainy River to Newfoundland
Blue Beech
Tennessee and Florida.
Minnesota to Quebec Florida
Beech
and Texas.
Wisconsin to Nova Scotia
Goldenl'f Chinquapin
Chinquapin
Chestnut
Castanopsis chryso-
phylla
Castanea pumila
Florida and Texas.
Oregon to California.
Pennsylvania to Florida, Mis-
souri and Texas.
Maine to Delaware Michigan
White Oak
California White Oak
Post Oak
Quercus alba
Quercus lobata
and Mississippi.
Minnesota to Maine, Florida
and Texas.
California.
Massachusetts to Florida,
Bur Oak
Chestnut Oak
Quercus macrocarpa. . .
Quercus prinus
Nebraska and Texas.
Nova Scotia and Maine to
Manitoba, Montana, Penn-
sylvania and Texas.
In mountains from Maine to
Chinquapin Oak
Quercus acuminata —
Alabama.
New York to Alabama, Neb-
raska and Texas.
FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES. 375
A UST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED
STATES.— Continued.
Swamp White Oak
Cow Oak
I,ive Oak
Canyon I,ive Oak .
Red Oak . .
Scarlet Oak
Yellow Oak
Spanish Oak . . .
Pin Oak
Water Oak
Tanbark Oak . .
Cedar Elm
Slippery Elm .
White Elm ....
Cork Elm
Wing Elm —
Hackberry ....
Red Mulberry
Osage Orange.
Magnolia
Cucumber-tree
Quercus platanoides
Quercus michauxii.
Quercus virginiana
Quercus chrysolepis.
Quercus rubra
Quercus coccinea
Quercus velutina
Quercus digitata
Quercus palustris
Quercus nigra
Quercus densiflora . .
Ulmus crassifolia .. .
Ulmus pubescens
Ulmus americana. . .
Ulmus racemosa . . .
Ulmus alata
Celtis occidentalis
Morus rubra.
Toxylon pomiferum . .
Magnolia foetida
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.
Quebec to 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
Sassafras . . .
Sweet Gum.
Sycamore
Black Cherry . . .
Honey Locust. ..
Coffeetree
LOCUSt
American Holly
Oregon Maple . .
Sugar Maple
Silver Maple
Red Maple
Boxelder
Ohio Buckej-e . . .
Yellow Buckeye
Basswood
White Basswood
Black Gum
Cotton Gum. ..
Liriodendron tulipifera
Sassafras sassafras ....
Liquidambar styra-
ciflua
Platanus occidentalis . .
Prunus serotina
Gleditsia triacanthos. . .
Gymnocladus dioicus . .
\
Robinia pseudacacia . . .
Ilex opaca . .
Acer macrophyllum .
Acer saccharum
Acer sacchai inum
Acer rubrum
Acer negundo
Aesculus glabra
Aesculus octandra
Tilia americana
Tilia heterophylla
Nyssa sylvatica
Nyssa aquatica
Vermont and Rhode Island to
Florida, Mississippi, Mich-
igan and Arkansas.
Massachusetts to Florida,
Iowa and Texas.
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 UST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT TREES OF THE UNITED
STATES.— Continued.
Persimmon
Blue Ash
Diospyros virginiana . .
Fraxinus quadrangu-
Connecticut to Florida, Iowa
and Texas.
Black Ash
lata
Minnesota to Michigan, Ar-
kansas and Alabama.
Manitoba to Newfoundland
White Ash
Red Ash
Fraxinus americana . .
Fraxinus pennsylva-
nica
Arkansas and Virginia.
Minnesota to Newfoundland,
Texas and Florida.
North Dakota to New Bruns-
wick, Kansas, Alabama and
Florida.
Vermont to Saskatchewan
Oregon Ash
River, Florida, Texas and
Arizona.
Washington to California.
Catalpa
Catalpa catalpa
Georgia Florida Alabama
Hardy Catalpa
Catalpa speciosa
and Mississippi.
Indiana to Tennessee, Mis-
souri and 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 ring. The layer of wood formed each year. (Page n.)
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. i.)
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 expanded 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
12 in. x 12 in. x I in. One cubic foot is considered as
equivalent to ten board feet, allowing for waste in working.
B. M. Abbreviation lor 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.
Calyx. 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.
dilate. 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 Coniferse.
Coniferous. Cone-bearing.
Cooperage. The business of making wooden vessels, as casks,
barrels, tubs.
Cordate. Heart-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.
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, plowed 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. A part of the plant especially modified for the reproduc-
tion of the plant by seed.
Forest. A dense growth of trees.
Forest floor. The decayed leaves and twigs which cover the soil
in forests. (Page 24.)
382 GLOSSARY.
Frost-hardy. Said of trees, the new growth of which is not easily
killed by frost.
Frost-tender. Said of trees, the new growth of which is easily
killed by frost.
Fruit. The seed-containing area derived from a single flower.
Fungi. Plural of fungus.
Fungous. Pertaining to fungi.
Fungus. A flowerless plant devoid of chlorophyll and drawing
its nourishment from living organisms or decayed organic
matter.
Genera. Plural of genus.
Generic name. The name of the genus to which the plant be-
longs, and which with the name of the species forms the
scientific name of the plant.
Genus. In botanical classification, a group of plants having sev-
eral or many natural common resemblances; a division of
a family.
Germination. The act or process by which a seed or spore gives
rise to a new and independent plant.
Glabrous. Smooth, not pubescent.
Glauber salts. Sodium sulphate.
Glaucous. Covered with a fine white powder as that on a cab-
bage leaf.
Graftage. A syste.m of propagation comprising all methods by
which plants are grown on roots of other plants.
Grafting. The operation of inserting a cion in a plant.
Grafting Wax. A protective substance used in covering the
junction of a graft with the stock, or for the covering of
wounds. Bailey's formula for a reliable wax: — Resin, four
parts (by weight); beeswax, two parts; tallow, one part.
Melt together and pour into a pail of cold water. Then
grease the hands and pull the wax until it is nearly white.
Hardy. Able to withstand a given climate.
Heeling-in. The operation and process of temporarily covering
the roots of plants to preserve them until wanted for
permanent planting. (Page 96.) .'••"'
Height classes. The arrangement of trees into classes according
to height.
Herb. A plant not woody.
GLOSSARY. 383
Herbaceous. Not woody; said of plants that die to the ground
each year.
Horticulture. The art and science of raising fruits, kitchen
garden vegetables, flowers and ornamental trees and
shrubs.
Humus. Decomposed organic matter in the soil.
Hybrid. Plant derived from a cross between plants of different
species.
Hybridising. The operation or practice of crossing between
species.
'Hypogynous. Said of flowers when all parts are free. (e. g.
Buckeye).
Hypsometer. An instrument for taking heights of trees.
Imbricated. Overlapped.
Inarching. The operation and process of uniting contiguous
plants or branches while the parts are both attached to
their own roots. (Page 90.)
Indehiscent. Not opening at regular lines; not dehiscent.
Indigenous. Native, i. e. growing naturally in a given region.
Inferior. Said of ovary when all the floral parts are attached
above it. (e. g. Iowa Crab.)
Inflorescence. A flower cluster; mode of arrangement of flowers.
Insecticide. A substance employed to destroy insects.
Involucre. A bract or series of bracts subtending a flower-cluster
or fruit-cluster.
Irregular. Said of flowers when the separate parts of each cycle
are not of the same size and shape, (e. g. Locust.)
Jacob staff. A pointed staff which may be pushed into the
ground and on which instruments are mounted for taking
observations.
Joinery. The art of framing the finishing work, making perma-
nent wooden fittings and covering rough lumber.
Kerf. The cut made by the saw, or the width of such cut.
Lanceolate. Said of leaves when from four to six times as long as
broad, the broadest part below the middle and tapering
upward or both upward and downward, (e. g. Black
Willow.)
Larva, (pi. larvae) The worm-like stage of insects.
Layer. A shoot which, while attached to the plant, takes root
at one or more places and forms a new plant. (Page 89.)
384 GLOSSARY. i:^\
Leaf-mould. Decayed leaves and other organic matter constitut-
ing the forest floor.
Leaflet. One of the wing divisions of a compound leaf.
Leather board. A material made from wood pulp and which re-
sembles leather in color and texture.
Legume. A simple pod opening by both ventral and dorsal
sutures; fruit of pea family, (e. g. Locust.)
Leguminous. Pertaining to the family Leguminosae; said of
plants bearing legumes.
Loam. Friable, mellow, rich soil containing much humus.
Lobe. A projection or division of a leaf not more than half the
depth of the wing.
Lyrate. A pinnatifid leaf of an obovate or spatulate outline with
the end lobe large and roundish and the lower lobes small,
(e. g. Bur Oak.)
Manure. Plant food; any substance which promotes plant
growth.
Monadelphous. Said of stamens when united by their filaments
in one group.
Mono. Prefix meaning one.
Monoecious. Both staminate and pistiHate flowers borne on the
same plant, (e. g. Black Walnut.)
Mound-layering. (Page 89.)
Mulch. Any loose material that protects the soil from frost or
evaporation.
Muskeg. A term commonly applied to sphagnum swamps by the
Indians and woodsmen of northern Minnesota.
Narrow-leaved trees. Trees with needle or awl-shaped leaves,
which expose no great surface to the light.
Nursery. A plot of ground set apart for the raising of plants
that are to be transplanted elsewhere. An establishment
for the raising of plants.
Obcordate. The reverse of cordate.
Qblanceolate. The reverse of lanceolate.
Oblong. About twice as long as broad with nearly parallel sides.
Obovate. The reverse of ovate.
Obtuse. Blunt, not acute, (e. g. leaflets of Locust.)
Odd-pinnate. Applied to pinnately compound leaves having a
terminal leaflet. (e. g. Ash.)
GLOSSARY. 385
Open grown. Said of trees when not grown sufficiently close to
other trees to be influenced by them.
Ovary. The lower or enlarged part of the pistil bearing the
ovules.
Ovate. About twice as long as broad and tapering from near
the base to the apex. (e. g. leaves of Balm of Gilead.)
Ovoid. Egg-shaped.
Ovule. A rudimentary seed.
Palmate. Said of parts originating from a common point, as the
veins, lobes or divisions of a leaf. (e. g. Leaflets of Ohio
Buckeye.)
Panicle. A loose flower cluster, (e. g. White Ash, page 359.)
Papilionaceous. Butterfly-shaped, applied to flowers of the pea
family, (e. g. Locust, page 334.)
Paraboloid. The figure of revolution formed by turning a parab-
ola about its axis.
Parasite. A plant or animal that lives upon and obtains its food
from other living plants or animals.
Parietal placenta. A placenta upon the wall of the ovary, (e. g.
Coffeetree, page 332.)
Parted. Separated nearly to the base.
Pedicel. A stalk of a single flower of a flower cluster.
Peduncle. A stalk of a solitary flower or the common stalk ~ef a
flower cluster.
Pendulous. Hanging.
Penta. Prefix, meaning five.
Perennial. A plant living more than two years.
Perfect flower. One having both essential organs, i. e. stamens
and pistil, (e. g. Iowa Crab, page 313.)
Perianth. The floral envelopes.
Pericarp. The ripened ovary; the seed vessel.
Persistent. Remaining beyond the period when such parts gen-
erally fall.
Petal. One of the divisions of a corolla.
Petiole. Leaf-stalk.
Pinnate. Parts arranged on opposite sides of a main axis. (e.
g. Leaflets of Mountain Ash.)
Pinnatifid. Pinnately lobed or cleft, (e. g. leaves of Red Oak,
page 296.)
25
38<3 GLOSSARY.
Pinnule. A secondary leaflet in a pinnately decompound leaf,
(e. g. Honey Locust.)
Pistil. The part of the flower bearing the ovules and which
ripens into the fruit.
Pistillate. Bearing pistils but no fertile stamens. Often used
synonymously with female.
Placenta. Place of attachment of ovules in an ovary.
Pollen. Small spores produced by the anthers for the fertiliza-
tion of the ovules.
Pollination. The carrying of pollen from the anther to the
stigma.
Polygamous. Perfect and unisexual flowers borne on the same
plant.
Pome. Fruit represented by the Apple, Thorn, Quince, etc.
Propagation. The multiplication of plants.
Pruning. The removing of branches from a plant to improve its
general appearance or to check or encourage growth.
Pubescent. Covered with fine short hairs.
Quarter sawing. The sawing on the radius, but as it is not prac-
ticable to do this exactly, the log is first quartered and
then sawed into boards, cutting them alternately from
each face of the quarter of the log. Sawed in this way the
grain of the wood does not show nearly so conspicuously
and varied as in that tangentially sawed, but the grain is
narrower, and the wood sawed in this way does not warp
nearly so much as that tangentially sawed, and is much
more expensive. (Page 168.)
Raceme. A simple inflorescence in which the flowers are on
pedicels, and the lower open first, (e. g. Black Cherry,
page 324.)
Ranging poles. Straight poles about eight feet long used by sur-
veyors to indicate the direction of a line which is being
measured or the position of points to be located.
Regular. Parts of each cycle of the perianth alike, (e. g. Bird
Cherry.)
Root. A part of the plant which absorbs nourishment for the
plant, or serves as a support. It may be underground or
aerial.
Root-cutting. See cutting. (Page 86.)
GLOSSARY. 387
Rudimentary. Imperfectly developed or in an early state of de-
velopment.
Samara. A winged fruit, (e. g. Maple.)
Saprophyte. A plant which lives upon and obtains its food from
dead organic matter.
Sapwood. The outer or latest formed wood of a woody plant.
(Page 12.)
Sawing. The two methods used in sawing are termed tangential
sawing and quarter sawing, q. v.
Scion. The part inserted in the stock in the various processes
of graftage.
Seed. The body containing the embryo plant; the ripened ovule.
Seedling. In nursery practice a young plant grown from seed
and not having been transplanted.
Seeding tree. A tree, sufficiently mature, to produce fruit.
Seed variety. A variety that comes true from seed.
Sepal. One of the divisions of the calyx.
Serrate. Saw-toothed, (e. g. leaves of Balm of Gilead.)
Sessile. Without stalk.
Sheath. In pines, the case-like part surrounding the base of the
needle cluster.
Shrub. A woody plant with no main stem or trunk; a bush.
Silver grain. Bands or plates of medullary rays exposed radi-
ally on longitudinal section.
Simple. Composed of one part; not compound.
Sinuate. Strongly wavy.
Sinus. An indentation.
Solar- pit. (Page 89.)
Spatulate. Shaped like a spatula; broadly rounded at the apex;
tapering toward the base.
Species. A division of a genus, the plants of which seem to be
derived from an immediate common ancestor.
Species class. A group of trees of the same species made in for-
est survey.
Specific gravity. Weight compared with distilled water at 4
degrees Centigrade. Where used here with reference to
wood it refers to absolutely dry wood unless otherwise
noted.
Spike. A simple dense raceme-like inflorescence with flowers
sessile or nearly so.
26
388 GLOSSARY.
Spore. A reproductive body, commonly applied to those borne
by plants that do not produce seed. Analogous but not
homologous to a seed.
Stamen. Pollen-bearing organ of a flower.
Staminate. Said of flowers bearing stamens, but no pistils.
Often used synonymously with male.
Stem. The main axis or one of the main axes of a plant. It
may be underground or aerial. Commonly used in place
of petiole, pedicel and peduncle.
Sterile. Not fertile; not able to reproduce.
Stigma. The part of the pistil upon which the pollen falls and
germinates.
Stipule. A leaf appendage at the base of the blade or petiole;
not always present, (e. g. Black Willow.)
Stock plants. Plants used to propagate from.
Stoma. (pi. Stomata) Breathing pores of leaves.
Stratification. A method of storing seeds with alternate layers of
some other material, as sand or leaves. (Page 76.)
Strobilus or Strobile. A cone. (e. g. Pine, Lycopodium.)
Stumpage. The standing timber.
Style. The stalk, if present, that joins the stigma to the ovary.
Sucker. A shoot from an underground root or stem; often ap-
plied to an adventitious shoot above ground.
Sunscald. (Page 112.)
Superior. Applied to ovary when attached on a level or above
the other parts of the flower, (e. g. Ohio Buckeye.)
Surveyor general. The officer whose duty it is to measure or to
direct the measurement of logs and lumber.
Tangential sawing. The common way of cutting logs by which
the boards on each side of the center board are sawed by
a cut that is tangent to the annual rings. This method
serves to bring out the grain of wood most conspicuously.
Tap-root. A central root running deep into the soil.
Tensile strength. The force which resists breaking or drawing
asunder.
Tent-caterpillars. Caterpillars that build silky-like tents on trees
and other plants.
Thorn. A hardened sharp-pointed branch.
Tomentose. Clothed with matted woolly hair.
Top-worked. Said of trees that are grafted or budded at some
distance above the ground.
GLOSSARY. 389
Transit. A surveyor's instrument for measuring angles, etc.
Transpiration. The process by which water is taken up by the
roots of plants and given off to the air through the leaves
and branches.
Tree. A perennial woody plant with a single stem which from
natural tendencies generally divides into two or more
branches at some distance from the ground.
Tree-crown. That part of a tree that is branched, forming a
head.
Tree-digger. Ordinarily a plow-like implement having a sharp
knife-like blade that is drawn through the soil by a team
and cuts the roots off the trees at a distance from the base
of the tree-trunk. Where large quantities of trees are to
be dug this is a most important implement. There are
various kinds; one style cuts on both sides of the row at
one time.
Tri. Prefix meaning three.
Triangulation. The method of survey by dividing into triangles.
Tripod. A three-legged support for an instrument.
Turgid. Distended; applied to leaves and other parts when
filled writh water.
Umbel. An umbrella-like form of inflorescence, (e. g. flower
clusters of Caraway. Parsnip.)
Unisexual. Bearing either male or female organs, not both. (e.
g. flowers of Willows.)
Variety. A distinct and valuable variation from the original.
Valve. One of the parts of a dehiscent pod.
Valvate. Opening by valves.
Volume. Amount or mass of a tree or log.
Water capital. The entire water of the earth.
Weed. A plant out of place, a generally troublesome plant, not
of any appreciable economic value.
Whorl. Applied to leaves when arranged in a circle around the
stem.
Wings of a leaf. The expanded portion; the blade.
Windbreak. A single row or belt of trees, which serves as a
protection from wind.
Wood. The hardened tissue of a stem. A forest.
Working plan. A pre-arrangement of the method of growing
and harvesting a forest crop of a particular tfact.
INDEX.
Orders and families in SMALL CAPS ; genera in heavy face ; synonyms
in italics. Figures in parenthesis indicate illustrations.
NOTE. — The trees embraced in the l,ist of the More Important Trees of the
United States are not indexed — see list page 369.
Abies, 227.
balsamea, (228), 227.
concolor, 229.
Acacia—False, 333.
— Threethorn, 329.
Accretion, 139.
Accretion borer, (151), 150.
ACERACE^E, 335.
Acer, 335.
Acer dasycarpum, 340.
negundo, (347), 348.
pennsylvanicum, 346.
platanoides, (339), 338.
platanoides reitenbachii, 340.
platanoides schwedlerii, 340.
rubrum, (344), 343.
saccharinum, (341), 340.
saccharum, (337), 336.
spicatum, 345.
tartaricum, 346.
tartaricum ginnale, 346.
Act for prevention of forest fires in
Minnesota, 193.
Actual income, 187.
JEscultts, 348.
glabra, (350), 351.
hippocastanum, 349.
Agaricus melleus, (113), 112.
Alarm about destruction of forests,
184.
Alkali soils, Occurrence, 25.
Almondleaf Willow, (252), 251.
Alder— Hoary, 280.
— Speckled, 280.
Alntts incana, (281), 280.
Altimeter, 1B3.
Amelanchier, 317.
alnifolia, 318.
canadensis, 317.
canadensis abovalis, 318.
American Aspen, 260.
A merican Elm, 299.
American Larch, 214.
American Linden, 353.
American Mountain Ash, 312.
Angle mirror, 147.
Angle prism, 147.
Annual rings, 11, 126.
Antiseptics, 180.
Arborvitse, (231), 230.
— Douglas Golden, 233.
— Pyramidal, 233.
— Siberian, 232.
Areas of Circles, Table of, 136.
Ash— Black, (363), 361.
— Green, 361.
— Hoop, 362.
— Mountain, 312.
— Elderleaf Mountain, (315), 314.
— Red, 360.
— Swamp, 362.
— White, (359), 358.
Ashleaf Maple, 348.
Aspect, Effect on growth, 26.
Aspen, (261), 260.
Assimilation, 17.
Austrian Pine, (212), 211.
Ax and Saw, 72.
Balm of Gilead, (263), 262.
— Hairy, 264.
Balsam, 227.
Balsam Fir, (228), 227.
Bark, 12.
INDEX.
391
Basal area, 134.
Basket Willows, 247.
Basswood, (354), 353.
— European, 356.
Baummesser, 149.
Beech— Blue, (285), 284.
— Water, 284.
Beetree, 353.
BETULACEJE, 274.
Betula, 274.
alba, 276.
alba pendula laciniata, 277.
lenta, 278.
lutea, (279), 2r8.
nigra, 277.
papyrifera, (275), 274.
BlGNONIACE^E, 364.
BIGNONIA FAMILY, 364.
Birch— Canoe, 274.
— Cutleaf Weeping, 276.
— European White, 276.
— Gray, 278.
— Paper, (275), 274.
— Red, 277.
— River, 277.
— Sweet, 278.
— White, 274.
- Yellow, (279), 278.
BIRCH FAMILY, 274.
Bird Cherry, 322.
Birds, Injuries from, 106.
Bitternut Hickory, (244), 245.
Black Ash, (363), 362.
Black Cherry, (325), 322.
Black Haw, 366.
Black Knot, 326.
Black Locust, 329, 333.
Black Oak,^a,
Black Pine, 211.
Black Poplar, 270.
Black Spruce, (219), 218.
Black Walnut, (239), 238.
Black Willow, (250), 251.
Blowing out of small seedlings, 56.
Blue Beech, (211), 212.
Blue Spruce, 221.
B. M., 144.
Board Measure, 144.
Bolle Poplar, 273.
Borers, 105.
Boucherie process, 181.
Bounty for tree planting, 194.
Boxelder, (347), 348.
Breed's Weeder, Use of, 49.
Broken branches, 112.
Browsing of deer, 123.
BUCKEYE FAMILY, 848.
Buckthorn, (352), 351.
— English, 351.
BUCKTHORN FAMILY, 351.
Buds. 13.
Buildings on a Farm, location of,
(57), (58), 56.
Bull Pine, (208), 207.
Burnettizing, 182.
Bur Oak, (294), 293.
Bur White Oak, 293.
Butternut, (241), 240.
Calipers, 148.
Callousing, 89.
Canoe Birch, 274.
Cants, 169.
Capital in wood, 186.
Capital stock, 187.
CAPRIFOLIACE^E, 366.
Carolina Poplar, 265.
Carpentry, 165.
Carpinus, 284.
caroliniana, (285), 284.
Carya alba, 243.
amara, 245.
Castanea, 286.
dentata, (287), 286.
Catalpa, 364.
bignpnioides, 366.
speciosa, (365), 364.
Cattle, Injuries from, 106.
Cedar— Red, 233.
— White, 230.
Celtis, 306.
occidentalis, (307), 306.
Certinensis Poplar, 273.
Charring timber, 179.
Chemical pulp, 167.
Cherry— Bird, 322.
— Black, (325), 324.
— Choke (327), 326.
— Pigeon, 322.
— Pin, 322.
— Rum, 324.
— Wild Black, 324.
— Wild Red, (323), 322.
392
INDEX.
Chestnut, (287), 286.
Chief fire warden, 193.
Chinook of the West, 37.
Chloride of zinc, 182.
Choke Cherry, (327), 326.
Circles, areas of, 136.
Clear plantings, 51.
Climbers, 152.
Coal-tar, 179.
Coatings for wood, 179.
Coffeetree, (332), 331.
Colorado Blue Spruce, 221.
Coloring matter of wood, 176.
Color of wood, a test of durability, 176.
Common I,ocust, 333.
Common Juniper, 235.
Common Golden Willow, 255.
Compass, 147.
Conifers, raising from seed, 80.
Conservation, Elements of, 39.
Cooperage, 166.
Coppice, 68.
Cork Elm, 301.
Cotton batting, 123.
Cottonwood, (267), 265.
— Goldenleaf, 269.
— Narrowleaf, 265.
— Seedlings, 77.
— Yield, 130.
Covering of tree seeds, 66.
Crab-Iowa, (313), 312.
- Wild, 312.
— Western, 312.
Crataegtts, 319.
puncata, (320), 319.
Creosote, 181.
Creosoting process, 181.
Crooked trees, Treatment of, 99.
Cross-cut sawing, 168.
Cross-sectional area, 132.
Cross staff head, 147.
Cubic feet in cord of firewood, 138.
Cubic feet, conversion into B. M., 138.
Cultivation, 55, 60.
Curing wood, 178.
Curtis, Production of a hot wind, 46.
Cutleaf Weeping Birch, 277.
Cutleaf Maple, 343.
Cuttings, 86.
Bunch of Willow, (87), 87.
Cultivation, 88.
Cuttings, Form and size, 86.
Planting, 87.
In solar pit, (89), 88.
Source of, 86.
Time of planting, 88.
Cutting of timber, Time, 176.
Damping off of conifers, 81.
Dead oil, 181.
Deal wood, 209.
Decay in wood, 175.
Depth to cover seeds, 82.
Destruction of forests, 184.
Diameter accretion, 131.
Distillation of wood, 167.
Dissipation, Elements of, 33.
Distance between trees, 50.
Distance of trees from buildings, etc.,
48.
Distribution of seeds, 16.
Distribution of water, 41.
Dominion Experiment Station in As-
siniboia, 37.
Double Spruce, 218.
Douglas Golden Arborvitse, 233.
Douglas Fir, 225.
Douglas Spruce, (226), 225.
Drouth, injuries from, 111.
Dry rot in wood, 177.
Dry seeds, 78.
Durability of fence posts, 178.
Durability of wood, 175.
Dwarf Juneberry, 318.
Dwarf Juniper, (235), 235.
Dwarf Mountain Pine, 211.
— Pine, 211.
Eastern slope, Effect on growth, 26.
EL^EAGNACE^E, 356.
Elaeagnus, 356.
angustifolia, (357), 356.
Elderleaf Mountain Ash, (315), 314.
. Elm — American, 299.
— Cork, (302), 301.
— Moose, 303.
— Red, 303.
— Rock, 301.
— Slippery, (304), 303.
— Water, 299.
— White, (300), 299.
ELM FAMILY. 299.
Elm Tree, Pruned, 103.
Engelmann Spruce, 221.
INDEX.
393
English Buckthorn, 351.
Estimating standing timber, 143.
European Basswood, 356.
European Inarch, (215), 216.
European Linden, 356.
European Mountain Ash, 316.
European White Birch, 276.
European systems of forest manage-
ment, 188.
Evaporation from soil, 34.
Evaporation in winter, 19.
Evergreen seed bed, 81.
Evergreens, Sowing seed, 80.
Evergreens, Transplanting, 94.
FAGACE.E, 286.
False Acacia, 333.
Farm machinery, 166.
Farm woodlot, 72.
Fence Posts. Table of Durability of,
178.
Fetid Buckeye, 351.
Fighting Fires, 120.
Files, 152.
Fir— Balsam, (228), 227.
— Douglas, 22 :.
— Red, 225.
— Silver, 229.
— White, 229.
Firebreak on sand dune, 119.
Firebreaks, 118.
Fire-fall, 116.
Fire law in Minnesota, 193.
Fireproof wood, 182.
Fires in forests, 113.
Causes, 117.
Crown, 114.
Prevention, 117.
Spring, 116.
Summer and autumn, 116.
Surface, 114, 115, 120.
Underground, 114, 120.
Fire wardens, 193.
Flowers, 15.
Foehn of .Switzerland, 37.
Fogs and clouds, 42.
Food formation, 17.
Forest, The, 21.
Forest and pasture, 122.
Forest economics, 184.
Forest fires, 113.
Forest fires, Notable, 121.
Forest floor, 24, 115.
Forest industries of Minnesota, 185.
Forest influences, 28.
on disposal of water supplies, 33.
on fogs and clouds, 42.
on precipitation, 32.
on water supplies, 29.
on wind and hail storms, 42.
Forest mensuration, 132.
Forest planting, 66.
Forest problems in Minnesota, 153.
Forest protection, 104.
Forest-pulled trees, 92.
Forest regeneration and treatment,
60.
Forest reservations and national
parks, 101.
Forest treatment, 60.
Forest trees of the United States, 269.
Forestry requires capital, 186.
Forest, Virgin, 60.
Forest weed, 70.
Forests, Wind-breaking power of, 35.
Fraxinus, 358.
americana, (359), 358.
lanceolata, 361.
nigra, (363), 362.
pennsylvanica, 360.
pubescens, 360.
sambucifolia, 362.
viridis, 361.
Freezing and thawing, 107.
Frost cracks, 109.
Frost cracks in Sugar Maple, 110.
Frost. Injuries from, 108.
Frost-hardy trees, 108-
Frost-tender trees, 108.
Fruit, 16.
Fuel woods of Minnesota, 170
value of woods, 170.
values, table of, 172.
Fungi in wood, 175.
Fungus, Shelf, (175), 175.
Fungus diseases, 112, 175.
Gathering seeds, 75.
Germination of seeds, 75.
Girdling by mice, 105.
Glauber salts, 167.
Gleditsia, 328.
triacanthos, (330), 329.
Glossary, 378.
394
INDEX.
Glossy leaf Willow, (258), 257.
Golden Arborvittz, 164.
Goldenleaf Cottonwood, 269.
Golden Willow— Common, 255.
— Russian, 256.
Gophers, 113.
Government supervision of forests in
Germany, 190.
Grades of nursery stock, 98.
Graftage, 90.
Gray Birch, 278.
Gray Pine, 205.
Green Ash, 361.
Green Ash seedlings, Bunch of, 92.
Grindstone, 152.
Group method, 64.
Grove, 47.
Growing stock of a forest, 137.
Growth of trees an index to value of
land, 23.
Growth on muskegs, 23.
Gymnocladus, 331.
canadensis, 331.
dioicus, (332), 331.
Hackberry, (307), 306.
Hackmatack, 214.
Hail storms, Forest influences on, 42.
Hairy Balm of Gilead, 264.
Hand ax, 152.
Hard Maple, 336.
Hardy Catalpa, 364.
Haw, Dotted, (320), 319.
Heart wood, 12.
Coloration, 12.
Heaving out by frost, 107.
Heavy-wooded Pine, 207.
Heeling-in, 97.
Height accretion, 133.
Height classes, 137.
Heights of one-year-old seedlings,
Table of, 83.
Hemlock, 224.
Hicoria, 242.
minima, (244), 245.
ovata, 243.
Hickory— Bitternut, (244), 245.
— Shagbark, 243.
— Shellbark, 243.
— Swamp, 245.
Hinckley fire, 114, 122.
HlPPOCASTANACE^E, 348.
Honey I^ocust, (330), 329.
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY, 366.
Hoop Ash, 362.
Hop Hornbeam, 282.
Hornbeam, (283). 282.
Hornbeam, 284.
Horse Chestnut, 349.
Hot winds, 45.
Hypsometer, (149-150), 148.
Impregnation of Beech wood, 180.
Improvement cuttings, 71.
Improvement of land in forests, 42.
Improving the woodlot, 72.
Inarching, 90.
Income from forests, 187.
Income from game preserves, 189.
Increasing value of forests, 187.
Influence of forests, 28.
Injury from late spring frosts, 108.
Injuries to trees, 104.
Insects, Injuries from, 104.
Instruments used in forest mensura-
tion, 147-152.
Interception of rainfall, 33.
Interception of water in forests, 33.
Intolerant, 22.
Investments in timber, 128.
Investments, Profits from, 128.
Iowa Crab, (313), 312.
Iron railroad ties, 180.
Ironwood, 282.
Jack Pine, (206), 205.
Jack Pine, Stand of, 137.
Jacob staff, 149.
Joinery, 166.
JUGLANDACE^E, 237.
Juglans, 237.
cinerea, (241), 240.
nigra, (239), 238.
Jnneberry, 317.
— Dwarf, 318.
Juniper — Common, 235.
— Dwarf, (235), 235.
— Red, 166.
— Trailing, 235
Jtmiperus, 233.
com munis, (235), 235.
virginiana, (234), 233.
Kentucky Coffeetree, 331.
Kerf, 146.
INDEX.
395
King's experiments with windbreaks,
36, 37.
Knisely's experiments on evaporation
from trees in winter, 19.
Kyanizing process, 181.
Land broken by dragging logs, 63.
Inarch — American, 214.
— European, (215), 216.
Largetooth Aspen, 262.
I,arix, 213.
americana, 214.
europea, 215.
occidental!?, 372.
laricina, 214.
Late spring frosts, 108.
Laurelleaf Willow, 257.
Law, Fire, in Minnesota, 193.
payers, 89.
Leather board, 167.
Leaves, 14.
Leaves on conifers, Time they remain
on trees, 15.
LEGUMINOS.E, 328.
Level, 147.
Lice, 105.
Life history of mature tree, 126.
Light demanding trees, 21.
Limber Pine, 202.
Lime Whitewash, 179.
Linden — American, 353.
— European, 336.
LINDEN FAMILY, 353.
Live fence posts, 160.
Log rule, 152.
Location of buildings, 56.
Locust, (334), 333.
— Black, 333.
— Common, 833.
- Honey, (330), 329.
— Yellow, 333.
Lombardy Poplar, 270.
Lumber industry in Minnesota, 185.
Maple— Ashleaf, 348.
— Cutleaf, 343.
— Hard, 336.
— Mountain, 345.
— Norway (339), 338.
— Red, (344), 343.
— Reitenbach, 340.
— Rock, 336.
— Scarlet, 343.
Maple— Schwedler, 340.
— Silver, (341), 340.
- - Silverleaf, 340.
- Soft, 340.
— Striped, 346.
— Sugar, (337), 336.
— Swamp, 343.
— Tartarian, 346.
— White, 340.
— Wier's Cutleaf, 343.
MAPLE FAMILY, 335.
Marking pins, 147.
Mass accretion, 139, 140.
Measurement of growing stock, 137.
Measurement of logs and lumber, 144.
Measurement of single trees, 132.
Mechanical condition of land in for-
ests, 23.
Mechanical pulp, 167.
Men employed in lumbering indus-
tries, 185.
Methods of sawing, 168.
Mice, 105.
Mineral substances, 18.
Mining, 166.
Minnesota state forest reserves, 192.
Minnesota state forestry board, 193.
Miramichi fire, 121.
Mirror hypsometer, (150), 148.
Mixed plantings, 51.
Mixed plantings, List of trees for, 53.
Moose Elm, 303.
Moosewood, 346.
MORACEJE, 308.
Mortis, 308.
alba tartarica, (310), 309.
rubra, 308.
Mossy- Cup Oak, 293.
Mound planting, 68.
Mountain Ash, 312.
— American, 812.
— Elderleaf, (315), 314.
— European, 316.
— Oakleaf , 317.
— Weeping, 317.
Mountain Maple, 345.
Mountain Spruce, 221.
Mulberry— Red, 308.
— Russian, (310), 309.
— Tea's Weeping, 311.
MULBERRY FAMILY, 308.
396
INDEX.
Mulching trees, 101.
Muskegs, Growth on, 23.
Nannyberry, 366.
Napoleon Willow, 259.
Narrowleaf Cotton wood, 265.
National parks, 191.
Negundo aceroides, 348.
Nettletree, 306.
Normal growing stock, 187.
Normal income, 187.
Northern Scrub-Pine, 205.
Northern slope, effect on growth, 26.
Norway Maple, (339), 338.
Norway Pine, 202.
Norway Pine crowded and open-
grown, 129.
Norway Spruce, (223), 222.
Young growth in Germany, (190).
Notable forest fires, 121.
Miramichi, 121.
Peshtigo, 121.
Michigan, 121.
Hinckley, 122.
Nursery practice, 91.
Nursery, 91.
Soil and cultivation, 91.
Work and practice, 91.
Nursery stock, Grades of, 91.
Oak-Black, 289, 297.
— Bur (294;, 293.
— Bur, White, 293.
— Mossy-Cup, 293.
— Red, (296), 295.
— Scarlet, (298), 297.
— White, (290), 289.
— Swamp, (292), 291.
OAK FAMILY, 286.
Oakleaf Mountain Ash, 317.
Odors of decaying wood, 175.
Ohio Buckeye, (350), 351.
Oil paints, 179.
OLEACE^C, 358.
OLEASTER FAMILY, 356,
OLIVE FAMILY, 358.
Osier Willows, 247.
Ostrya, 282.
virginiana, (283), 282.
Paper Birch, (275), 274.
Paper pulp, 167.
Paraboloid, 132.
Pasturing cattle in woodlands, 106.
PEA FAMILY, 328.
Peshtigo fire, 121.
Picea, 216.
alba, 216.
canadensis (217), 216.
engelmanni, 221.
excelsa, (223), 222.
young growth in Germany, (190).
mariana, (219), 218.
nigra, 218.
parryana, 221.
pungens, 221.
Peachleaf Willow, 251.
Pigeon Cherry, 322.
Pin Cherry, 322.
PlNACE.55, 199.
Pine, 199.
— Austrian, (212), 211.
— Black, 211.
- Bull, 207.
— Dwarf, 211.
— Dwarf Mountain, 211.
- Gray, 205.
— Heavy- Wooded, WX.
-Jack, (206), 205.
— lumber, 202.
— Northern Scrub, 205.
- Norway, 202.
— Red, (203), 202.
— Rock, (208), 207.
— Scotch, (210), 209.
— Western Yellow, 207.
— Western While, 202.
— Weymouth, 199.
— White, (200), 199.
Pine cuttings after being burned
over, 67.
PINE FAMILY, 199.
Pinus, 199.
banksiana, 205.
divaricata, (206), 205.
flexilis, 202.
laricio austriaca, (212), 211.
montana pumila, (213), 211.
mughus, 211.
ponderosa scopulorum, (208), 207.
resinosa, (203), 202.
strobus, (200), 199.
sylvestris, (210), 209.
Pit, Storing seeds in, 76.
Plans for home grounds, 56.
INDEX.
397
Planting, Methods of, 54.
Planting seedlings. Successive steps
in, 96.
Planting to renew timber growth, 66.
Plowrightia morbosa, 326.
Plum, Wild, 321.
Pocket Gopher, 106.
Pocket I,ens, 150.
Pollarding, 68.
Poplar— Aspen, (261), 260.
— Balm of Gilead, (263), 262.
— Black, 270.
- Bolle, 273.
— Certinensis, 273.
— I,argetooth Aspen, 262.
— L,ombardy, 270.
— Silverleaf, 271.
— Snowy, 271.
— White, (272), 270.
Poplar, 260.
Popple, 260.
Populus, 259.
alba, (272), 270.
alba bolleana, 273.
alba canescens, 273.
alba nivea, 271.
angustifolia, 265.
argentea, 271.
balsamifera, (263), 262.
balsamifera candicans, 264.
balsamifera intermedia, 264.
balsamifera latitolia, 264.
balsamifera viminalis, 264.
certinensis^ 273.
crispa, 264.
deltoides, (267), 265.
deltoides aurea, 269.
dudleyi, 264.
grandidenta, 262.
laurifolia, 273.
laurifolia, 264.
lindleyana, 264.
nigra, 270.
nigra italica, 270.
nolesti, 265.
pyramidalis suaveolens, 264.
salici folia, 264.
siberica pyramidalis, 264.
tremuloides, (261), 260.
van gertii, 269.
wobsky, 265.
Possibilities of yield of our forest
area, 185.
Prairie planting, 47.
Prairies, Why treeless, 43.
Pressler's tables of relative diameters,
141.
Price of fuel, 184.
Printing paper, 167.
Profits from timber, 128.
Propagation, 73.
by division, 73.
Protection from windbreaks, 41.
Protection to buildings, 48.
Protection to crops by windbreaks, 48.
Pruning, 97.
Directions for, 98.
of forest trees, 69.
Purpose of, 97.
Time for, 98.
Prtmus, 321.
americana, 321.
demissa, 828.
pennsylvanica, (323), 322.
nigra, 321.
serotina (325), 324.
virginiana, (327), 326.
Pseudotsttga, 225.
douglasii, 225.
taxifolia, (226), 225.
Pyramidal Arborvitse, 232.
Pyrus, 311.
americana, 312.
aucuparia, 316.
aucuparia pendula, 317.
coronaria, 312.
hybrida, 317.
ioensis, (313), 312.
sambucifolia, (315), 314.
Quaking Aspen, 260.
Quarter-sawing, 168.
Quercus, 288.
alba, (290), 289.
coccinea, (298), 297.
macrocarpa, (294), 293.
platanoides, (292), 291.
rubra, (296), 295.
suber, 289.
velutina, 297.
Rabbits, Injuries from, 105.
Rainfall, height of water table in the
land, 44.
398
INDEX.
Raising coniferous trees, 81.
Rate of growth, 125, 139, 150.
Rate of increase in timber, 125.
Red Ash, 360.
Red Birch, 277.
Red Cedar, 233.
Red Cherry, 322.
Red Elm, 303.
Red Fir, 225.
Red Juniper, (->34), 233.
Red Maple, (344), 343.
Red Mulberry, 308;
Red Oak, (296), 295.
Red Pine, (203), 202.
Regeneration, 62.
by artificial seeding, 65.
by natural seeding, 62, 66.
by planting cuttings, 68.
by planting seedlings, 66.
by sprouts and suckers, 68.
Reitenbach Maple, 340.
Relation between trees and soils, 23.
Reseeding, Natural, 66.
Rest period of plants, 19.
RHAMNACE.E, 351.
Rhamnus, 351.
catharticus, (352), 351.
Ripening of wood, 19.
River Birch, 277.
Robinia, 333.
Wudacacia, (334), 333.
Rock Elm, 301.
Rock Maple, 338.
Rock Pine, 207.
Root growth, Extent of. 13.
Root formation, (Figure 2), 13.
Roots, 12.
Roots on a forest grown Elm, 93.
ROSACES, 311.
ROSE FAMILY, 311.
Rotation, 69.
Rot in wood, 175.
Royal Willow, 256.
Rum Cherry, 324.
Run-off of Water, 41.
Russell's experiment, Effect of wind
on evaporation, 34.
Russian— Mulberry, (310), 309.
— Olive, (357), 356.
SALICACE/E, 246.
Salix, 246.
acutifolia, 257.
alba, (254), 253.
alba britzensis, 256.
alba regalis, 256.
alba vittellina, (255), 256.
amygdaloides, (252), 251.
laurifolia, 257.
lucida, (258), 257.
napoleonis, 259.
nigra, (250), 251.
pentandra, 257.
purpurea, 249.
pendula, 259.
regalis, 257.
Sample acre, 137.
Sample tree, 140.
Sand dunes, 123.
Sapwood, 12.
Savin, 233.
Saw, 72.
Sawing, Methods of, 168.
Sawflies, Injuries from, 104.
Scaling, 144.
Scarlet— Maple, 343.
— Oak, (298), 297.
Schwedler Maple, 340.
Scotch Fir, 207.
Scotch Pine, 207.
Scratcher, 152.
Scribner's Rule, 145.
Scrub Pine, Northern, 205.
Second growth, 20.
Seed, The, 16.
Evergreen, bed, 81.
Seeding of timber lands, 66.
Seeding trees, 66.
Seedlings, 92.
Green Ash, 92.
variations, 75.
Height of one-year-old, 83.
Seeds, 73.
Amount to use, 82.
Classified, 77.
Coniferous tree, 77, 79.
Covering, 82.
Distribution of, 16.
Dry, 78.
Fleshy covered, 78.
Gathering, 75.
Germination of, 75.
INDEX.
399
Seeds, Leguminous tree, 79, 86.
Nut, 79, 86.
Ripening in August, 78.
Ripening in spring and early sum-
mer, 77.
Sources of, 73.
Sowing, 82.
Stratification of, 76.
Variations from, 75.
Seed variations, 75.
Seed years, 63.
Selection method, 63.
Serviceberry, 317.
Servicetree— I/mgleaf, 318.
— Western, 318.
Servicetree, 317.
Shade-enduring trees, 22.
Shagbark Hickory, 243.
Shapes of trees, 16.
Sheepberry, (367), 366.
Shellbark Hickory, 243.
Shelterbelt, 47.
Shelterbelts, Plans of. 57.
Shining Willow, 257.
Shipbuilding, 166.
Siberian Arborvitte, 232.
Silver Fir, 229.
Silver Grain, 168.
Silverleaf Maple, 340.
Silver Maple, (341), 340.
Silverleaf Poplar, 271.
Silver Poplar, 273.
Silver Spruce, 221.
Size of trees, 54.
Sleet storms, Injuries from, 108.
Sleet storm, Trees after, 109.
Slippery Elm, (304), 303.
Slope, Effect on growth, 26.
Snow crust, Injuries from, 110.
Snowy Poplar, 271.
Soft Maple. 340.
Soft Maple, pruned and unpruned,
102.
Soil conditions, 22.
Soil, Improvement of, in woodlands,
18.
Soils, Alkali, 25.
Soils, Washing of, 24.
Solar pit, 89.
Sources of seeds, 73.
Southern slope, effect on growth, 26.
Sowing seed, 82.
Specific gravities, Table of, 170.
Spring frosts, Injuries from, 108.
Spring growth of wood, 18.
Spruce— Black, (219), 218.
— Blue, 221.
— Colorado Blue, 221.
— Double, 218.
— Douglas, (226), 225.
— Engelmann, 221.
— Norway, (223), 222.
— Silver, 221.
— White, (217), 216.
— White, 221.
State bounty for tree planting, 194.
Steel chain, 147.
Steel tape, 147.
Storing seeds, 78.
Straightening streams with willows,
162.
Stratification, 76.
Street trees, 92.
Distance apart, 100.
Kinds to plant, 100.
Mulching, 101.
Planting, 101.
Protection, 103.
Pruning, 102.
Setting, 101.
Success with, 100.
Watering, 102.
Strip method, 63.
Subsoil, 24.
Succession of tree growth, 60.
Sugarberry, 306.
Sulphite process, 180.
Sunscald, 112.
Small dead twigs a protection
against, 70.
Sunscalded Soft Maple and Basswood,
(111), 111.
Surveyor general of logs and lumber,
144.
Suscutanberry, 318.
Swamp Ash, 362.
Swamp Hickory, 245.
Swamp Maple, 343.
Sweet Birch, 278.
Tables-
Areas of circles, 136.
Diameter growth, 143.
400
INDEX.
Tables-
Durability of fence posts, 175.
Height growth, 83.
Height of one-year-old seedlings, 83.
length of time leaves of conifers
are persistent, 15.
Percentage of the logs, 146.
Pressler's relative diameters, 141.
Scribner's Rule, 145.
Specific gravities and fuel values,
170.
Transpiration, 17.
Tacamahac, 262.
Tallyboard, 147.
Tallyman, 147.
Tamarack, 214.
Tangential sawing, 168.
Tartarian Maple, 346.
Taxes on timber lands, 189.
Tendency to perpetuate qualities, 74.
Tensile strength of wood compared
with iron, 164.
Tent caterpillars, 104.
Thinning, 55, 70.
Threethorn Acacia, 329.
Through and through sawing, 168.
Thuja, 230.
occidentalis, (231), 230.
occidentalis aurea, 233.
occidentalis fastigiata, 232.
occidentalis pyramidalis, 232.
occidentalis wareana, 232.
occidentalis sibirica, 232.
Tilia, 353.
americana, (354), 353.
platyphyllos, 356.
vulgaris, 356.
Tiliaceae, 353.
Timber famine, Possibility of a, in
Minnesota, 184.
Timber lands, Management of, 186.
Timber lands, Taxes on, 189.
Toadstool root fungus, 112.
Tolerant, 22.
Trailing Juniper, 235.
Transit, 147.
Transpiration, 17, 38.
Transplanting, 92.
evergreens, 94.
Time of, 94.
Transplants, 92.
Treatment of crooked trees, 99.
Tree, The, 11.
Tree claim, A good, (Figure 4), 52.
Tree growth, 17.
Trees grown from seeds, 73.
Tree growth affected by light condi
tions, 21.
Influences of a, 28.
Tree planting, 47.
Tree planting on prairies, 47.
Trees for mixed plantings, lyist of, 53.
Trees protect one another, 22.
Shape of, 16.
Triangulation, 132.
Tsuga, 224.
canadensis, 224.
ULMACE.E, 299.
TJlmus, 299.
americana, (300), 299.
fulva, 303.
pubescens, (304), 303.
racemosa, (302), 301.
Undergrowth in forests, 24.
Unproductive forest land, 188.
Uses of wood, 164.
Value of forest industries of Minne-
sota, 185.
Variations from seeds, 75.
Viburnum, 366.
lentago, (367), 366.
Virgin forest, (Figure 7), 61.
Volume of standing tree, 132.
Volume of standing timber, 137.
Volume of felled tree, 134.
Walnut, Black, (239), 238.
WALNUT FAMILY, 237.
Washing of soils, 24.
Waste in forests, 71.
Water, Amount transpired, 38.
Water Beech, 284.
Water capital, Circulating, 30.
Water capital, Fixed, 30.
Water discharged by Rhone, 30.
Water, Distribution of, 31.
Water Elm, 299.
Water lost by trees in winter,
Amount, 19.
Water supplies, Forest influences on,
29.
Water supply in soils, 22.
Water table in land, Height of, 44.
INDEX.
401
Weeping Birch, Cutleaf, 277.
Weeping Mountain Ash, 317.
Western Catalpa, 364.
Western Crab, 312.
Western Larch, 372.
Western slope, Effect on growth, 27.
Western White Pine, 202.
Western Yellow Pine, 207.
Weymouth Pine, 199.
Whetstone, 152.
White Ash, (359), 358.
White Birch, 274.
White Cedar, 230.
White Elm, (SCO), 299.
White Fir, 229.
White Maple, 340.
White Oak, (290), 289.
White Pine, (200), 199.
Crowded and then open grown,
(127). 127.
Largest cut in Minnesota, 125.
Largest yield in Minnesota, 125.
Open grown, (128), 127.
White Western, 202.
White Poplar, (272), 271.
White Spruce, (217;, 216.
White Spruce, 221.
Whitewash, 179.
White Willow, (254), 253.
White Wood, 353.
Why prairies are treeless, 43.
Wier's Cutleaf Maple, 343.
Wild Black Cherry, 324.
Wild Crab, 312.
Wild Plum, 321.
Wild Red Cherry, (323), 322.
Willow— Almondlea'f, (252), 251.
— Black, (250), 251.
— Common Golden, 255.
— Glossyleaf, 257.
— Laurelleaf, 257.
— Napoleon, 259.
— New American. Weeping, 259.
— Osier, 247.
Willow— Peachleaf, 251.
— Royal, 256.
— Russian Golden, 256.
— Shining, 257.
— White, (254), 253.
— Wisconsin Weeping, (251), 249.
WILLOW FAMILY, 246.
Willow for fuel, 130.
Willow, Rate of increase, 130.
Windbreaking power of forests, 35.
Windbreaks of White Willow, 50.
Windbreak, White Willow, Injured
by saw-fly, 104.
Windbreaks, 47.
Height of, 49.
Location of, 48.
Protection to crops, 48.
Trees for, 49.
Wind injuries, 110.
Winds, Hot, 37-45.
Windstorms, Forest influences on, 42.
Wintering acorns and other nuts, 76.
Winter injuries, 107.
Wisconsin Weeping Willow, 249.
Wood and its uses, 164.
Wood, Durability of, 175.
Woodenware, 166.
Woodlot, 72.
Wood pulp and distillation products,
167.
Wood structure, 168.
Wood working industries of Minne-
sota, 185.
Working plan, 143.
Woody stem cross section, 11.
Yearly round of life in a tree, 18.
Yellow Birch, (279), 278.
Yellow Cotton-wood, 265.
— Locust, 333.
— Pine, Western, 202.
Young foliage eaten by stock, 106.
Young growth injured in logging, 69.
Zinc-tannin process, 182.
302597
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