Finally got to see the smallest State forest in New York. The entire State forest is 348 square feet and has one tree that dates back to 1699. Not much left of it, but seems it IS still alive. Back in the early 50s, a Harvard college professor/scientist drilled a hole in it and took a core-sample. That so he could count the rings and ascertain the exact age. Some scientists now think the professor's core-sample made the tree sick and cut its life short.
This tree is also one of the only three trees in the entire United States that is Federally protected.
The tree is an Eastern Cottonwood. At one time, locals thought it was a biblical "Balm" tree, and named the area "Balmville."
Kind of amazing to think this tree was there before George Washington's mother was born, and well before the United States existed.
Funny thing is . . . after many attempts by colleges and tree-experts to clone this tree, ALL attempts failed. Then what? Some local non-expert stuck one of its twigs in his yard and it sprouted. It is now a small tree (at least, last I heard).
This all makes me think about the book "The Tree" written by Grey Owl (if anybody remembers him other then me). He wrote the book in 1937 about a very old Jack Pine and what the tree had seen in its own lifetime. I suspect Grey Owl is now better known in Canada then the US for work he did to save beaver habitat.
The "State Forest" tree in better days . . .
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This tree is also one of the only three trees in the entire United States that is Federally protected.
The tree is an Eastern Cottonwood. At one time, locals thought it was a biblical "Balm" tree, and named the area "Balmville."
Kind of amazing to think this tree was there before George Washington's mother was born, and well before the United States existed.
Funny thing is . . . after many attempts by colleges and tree-experts to clone this tree, ALL attempts failed. Then what? Some local non-expert stuck one of its twigs in his yard and it sprouted. It is now a small tree (at least, last I heard).
This all makes me think about the book "The Tree" written by Grey Owl (if anybody remembers him other then me). He wrote the book in 1937 about a very old Jack Pine and what the tree had seen in its own lifetime. I suspect Grey Owl is now better known in Canada then the US for work he did to save beaver habitat.
The "State Forest" tree in better days . . .
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