tunately has been encouraged by ill-advised legislation, both state and national; whereas, all experience, and the indications of nature favor close setting of the young trees; four feet each way is the distance most commonly recommended, or nearly 3,000 to the acre; some plant still more closely. The details of putting them into the ground need not now be considered, though in this too there is much to be learned as to the best methods. Another important matter in relation to planting, consists in the methods to be adopted; whether a wide area is to be covered with a solid block, or whether the trees shall be disposed in groves of limited extent, covering elevations, bluffs, hillsides and riverbanks, on waste lands wherever they may be located, or whether in the broad areas of a level and arable country, they shall be set in shelter belts, of a single row, or of a few rods in width, so as to protect the farms between them from the winds, and at the same time to produce the timber and fuel that may be needed by the proprietor.

Grouping, or the proper commingling of different species, is a problem of the greatest consequence, and may often involve the success or failure of the plantation, according to the judgment and knowledge by which it has been directed. Some trees naturally grow in large patches of a single species, and seem to thrive best when thus situated, others seem naturally to seek association, and to prefer a mixed forestry. These indications may be followed by the planter, who should be aware that some kinds are even obnoxious to others; he must avoid introducing such into his plantations. Desiduous trees, especially those with an abundance of broad foliage, seem to affect evergreens unfavorably. Some trees grow with greater rapidity than others, and even at maturity others differ in the height to which they attain; grouping of such should be avoided, if we desire each kind to reach its. best estate, although, when used as nurses they may be admitted as temporary occupants, and in this way prove advantageous. Thus it is not at all uncommon in Europe to see oaks set at wide intervals among plantations of Scotch pines; the latter species grow faster and sooner reach maturity, when they are removed and utilized, leaving the oaks, with tall and clean stems to occupy the land for another century, during which they may reach their maximum of usefulness. In this respect the oaks of fifty years are superior in Bohemia to those at Windsor Park, England.

Culture. In all arable lands it is found to be of great advantage to cultivate the young trees. This is best accomplished by using the plow or some kind of cultivator, and it should be continued for one, two or three years, according to the thriftiness of the species planted, but so soon as the land is well shaded, the trees will take care of themselves, the ground being mulched by the fallen leaves, remains open and 'loose, weeds and grass are smothered, though occasionally some sturdy specimen may need removal.

Trimming. Of this work the less the bet'er, and very little will be required if the trees have been set closely enough to force them to grow upward, and to have their side branches choked and killed by want of air. Still some pruning may be` necessary; when there are two separate shoots striving for the mastery one should be removed. Some species too, are prone to throw out side branches which may need curbing. All such as need to be removed should be suppressed when quite small. The thriftiness of a stunted young tree may sometimes be assured by cutting it down to the ground, in winter or spring, when, if the roots be healthy, it will soon be replaced by a strong shoot, that will take its place beside its fellows if they do not cast too great a shade.

Thinning. This process will require great judgment, and no precise directions can be given for the work. The objects of thick planting must be borne in mind, occupying and shading the surface of the ground, and the production of tall, straight growth, but we must guard against an excess of the last. The young trees must not be allowed to become too spindling; they will require timely thinning. This is effected to a great extent by nature, the weaklings die out, others can be cut away, and when small may be left upon the ground. If further thinning be requisite, some of the larger trees may be cut and utilized, but the systematic removal of alternate trees and alternate rows which may have been theoretically recommended by some, can rarely ever be followed; as elsewhere, much must be left to the practical good sense of the young forester.

From this hasty review of the situation, two things may have been made apparent to you: first, that in the planting and rearing of a forest, there is much to be done, and much required to be known; second, that as yet, very little has been done, and that almost nothing is known upon the subject, by those of us most deeply interested, and most actively engaged in the work.

What next! It remains for us to continue our experiments, to watch and to report the results, whether they be successes or failures. To keep on trying, though, unfortunately many of these experiments will require a considerable outlay of money and long years, and series of years, for their completion, which will not always be successful. In the meantime, as the need for practical information is urgent, shall we not reap the field, white with the harvest? A vast fund of such information is only awaiting our commands, in the results of many of the problems we are called upon to solve. These results have already been attained by the foresters of other lands. They may be had for the asking, and for the taking. We have already asked the means to carry on the work by memorializing congress. Will you not strengthen our hands by adding your appeal to your delegates, to sustain a measure that may be made to yield so rich a return to our people. The plain statements of a report upon the

forests of Europe as seen by a competent and practical American cannot fail to be of immense value to that large body of Ameriacan agriculturists which must soon be actively engaged in planting, conserving and restoring our woodlands.

HOW BEST TO UTILIZE OUR FRUIT.

J. S. STICKNEY, WAUWATOSA.

Our memory reaches easily to the time when we were studying anxiously how to get fruit to utilize; and over a large part of our fair state this is still the great question. To people thus situated, the inquiry, how to utilize, seems easy to answer. They can think of abundant ways and means of utilizing. Still it is a fact that in this state of Wisconsin, many thousand bushels of apples; yes, many thousand dollars worth, have in years of plenty been carelessly wasted. In other fruits there is far less waste; indeed, of most kinds, there is yet but a limited supply; still the best methods of handling and saving are worthy of attention.

Our first fruit, the strawberry, can be most perfectly and securely saved by a liberal dressing of nice, sweet cream and granulated sugar, and immediately thereafter a vigorous and sprightly handling with spoons. If the supply is too large for private efforts, one's neighbors and friends will readily volunteer to lend a helping hand. Another and perhaps wiser method is to dilute with more or less of shortcake, as one's taste or the number of one's friends may render necessary. Any that may escape these methods, we have usually exchanged at our nearest market for cash. When such market is not accessible, canning is the next best thing, and really, canned strawberries are very nice, though some of the rich, sprightly aroma of the fresh fruit will disappear the moment you apply heat.

Raspberries will carry their full, rich flavor through all the processes of cooking, canning and drying, perhaps better than any other fruit, consequently there is little danger of an oversupply. Use all you can fresh from the garden; can all you can, and dry all that remain; you may thus place them on your table every day in the year, always inviting and appetizing.

Of blackberries, except in locations where they are gathered from the woods, our present inquiry is how to get, rather than how to utilize. The few gooseberries that are grown, make an excellent tart, used in a variety of ways; our favorite method for general use is, to cook the green fruit with half its weight of sugar, cook thoroughly, add spices to taste, seal while hot in cans or jars, and it will keep indefinitely.

Currants are, or ought to be, abundant everywhere. Sour things, they truly are, but they come at a time when we need just such sour things for pleasure, comfort and health. From the time they are half grown until the very latest are gathered, they are palatable and refreshing; besides the quantities used fresh from the bushes, currant jelly is a standard and welcome article on all our tables; delicate and choice jellies are made from other fruits, but none seem to possess quite the bright, pleasant tart of this. This same sprightliness is equally characteristic of the dried fruit. We have seen currants dried just as they came from the garden, and very poor they were; but slightly cooked with onefourth their weight of sugar and then dried, they are delicious, and will make a welcome addition to almost any food in which fruit can be used.

Grapes of the better keeping kinds can be had fresh and in excellent condition, for three to four months, by carefully packing and keeping in a cool, even temperature, and rather dry atmosphere. Of utilizing by making into wine, I have little to say. The price they bring for this purpose is very small: three to four cents per pound. If this is saved to the producer, possibly it is lost or worse than lost to the consumer. Cherries retain their flavor perfectly, either canned or dried. Our plums have thus far been mostly utilized by the curculio; but were our efforts as thorough and persistent as his, results would be very different. Any little remnants that he leaves are readily traded for cash, at four to six dollars per bushel.

Now we come to the apples, and here our real work begins; 500, 1,000, and even 2,000 bushels are not uncommon crops, from our best orchards. This is something worth looking after, and something requiring energy and force to properly care for. For the imperfect or wind-fall fruit, feeding to stock, or making into cider for vinegar, are the only uses. Those who have fed apples largely to stock, place their value at about 12 cents per bushel. Made into vinegar, they will yield something less than three gallons per bushel, worth at wholesale 15 to 18 cents per gallon. In this connection, we are to consider the necessary fixtures, the care and labor, the loss from leakage, and other mishaps, and the time (usually 18 months from the fruit to the consumer): all carefully considered, it is probably most remunerative when fed to stock.

Of the sound, well ripened fruit, there is a portion too small or otherwise unfit for market; perhaps some part of this could be profitably dried, the balance must go to the stock or to the cider mill. Cider from this is much better than cider from the early fruit; it makes a better vinegar, and, by careful treatment, may be kept for several months free from alcohol, and a very palatable and healthful drink. Of its use when sugar is added, and that sugar thoroughly fermented into alcohol, I can make no favorable mention. It is pleasant to the taste, but when I drink it, it makes

my head ache; if I should so far forget as to drink a pint, it would make me drunk. Those who drink it freely habitually slide very easily into the use of something stronger. These things being true, wherein does its manufacture and sale differ from the manufacture and sale of whisky?

Now for the most important and valuable part of our crop, the marketable fruit. Here we need good fixtures to work with. If to go to a near market, we could use bags, but it would be safer for the apples to follow the shiftless hoosier style, and pile them, mingled with straw, directly into the wagon box. But there is a simple, cheap, convenient and better way than either, viz., a smooth, light, strong, bushel box. In the interests of our pickle works, we have distributed perhaps 5,000 of these boxes, and now I see them in every market wagon, in most grocery stores, and in almost every farmer's potato patch, orchard and cellar: they are fifteen inches wide, eighteen inches long, and nine and one-half inches deep, inside measure. Ends made of three-fourths inch (with hand holes in each), and bottom and sides of one half inch lumber. They hold a bushel not quite even full, so that they may be piled one on another without injury to contents. They fit almost every wagon, utilizing all the space, and can be piled on to any extent necessary. Fruit and vegetables are not jammed in them, as in baskets, and if stored in them, there is less. exposure to air. For distant markets, barrels are best; these should be new and clean; not such old sugar, cracker and even salt barrels as are sometimes used. As soon as it is evident that your are to have a full fruit crop, get these barrels ready; then, at the proper time, gather carefully; sort so as to make quality strictly and uniformly good, pack securely, and instead of being subject to the ups and downs of a small local market, you are able to take advantage of a distant market, where fruit is less plenty and prices better.

In drying apples, good size and smooth, regular surface are important aids; and goodness of quality is quite as apparent in the dried fruit as in the green. We have all seen splendid samples of dried fruit made by the Alden process; but the necessary fixtures are too expensive for individual use, and the fruit crop in Wisconsin is too uncertain for people to invest in a large public drying house. There is a portable, and seemingly very efficient machine known. as Ryder's Fruit Dryer made in three sizes: No. 1, costing $40, has a capacity of 2 to 3 bushels per day; No. 2, costing $60, has a capacity of 4 to 6 bushels per day; No. 3, costing $150, has a capacity of about 10 bushels per day.

These are made by the American Dryer Co., Chambersburg, Pa., and will doubtless meet the wants of those desiring to handle this amount of fruit. In a small way, for family use, very good results from solar heat may be secured by a box covered with glazed sash⚫ It may be six inches deep and of any desired length and