swarm in the lowlands. They have revoked the decree of banishment, recalled in haste this valiant militia, which, though deficient in discipline, is, nevertheless, the salvation of the country."

"Not long since, in the neighbourhood of Rouen and in the valley of Mouville, the black bird was for some time proscribed. The beetles profited well by this proscription; their larvæ, infinitely multiplied, carried on their subterranean labours with such success, that a meadow was shown me, the surface of which was completely dried up, every herbaceous root was consumed, and the whole grassy mantle, easily loosened, might have been rolled up and carried away like a carpet."

TREE SHELTER FOR FARMS.

An English opinion, stated in "Woods and Forests," says: "I quite agree with your remarks last week on this subject. A narrow strip of wood left on the crest of the hills, and on the north and west lines of many farms, would pay a large interest by the increase of the crops which would result from such shelter on the remainder of the farm. Where the woods have been cut away, I think it would pay well to plant these strips, and by good care, to promote their growth as rapidly as possible. Quick-growing species in this case should be selected, such as chestnuts, maples and poplars. I have, for several years, allowed all young trees growing along the fences, to grow. I have trimmed them, and quite a number of them have grown so rapidly, that I have trees which will soon be good to cut for rails, posts or wood. They take no room, shelter the field, and give some shade for cattle."

This opinion is now becoming prevalent in Ontario. In travelling through the country of late years, I find everywhere lines of trees being planted along the road-sides and the dividing fences of farms. So far as this can do it within the next twenty years, we shall see much of Ontario sheltered by lines of trees, and those who have neglected it until then, noticing the undoubted benefits, will be busy planting and regretting the time they have allowed to elapse before doing so. In planting trees along roads, however, it is the opinion of many that they should be confined to the north side, in order that having the south sun they may dry the sooner after rain. Some indeed object to trees along the road or fences either, and would have nothing but wire, to avoid the possibility of snow drifting into the road. It must be remembered, however, that where windbreaks are frequent over the surface of the country, the winds will be greatly checked. It should be remembered also that the shade of the trees in summer is very pleasant while travelling on the roads. Again, the soil is a question of consideration. I remember when my road to market laid through seventeen miles of second growth trees on either side, not tall, but tall enough to thoroughly shade the roads. The shade, however, never seemed to make the roads bad. It was a sandy, gravelly soil, and soon dried up. But the day of dependence on mud roads in Ontario ought soon to pass by. There is plenty of stone and gravel in the country to make good roads, (and once well made they last a long time). I know places in England where the paved stone roads, made by the

Second Roman legion two thousand years ago, have been used ever since, and some of them are good roads still. But there is another thing to be remembered concerning these roads. They pass through a deep forest, which catches and holds the rain. Had they been in the open ground they would have been torn up by floods long ago. Farmers, again, are apt to call themselves too poor to make good roads. In America we are too apt to think that land will last for ever without manuring. The first thing is to get the field rich; the next thing is to prevent the rich land from washing away. Nothing will do this but shelter. It is asked: Why do not the prairie lands lose their fertility? They do lose it. When forty years ago I passed through Illinois and Iowa, everybody thought they would get a hundred bushels an acre of corn. I passed the same fields a year or two since, and they were not getting half that amount. Much of their soil had gone into the Mississippi. They have had plenty of time since to shelter their fields well, but instead, they have made little more than a commencement.

THE FUNCTIONS OF TREE LEAVES.

An English writer gives the following idea, which will be found to have some connection wth the foregoing paragraph:

"The leaves of trees seem destined by nature, to perform two essential functions; first, strong to inhale during hot and dry weather, moisture from the atmosphere during the night, in order to repair the waste occasioned by the perspiration of the preceding day; and secondly, to receive the juices propelled to them from the root, and, as secreting organs, to prepare and elaborate the sap so received, to fit it for the support and enlargement of all the woody parts of the plant. Hence every branch, according to its size, after appropriating to its own use what is necessary, sends down the residue to the stem and roots for their enlargement, as well as for the multiplication of the roots, which may be proved from the roots of every tree being in the ratio of its branches. Thus every part of the plant acts and re-acts; the branches are augmented by the roots, and the roots by the branches. Pontey, a high authority in arboriculture, and others, consider that the principal use of the leaves is to attract the sap upwards, and that tapering stems are occasioned by branches obstructing the ascent of the sap, and also applying it to their own use, thus preventing the enlargement of the stem upwards; so that, according to their ideas, if the lower branches are removed, a greater portion of sap will go to the enlargement of the stem above."

Whoever reads the foregoing paragraph carefully, will understand why rows of trees, though valuable for shelter, never can produce timber. They branch out, as is their nature, and each branch, as is well explained above, prevents the stem from growing so large above itself as it would otherwise do. For this reason, where trees are set closely in plantations, which prevents the growth of he lower branches, the trees acquire a tall, straight stem, clear of knots and

making good timber. It becomes, in fact, altogether a different tree. In the open field, by itself, a maple tree will run to about fifty feet in height. It will be thick set, with branches almost from the ground to the summit, and they will spread forty feet. If you come to cut it down you will find very little timber in the tree beside branch wood, which does, indeed, make good fuel. The same tree in a forest or plantation would be without branches, from forty to sixty feet from the ground, after which it would have a spreading head above, and the trunk should yield clear timber all the way to the branches. Granting that the two trees had been planted fifty years, the second should be two feet or more through at its base.

THE BLACK WALNUT.

Many enquiries are made yearly concerning the methods of growing the black walnut, and also as to whether it will flourish in the northern parts of Ontario. The black walnut was, in its native forests, seldom seen much north of the Grand Trunk line. Many, however, have planted it north of that— I have known it to do well near Collingwood. The question, however, can only be solved by the establishment of a plantation-isolated trees give no data whatever. I should not, however, recommend expensive experiments being made with it far north of its old position. In the southern part of Ontario it grows well, but I know of no large plantations. In the States, where the climate was pretty nearly that of our own Welland, I have seen many thousand trees set in plantations ten feet apart. These had grown in forty years to trees over eighty feet in height, thirty inches through at the base and fifty feet up to the branches. They would not make good furniture timber, I was informed, for twenty years more, when it was expected they wonld realize very large sums. The walnuts should be piled in sand or in litter all winter where they will freeze. By planting time in the spring many will have sprouted, which should be planted in one place and those which have not in another. We have many trees in Canada, however, such as the cherry and the ash, which will stand a northern climate much better and grow to valuable timber in half the time.

The following pieces on black walnut from "Woods and Forests," are valuable :

Having cultivated this tree in Austria, and also witnessed its growth from the present time backwards for sixty years, my mite of information in reference to it may by of some use to such of your readers interested in forest planting. Our stock was raised annually from seed collected from the older trees. They begin to bear in their tenth year. The seed was thrown into a heap to rot the outer fleshy envelope; it was then put into a cellar during October, and placed in layers in moderately dry white sand; but the sand is immaterial, earth answers the same purpose equally well.

6 (F.)

81

In spring, when good planting weather sets in, the seeds were carefully gone over; those that had sprouted were planted in nursery lines, nine inches apart in beds conveniently broad for cleaning purposes, and the unsprouted ones were planted the same distances apart later. In view of frosty nights it was thought advisable to protect the tender plumules with a little dry litter, but the unsprouted ones did not need this protection. The growth the first year would average over 1 feet in good ground. Early in the following spring the young plants were carefully dug out and planted at distances of two feet between the rows and one foot apart in the rows; after that biennial removals were sufficient till they were large enough to plant out permanently.

In the case of forest planting we found it to be best to allow the peasants to take over a piece of land intended for a plantation rent free, and cultivate it for two years with maize, gourds, sugar beets or potatoes. This was generally dug with the spade, and kept very clean, thereby bringing the soil into good tilth for the trees intended to be planted. The seed was then put in as before, but at four feet intervals. In average ground, kept clean for the first two years, the trees attained a height of ten feet in five years, and during that time received one pruning off of the lower laterals. With judicious thinning out as time went on the trees grew quickly, and have straight stems which do not branch out into a head much under twenty feet from the ground.

I found that they did well on land flooded annually from a neighboring stream during the months of May and June. They grew equally well on unflooded land, but not in that which was sandy, very dry, or poor in quality. Some of the best timber grew in swampy river deposit with standing water just about three feet under the surface. I may add that the seed should be obtained during the autumn.

Now that the subject of profitable tree planting is creating a good deal of attention in this country, the remarks in "Woods and Forests" respecting the merits of the black walnut will be read with interest by those who are on the look-out for information with regard to the most profitable trees to plant. The following extract from the Chicago Times shows conclusively the demand, value, and scarcity of this tree in the States :

Black walnut has disappeared in two-thirds of the States of the Union in which it was once plentiful. First, Ohio and Indiana were stripped, then Kentucky and Tennessee. The enormous advance in the price of this wood during the past three years attests its scarcity, while parties of men who are going through the States whose trees are gone, pulling up stumps to be used for veneers, show how difficult it has proved to be to find a substitute for this wood, with its even grain, dark finish, and freedom from warping. Cherry stained black has been tried, but no stain lasts, and it is worth noticing that Bouille, the greatest master of cabinet-work that ever lived, utterly refused to work in cherry, and preferred to deal patiently but for all time with the great difficulties of ebony. Until the young walnut groves, which are being planted in all directions, begin to furnish a supply, however, some substitute must be found."

Americans are evidently alive to the want, and have already set to work to plant the tree extensively with a view to meet the continuous and increasing demand, and doubtless at the same time with the idea of a good investment, with a quick and profitable return for capital laid out in planting. It appears that no other timber has been found as yet to be a substitute for this walnut. The above I think is strong evidence that the black walnut ought to be planted n this country freely as a tree for future commerce.

BLACK BIRCH.

"The black birch, which is rapidly coming in favour, is a close-grained and very handsome wood, and can be easily stained to resemble walnut exactly. It is just as easy to work, and is suitable for nearly, if not all, the purposes to which black walnut is at present applied. Birch is much the same color as cherry, but the latter wood is now scarce, and consequently dear. It is difficult to obtain cherry at fifty dollars a thousand feet, while birch can be had at any saw-mill at very much less indeed. When properly stained, it is almost impossible to distinguish the difference between it and walnut, as it is susceptible of a beautiful polish, equal to any wood now used in the manufacture of furniture. There is a great difference in the wood of different sections. Where the land is high and dry, the wood is firm and clear, but if the land is low and wet the wood has a tendency to be soft and of a bluish colour. In all the northern regions it can be found in great abundance, and as the tree grows to such a great size, little trouble is experienced in procuring it in large quantities.

The foregoing, from a Toronto paper, is correct in most particulars. Birch, however, as I have seen it in many a northern forest, is in no such abundance as the woods to which in other days we used to apply that term. The woods yet remaining to the north are not such as we destroyed to make our Ontario farms. For instance, I have seen many a maple forest-many a long stretch where nothing grew but beech, but I never found a forest of birch. In the northern regions, say near the Magnetawan, or in the Nipissing Territory, you will every here and there meet with an immense birch tree-nothing like the small spreading birch trees we see in streets or parks, but three feet or more through the trunk, and rising to a great height. Much might be culled from these forests and should be, as it is mature. One common use to which it is put, which meets every-one's eye, is our perforated chair seats. These are not of one but of three thicknesses, the centre one laid crossways of the grain.

TREES AND RAIN.

"Woods and Forests" gives a short but valuable article on trees and rain :

"In Italy the clearing of the Apennines is believed to have seriously altered the climate of the Po valley; and now the African sirocco, never known to the armies of ancient Rome, breathes its hot blighting breath over the right bank of the river in the territory of Parma. The similar removal of the pine forests near Ravenna, about twenty miles long, induced the same desolate wind, which continued until the wood had been allowed to grow again. There is no doubt that in France, the removal of the old forests of the Vosges sensibly deteriorated the climate on the plains of Alsace; and it is a historic fact that the ancient destruction of the forests of Cervennes under the reign of Augustus, left the large and rich tracts near the mouth of the Rhone, exposed to the steady violence of the mistral (or north-west wind) before which the area of olive culture has retreated many leagues; the orange is confined to a few sheltered points on the coast, and fruit trees can hardly be reared in places where they were at one time prolific.