FARM AND MUNICIPAL WOOD LOTS. 135 



some few sandhills, where, after you cross the bottom lands, I have 

 noticed this upon these uplands that black walnut makes as good a 

 growth as box-elder and all those trees of that character, which are 

 generally planted, that the growth is sure, and I see no reason why 

 these trees can not be planted and grown into value for lumber in the 

 years to come. I think we ought to advocate the planting of black wal- 

 nuts for timber and which would be a good thing for society in the next 

 fifteen or twenty years. 



There is another value besides simply marketing the trees and that 

 is the creation of wind-breaks, not simply to keep the winds from the 

 North and West from the house of the farmer, but also to break that 

 sweep of wind from the prairies and conserve the soil moisture. The 

 time has come when some definite plans ought to be advanced by those 

 in authority, by which the farms would be kept up in proper fields 

 by single, double or three rows or trees, so that the whole country may 

 be benefited by this breaking of the sweeping winds of the spring, which 

 oftentimes whip out the crops in the sandy lands, and as we saw two 

 years ago, the clay, lands of the bottoms was drifted until the oat crop • 

 was cut right oilt of the ground. The lighter soil suffers still worse 

 in a country where the trees are not grown. Where you have the trees 

 grown every eighty rods you will find this wind damage much less. It 

 is a thing worthy of careful consideration. 



Now as to my subject, I fear I have drifted farm from it, "Farm and 

 Municipal Wood Lots." There are three forms of activity for the 

 I-lanting of trees in this state, as my subject would indicate: One is 

 the municipal planting, the second is the ordinary farm wood lot, and 

 the third, which I would add, would be corporate activity in tree plant- 

 ing. By that I mean the organization of corporations so a number may 

 join themselves together, who have no farms to develop, both for and 

 in behalf of the interests of their pockets and the general good of the 

 community, by putting in a forest tract, whether large or small, and 

 for the second, the incidental benefit of demonstrating to the people 

 generally that forest planting will pay in Nebraska. When you have 

 demonstrated that you have won the battle. That is one of the important 

 things to take hold of now and in this year of 1911. 



When we come to the question of municipal wood lots our thoughts 

 revert to the days of old in the European cities and villages where dwell 

 many of these corporations which are enabled to go without taxation 

 altogether on account of the revenue they derive from their forests. It 

 i.s obvious that we cannot gather unto ourselves in the different states 

 forests like they can in countries entirely forested to begin with, and by 

 careful management get a revenue therefrom. It is a more difiicult 

 problem which presents itself to us, and that is the bonding of villages 

 and cities, because we must speak of those of the second class. It is 

 immaterial in regard to Omaha or Lincoln and the several cities of 

 the third class, unless you can reach the villages of the second class 

 to reform would amount to nothing. These municipalities must bond 



