Now that our forests are becoming more scarce, we are beginning to appreciate more fully the value of their products. Nuts, extracts, maple syrup and many minor products are obtained from our native trees. If man could be surrounded with the right assortment of trees, he would need little else. He would have food in the nuts and fruit; fire wood and building material in the stems, as well as paper and clothing from the wood pulp. He would have sugar from the sap, medicine from the bark, and he would have wood distillates, turpentine and resin. He could live long and well on the products of our forests.
Our forests are, however, disappearing. Our native nut trees are being cut off. Our sugar maple orchards are being put into farm land, and forest products are increasing rapidly in price. We have got to keep a certain part of the country in forests in order to have the country prosperous, and to do this we must either plant trees or so manage the existing forests that they will renew themselves naturally. In planting trees, we should not overlook the by-products of the trees, nuts and syrup and bark. These products are often the main crop in themselves and in any case, they will increase the receipts and make our forestry work more profitable.
There are many acres in southern Michigan and along the Lake, that will give larger returns from nut tree plantations than from any other source. We want first to be sure that the trees are hardy to the locality before we recommend them. I believe there is a very big future for such plantations. The history of southern plantations has been one of remarkable success.
We must be particularly careful in advising the establishment of nut tree plantations. We ought to be particularly careful in not encouraging people to buy trees that we are not sure will succeed. For every plantation that fails means a loss of money and an obstacle to future progress. But every tree that succeeds means an advertisement for years to come.
I do not see any reason why southern Michigan cannot raise many improved varieties of black walnut and perhaps some other nut trees as well. Our study of native nut tree plantations this summer, shows that with proper care they may be very profitable and we hope to see a great extension of such plantations in this State.
Prof. Chittenden: I would like to say that the College has been very favorably impressed with the work that this Association has been doing and the care that is used in recommending nut trees. It is a thing the people need a lot of advice about. I thank you. (Applause).
Mr. J. F. Jones: I would like to ask if the pecans that were tender were northern or southern pecans.
Prof. Chittenden: We got them from a nursery in New York State and I could not say as to the source of the stock beyond that.
Mr. Jones: Naturally the southern source is the cheapest tree.
Prof. Chittenden: We got the trees from a nursery that had been advertising them very extensively in Michigan. It was about five years ago, at a time when this State had been flooded with literature from this nursery and other nurseries about particularly pecans and chestnuts. We were doubtful about the trees they were recommending, and we got a considerable number and planted them out, but we took pretty good care of them; but they all died in winter.