LOCATING A FRUIT FARM. 169 



land on gentle to moderate slopes and forests of moderate to steep 

 slopes. In our own country, agriculture has been tried on the slopes 

 of the southern Appalachians and has proved a dismal failure. Im- 

 mense areas, such as occur in the White Mountains have been demanded 

 of their timber and great erosion of the soil has followed without the 

 aid of a plow. Throughout the middle-west, erosion has occured on 

 moderate slopes to a considerable extent, and no state in the Union can 

 afford to disregard the importance of protecting such areas. 



With us in Nebraska, the question of what to do with our slope 

 lands is an important one. Some of our most important streams rise 

 in the forested slopes of the Rocky Mountains and we shall always be 

 interested in the treatment these lands secure. From the picturesque 

 bluffs bordering the Missouri, to the hills and small mountains of Pine 

 Ridge, we have . a large amount of scattered slope land interspread 

 through the rich prairies. On the gentle slopes in this state, the use of 

 such crops as alfalfa and fruit have given excellent results, but on 

 moderate slopes it is largely a question of forage grasses or forest 

 trees, while on the steepest slopes, the forest becomes almost a necessity. 



Advantage of Planting. 



The advantage of planting forest trees on slopes are many. We have 

 a large area of gullies, rough ravines, bare slopes and eroded areas, 

 which are not only a loss to the farm, but are unsightly. Not only could 

 these areas be made productive by planting forest trees, but such growth 

 would add materially to the beauty of the farm and the beauty of the 

 state. Hillsides will often support as trifty forest growth as the mors 

 favorable agricultural sites, and in addition such tree planting is usually 

 more attractive than it could be on level areas. In the hilly land about 

 Ord, Nebraska, are to be found many fine forest plantations of con- 

 siderable acreage, in which green ash, honey locust, cottonwood, and 

 white willow have given the best results. The hardy catalpa is being 

 tried on gentle slopes in various parts of the state at the present time, 

 and in many regions there is no doubt that this tree will be found to 

 form a very desirable plantation. Several plantation owners in the vici- 

 nity of Ord have stated that they consider a 10 to 20 acre forest planta- 

 tion worth from $500 to $1000 in the improvement that it gives to the 

 farm. Many of these forests are on the poorest land on the farm, yet 

 have given profitable yields in fence-posts and repair material. It is in 

 this locality and the eastern half of the state where the most interest is 

 being taken at the present time in the planting of broad-leaved trees on 

 slope lands. 



Goverument and Experiment State Work. 



Forest planting by the government and experiment station is an 

 important part of this slope work. The government has reserved over 400,- 

 000 acres of sandy lands for forest planting, and has its largest nursery 



