I found that the secret of growing hickories
successfully lies in giving them plenty of room, with no forest trees
around to cut off their supply of sunlight and air. I learned that it is
impractical to graft a large forest tree of butternut or hickory.
Incidental to that, I learned that a branch of a butternut tree which
looks large enough to support a man's weight near the trunk, will not do
so when the branch is green and alive, but that a dead branch of similar
size will. Contrariwise, even a small green limb of a bitternut-hickory
will bear my weight, but an old limb, though several inches thick,
becomes so brittle after it is dead for several years that it will break
under slight pressure. Fortunately, falls from trees do not usually
result in serious injuries but I did acquire quite a few bruises
learning these distinctions.
There is always a natural mortality in planting trees, but in those
first years, lacking badly-needed experience, I lost more than 75%.
Nearly all of them started to grow but died during the first few
winters. Those which survived were the start of a nursery filled with
hardy trees which can endure the climate of the north. In looking back,
I appreciate how fortunate I was in having sought and received advice
from experienced nurserymen.
Pages:
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32