Franklin, Massachusetts – Planting Trees 1856
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009Statement of Whiting Metcalf- Franklin, Massachusetts 1856
“My plantation of forest trees contains three and a half acres. The soil is a light sandy loam, and the subsoil sand. About one-half of it is of pitch-pine ; the other half of white pine and birches. I raised rye upon the land every other year for several years, but found it did not pay the expenses. I then procured some pitch-pine seeds and sowed them on the rye stubble, and harrowed them, which was the only expense. This was done about twenty years ago. The seeds came up too thick, in some places, but I suffered them to take their course until last spring, when I thinned out of the lot about ten cords.
This leaves the remainder ample room to grow, and, it is the opinion of competent judges, that there are now fifteen cords to the acre upon the ground.
The other half of the lot was sown three or four years after-wards with white pine seeds ; but the seed did not come up well, and the next year I sowed birch seed to fill all the vacancies.
I now have a handsome lot of white pine and birch trees.
FRANKLIN, Mass. September, 1856.”
