224 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



and finally shed its leaves. It had prepared for a rest period, just as if 

 winter were approaching. Heavy rains, followed by warm weather fol- 

 lowed some time later, and these favorable conditions continued well into 

 November. The recently formed terminal buds burst into growth, the re- 

 sulting terminal shoots grew several inches in length, a second ring of 

 wood was produced that year, and a new set of buds was formed to con- 

 tinue the growth the following spring. It might be inferred from the 

 above account that rings are not safe index of the age of a tree. But 

 usually, if not always, the second ring, or rather the continuation of the 

 ring after arrested development, may be recognized by certain 

 peculiarities, chiefly by the fact that it is not clear cut and often is not 

 continuous, and usually merges into the earlier ring. For these reasons 

 it can be distinguished as a "false ring." Defoliation by leaf-consuming 

 Insects and the loss of the leaves because of untimely frost will produce 

 similar "false rings." 



In New England in 1816 frost occurred in every month of the year. 

 Such adverse conditions for growth would naturally be reflected in narrow 

 rings, just the same as drouth would record the same result. If in a num- 

 ber of trees of different species and growing in different localities, we 

 should count back from the bark the number of rings and find that the 

 same number of years ago on each tree the ring was exceptionally nar- 

 row, the assumption would be that unfavorable climatic conditions prevailed 

 at that time. Drouth would be the most likely cause for the rest period. 

 Scientists have recently been using the above method on the big trees and 

 redwoods of California, which are as old as the Christian era, in order to 

 learn something of the climatic history of past centuries. 



The trees of Nebraska, then, during the drouthy year of 1913, have 

 not laid on a normal amount of wood. When the farmers owning wood 

 lots shall come to consider them as areas producing wood crops, the failure 

 of the wood lot to add its cord of wood or so per acre will be appreciated 

 as an economic loss along with decreased corn yield due to the same cause. 

 The loss of wood production in a drouthy year is one of the several evils 

 that accrue, as we shall proceed to consider. 



IMPAIRED VITALITY. 



An unfavorable winter afi::cts adversely the sheep of the New Mexi- 

 can sheep grower. The cattle of the sandhills enter the spring with re- 

 duced vitality after a hard winter. The lamb crop and the calf crop are 

 reduced, and many weakened animals succumb to the many diseases to 

 which they are subject. We ourselves are subject to diseases chiefly 

 when our vitality has been reduced from any cause. The trees possess 

 vitality to degrees varying largely with their environment. And their en- 

 vironment is affected to no mean extent by climatic conditions, of which 

 moisture is among the most potent. When thrifty, trees will overcome 

 most insect and fungus attacks. Any observant traveler in the Black 

 Hills and the Rocky mountains will find hundreds of western yellow pine 

 trees which have overcome the attack of the Black Hills beetle. Evi- 



