P. S.—Would not advise any man to fly bees in the sitting room without the full consent of his better half.
BASSWOOD OR LINDEN: STARTING A PLANTATION.
I have no Linden seed on hand at present. The seed should be planted in the fall or kept in damp sand and planted early in spring. As a general thing the seeds are about two-thirds bad. I think cuttings are best to raise plants from. They nearly all grow, if rightly handled. I sell the cuttings in spring at 30 cts. per 100, free by mail.
Thomas J. Ward, St. Mary’s, Vigo Co., Ind.
The above answers many inquiries. In the fall of 1871 we gathered and planted about a half peck of basswood seed, according to the directions given in Fuller’s Forest Tree Culturist. So few of these came up that we never used them at all, preferring to get our 4000 for the 10½ acres from the forests. We have reason to think that basswoods grow better when partially shaded, than in the open ground. On a part of our lot, there are about 50 large white oaks; we at first hesitated about planting the young trees among these, but now find those among them, have made the best growth of all. Perhaps many of our readers have noticed the rank vigorous growth that these trees often make when young, where they stand in a thicket of bushes and briers sometimes in fence corners. Shading the ground around the roots, from the hot sun, when young, we think perhaps an important item. Although we have never tried cuttings, we think it probable they would answer excellently. A tree on one of our streets that was planted out with some maples about seven years ago, blossomed last year for the first time, but it was taken up when so large that it did not begin to grow, until about three years after transplanting. For reasons mentioned, we should advise close planting at first, say 10 or 12 feet apart, on a plan similar to the one given in Vol. 1, pages 2 and 25, for locating hives in the Apiary. When the trees get crowded, thin out. The timber will soon pay all expenses.