Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

In addition to the field planting done with stock from our own nurseries, 500,000 three-year old transplants were imported from Germany and set out in the Paul Smith plantations. This makes a total of 1,050,125 trees planted by us on State land in the Adirondack Park last spring; we also sold 23,900 to citizens for planting on private land, and 1,200 seedlings for transplanting in nursery beds, preparatory to final planting in the field. These trees were sold pursuant to a law passed by the Legislature of last year.

Our plantations have made a fine showing. The first was made near Lake Clear Junction in 1902, consisting of about 700 acres, and the trees have now attained a height of about eight feet. The illustrations in this report are from photographs of that plantation. On account of the unusual drought of the past season the plantations, especially those made in 1908 on sterile, sandy soil, have been subjected to a most severe test. However, after a careful examination, it was found that our losses were smaller than in any previous year.

New York was the pioneer State in reforesting, and it was necessary to develop our own methods and learn by our successes and failures in the severe school of experience. This work has now reached a high standard of efficiency. Our nurseries are considered the best in the country and compare favorably with those in Germany. The plantations are making a fine growth each year; we have learned what species are best adapted to different soils; the time to plant, and the size of material necessary to use under different conditions, at least for our work in the Adirondacks.

Nursery Work

The nursery work during the year was carried on in five nurseries, as follows: Saranac Nursery and the Forest Experiment Station both at Saranac Inn Station, the Lake Clear Nursery near Lake Clear Junction, the Cornell Nursery at Wawbeek, and Salamanca Nursery at Salamanca.

The Saranac Nursery last year supplied the following amounts and kinds of stock for field planting:

[blocks in formation]

There is stock in this nursery now ready for shipment the coming

[blocks in formation]

This nursery is our oldest one and remains the same size as last year. The same system has been followed as described in our previous reports, except that we are now taking from this nursery for field work three-yearold Scotch pine transplants instead of leaving them in the beds until they are four years old. Experiments have been conducted which show that three-year-old Scotch pine transplants will make a rapid growth in the plantations. They are much easier to ship, require less labor to set in the field, and by using stock at this age the annual output of the nursery is

materially increased. It was also found that a four-year-old Scotch pine transplant could not be removed from the nursery without some injury to the roots, and that species with such a large tap root development should be set in its final place as early as possible.

Forest Experiment Station. In order to make this report complete and up to date some matter previously reported on will be considered again. Such information will also explain somewhat in detail the nursery operations. This station was established in co-operation with the United States Forest Service for the following purposes, viz., to increase our knowledge in reference to tree planting; to determine the species best adapted for reforesting in this section; to find exogens which will be promising trees for planting; to raise stock for experimental work, and to obtain information of value to the profession.

The nursery in 1906 contained two acres, only a small portion of which was used; but this was increased in the fall of 1907 to four and two-tenths acres. In 1906 only enough of the nursery for 36 seed beds was used. In 1907 there were 36 seed beds in their second year, 36 beds in their first year and 89,200 transplants. In 1908 the entire nursery was in use and it contained 36 beds in their second year, 36 beds in their first year, and 58,200 transplants set in 1907 and 266,900 transplants set in 1908. The nursery location was selected, not so much on account of the particular adaptability of the soil, as the fact that it was the best piece of land available. It is located at the end of an extensive sand plain, quite level, slightly southern exposure, fully protected from winds on all sides except the south. It was at one time a clearing, but had partly recovered itself with second growth. On the whole the soil is of average quality for this section.

The

Water is secured from Little Clear Pond. A dam six feet high, already constructed, furnished sufficient head for operating a hydraulic ram. water is taken from the lake through a four-inch pipe into a concrete well, and the drive pipe for operating the ram is taken from the well. The water is forced through a one and one-quarter-inch pipe 935 feet from the ram to the tank, and in this same distance is raised 72 feet in height. A two and one-half-inch pipe supplies the ram, and a continuous stream about one-half of an inch in size empties into the tank. A water tower 35 feet high has been built, the lower part forming two store rooms, while

the upper part encloses a 5,000 gallon water tank. A two-inch main runs from the tank along one side of the nursery. From this main, side lines extend down each path at the ends of the beds with hydrants placed at intervals for watering with a hose. The entire system is laid to grade, and the water is drawn off in the fall by removing three plugs. The entire system cost $579.50, and the water tower cost $194.96 additional.

Our seed beds are uniformly twelve feet long and four feet wide, and usually produce 10,000 seedlings per bed. A box around each bed is constructed by making a frame work of spruce four feet wide, twelve feet long and nine inches high and covered with a wire screen having a three-fourths-inch mesh. A cover is also built the size of the box and covered with the same kind of netting. The lath shades are also the same size.

Our system of seed bed management has been adopted by the Yale Forest School, University of Michigan Forest School, Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station and the United States Forest Service. Our complete system of reforesting work, including seed collecting, nursery practice and field planting, has been described in full for the United States Forest Service, and will soon be published in pamphlet form by them. Seed beds are made as follows: The soil is cleaned of all sticks, stones, roots, etc. It is then fertilized and the fertilizer thoroughly mixed with the upper four to six inches of soil, the wire seed box placed and the form made. The bed should be made with a convex surface, and about one and one-half inches higher in the middle than at the edge. This gives greater light surface and the trees form an even growth. The soil to a depth of at least a foot should be thoroughly saturated with water and then the surface of the bed formed into proper shape. Caution should be taken not to get the bed so wet that it will crack when the moisture evaporates. The seeds are then sown broadcast. A clean tool, like a hoe, should be used to press the seeds into the soil even with the surface of the bed. About one-eighth of an inch of dirt should then be sifted over the bed. The wire screen cover should be placed on top and the lath rack on top of it. Then the spaces in the lath racks filled with loose lath and thick paper tacked around the sides of the box to exclude the light and conserve the moisture.

« ForrigeFortsett »