LOCATING A FRUIT FARM 171 



drawii upon very heavily when the Burlington and the Chicago and 

 Northwestern railroads were put in this region. Settlers have drawn 

 heavily on the supplies, and are still using natural timber to a large ex- 

 tent. Pine trees have been reported having a diameter of four to five 

 feet, and there are still large areas on which grow trees of two to three 

 feet in diameter; each tree being capable of yielding two or three 

 16-foot logs. These trees grow on the poorest sites in the entire region 

 and forest tree production should be greatly encouraged. An important 

 feature of these forests is that good quality of seed which they produce. 

 The Seeds are larger than have been found on the same species in anj' 

 other locality, and they probably have a greater vitality than the same 

 kind of seed collected in the Black Hills, the Rockies or the Cascades. 

 During seed years, moderate to large-sized trees produce from one to 

 fifteen bushels of cones, which yield from one to two pound of seed per 

 bushel of cones. Such seed is worth from .$1 to $.3.50 per pound according 

 to the condition of the market. The collection of this seed could be 

 made quite an industry in this locatlity and would pay large profits to 

 the seed collector. 



Kivor Bottoms. 

 ]\Iore important per unit of area are the forests which occur or may 

 be grown along our stream courses. No soil binder is so efficacious as 

 forest trees and more attention al! over the country is constantly 

 being paid to this method of holding the soil. In numerous places along 

 every stream course in the state, erosion is taking place, while still other 

 areas are being badly silted. The need of maintaining a forest cover over 

 these lands usually varies with the size of the stream, character of the 

 soil, meandering of the stream, and the amount of treeless area along 

 the banks. Such damage already amounts to thousands of dollars 

 annually in our own state, and many other states have suffered to a much 

 greater extent than Nebraska. Sioux City, Iowa, is at present working on 

 the problem of holding the river banks in place, and is finding it difficult 

 of solution. 



Needs of the Stat*. 



On various steep embankments, where the stream flow is rapid, it may 

 not be possible to establish tree growth without the aid of dams, levees 

 and revetments. However, along most of our river bank areas and 

 overflow lands, forests may be established with comparative ease. In 

 Nebra.ska, the trees which are best suited for such a purpose are the 

 white willow, cottonwood and American elm, while occasionally hardy 

 catalpa may be found to be very efi'ective and very profitable. The great 

 value of the first three species mentioned is their ability to grow to the 

 water's edge and to form a thick mass of binding roots. These trees 

 may also be planted without disturbing the soil by pjowing, since they 

 are usually able to kill out grass and weeds. Over most areas, cuttings 

 of the willow and cottonwood may be used, which the owner may col- 

 lect from trees growing in the immediate locality and which should 



