Show forest S in the coal regions of pennsylvania nearly every piece of available timber has been cut away to form props for th thal a archways arch ways and for various other uses in connection with coal mining nearly every suck stick and every piece of plank used in these regions now all have to be brought from a distance the girard estate has endeavored to solve the problem by making some small email plantations as a test eight years ago a large n number of larches barches and scotch pines were planted plow furrows were simply driven through the underbrush growing up where the old forests had been cut away and one year old seedling larch barches and pines planted the larches barches now average some seventeen or eighteen feet high and are particularly healthy and thrifty there can be no doubt from these experiments that for forest eat planting in n these regions would be an undoubted success it way may bo noted that the larch was IM the most popular of forest trees in the early planting on the western prairie but the leaves were vere attacked attach ed by a fungus the timber therefore did not properly mature it finally fell into disfavor for forest planting on these early experiments the larch has suffered much in reputation but it must be remembered re mem that the western prairies furnish unfavorable conditions for the larch it is a mountain tree one thriving in comparatively poor soils and the low altitude and rich earth of western prairies 1 were entirely foreign to its nature the girard plantings are some me 1400 or 1500 feet above the level of the sea seat these are the conditions of its own home and the remarkable healthiness of these thesa trees r shows hows that they appreciate tho position in which they find themselves monthly |