ARBORICULTURE. 



333 



to prevent the planting of forests — ^but ex- 

 periments have been made in a large num- 

 ber of places which prove that onl}- tlic 

 planting and care of the trees is necessaiy 

 to insure success. 



A FALSE PREMISE. 



"When Baron Pinchofs menagerie gets 

 here next week we would like to ask some of 

 fihe animals a few questions. In Colorado 

 l€^s than twenty per cent, of the land is tax- 

 at)te because the government owns the re- 

 mainder. Why should noit the state have 

 title to these lands? Putting all of this land 

 into reservations and leased grazing districts 

 would stop progress and ahuit oft our source 

 of taxation for all tim/e to come. Twenty-five 

 per cent, of the railroad land grants are pat- 

 ented and the roads are not paying taxes on 

 their share. Just as soon as a man goes in 

 and takes up a claim and puts a little house 

 on it, he is compelled to pay taxes. After all 

 why should the whole western country be 

 put under the ban? Why not make forest 

 reserves of the vast tracts of unoccupied 

 land in Pennsylvania, Indiana and other 

 states in the east and leave us alone to work 

 cut our own destiny?" — The Denver Field 

 and Farm. 



Colorado possessas some ijood land, f^ojuo 



excellent soil, and some valuahle mimct^. 



but Colorado also owns several million 



acres of absolutely worthless desert and ;■ 



few millions more or less of mountain 



peaks which nobody owns or will ])ay taxo^ 



upon, and bence the burden of taxation 



comes upon the small proportionate aro:i 



of land which people are willing to accept 



a title to and pay the taxes upon. 



If Colorado could secure possession o!' 

 the forests which remain it w^ould not W- 

 five years until every stick of trmfe; 

 would be cleared off, and tilien no man 

 would pay taxes on the rocks and desert 

 which would remain. 



Besides the ones who now pay taxes on 

 irrigated lands would have to move away 

 for want of water. Who, we ask tbe Sena- 

 tors from Colorado and others heading 

 this movement, would pay the statei indebt- 

 edness and taxes then ? 



DISASTER TO FOREST PLANTA^ 

 TION. 



On the night of the 6th of July a hail- 

 storm passed over the country adjacent to 

 Pacific Junction, Iowa, w^hich was about a 

 mile wide, and destroyed everything in its 

 path. 



The fine plantation of catalpa speciosa 

 established by the Chicago. Burlingion and 

 (Juincy Railway was within the pathway 

 of this storm, which took all tbe leaves oi:^ 

 and cut the stems, taldng the bark ott 

 from 90 per cent, of the trees. 



The officials of the road report thai 

 there is very little left, and fear the trees 

 are all dead. 



We do not take quite so gloomy a vie-w 

 of the subject, believing that enough dor- 

 mant buds remain, even beneath the im- 

 mediate surface of the soil, to reproduce 

 the trees yet this season. 



With a great majority of trees this de- 

 struction treatment would be fatal, but the 

 vast amount of vitality possessed by 

 catalpa speciosa enables it to overcome the 

 loss of foliage and push out new buds, 

 which soon develops into healthy foliage 

 in a short time. 



BLACK WALNUT SEED. 



For several years Arboriculture has 

 urged the planting of black walnuts, call- 

 ing attention to their rapid growth and 

 the high value of walnut lumber. Every 

 yeai- the editor has been requested by large 

 numbers of people to procure seed for 

 them, but invariably these requests ha\c 

 been received too late to secure seed for 

 that year. 



Please remember that walnuts for^ 

 seed nmst be secured while fresh and 

 planted at once or stratified, that is, mixed 

 with sand or soil to prevent drying. 



In order to secure seed tliey must be 

 engaged during the summer so that the 

 nuts can be gathered in season. 



