Name that Tree
My first real adventure with Tree happened on the farm I grew up
on. It was located south of Lambertville N.J. on the Delaware
River. Our farm was located on a mountainside and it had been
clear cut more than 75 years before. These trees were like
pioneer invaders, they would take over in areas were there were
clear-cuts, abandoned fields, places where topsoil had been
scraped off and generally were other plants had a tough time
becoming established.It didn't mind clay or rocks and here these
trees found a home. Over the years, other types of trees took
hold and these trees continued to grow. After many years, the
oaks nearby began to tower over the these trees and they began
to decline. One caught my eye one day while hunting. I had heard
that they were valuable for wood to make chests, closet linings,
shaveings, and fence posts. I knew the lumber was selling for a
over a dollar a board foot. Forty years ago that was a lot of
money to a farm boy and I couldn't let that get away. I figured
that this tree had to be 25 feet up without a branch, and was
almost 3 feet at the base. Now you can do the math, this was
something I had to do. I went to the barn and got the chain saw
and went up to this tree and began to cut it down. It didn't
take long and I realized that it was hollow. So I figured I
would continue. Maybe the tree would be solid up a few feet and
my money tree would be. With a big crash the giant was slayed. I
proceed to cut up the top of the tree and to my suprise it was a
bee tree. A colony of honey bees had made its home inside this
tree. So now I began plan B. I decided to join the 4-H and this
colony of bees became my first beehive. So now whenever I see
thisw tree I think of my money tree. What tree is this? If you
go to http://www.seedlingsrus.com/SubmitGuess.html you can
forward your answer to win a small tree.