106 



This is not an immntable scale, but only a tentative proposition, and for tlie pur- 

 pose of illustration, in which the kinds placed widely apart will alone really retain 

 their rtdative positions. We will hnd at the top of the first scale the most shade 

 enduring and at the head of the second scale the most rapid growing among those 

 named. If we can make, therefore, a comhinatiou of these, we will succeed in obtain- 

 ing the two points to be gained— the densest crown cover in varying tiers, and the 

 light-needing kinds overgrowing the shade-enduring, which allows the largest num- 

 ber of individuals on the !irea._ * * » 



Of all trees, the most suitable for prairie planting and for planting in the dry plains 

 are beyond doubt the conifers, especially the pines. 



There are two reasons why they should be chosen preferably to others : First of all, 

 they furnish not only a denser cover, lateral and vertical, but a cover all the year 

 aronnd, being evergreen. Secondly, they require less water, from one sixth to one 

 tenth, than most deciduous trees, and are therefore less liable to succumb to drouth. 

 In winter they will hold the snow more efficiently than the naked, leafless kind, thus 

 preserving the moisture on the ground. 



Nature has given us indications in that direction. The driest soils everywhere are 

 occupied by the pines, and the arid slopes of the Rocky Mountains and the interior 

 basin support only conifers, especially pines and Juiiii)cis. From Professor Bessey I 

 learned only to-day that my theory regarding the formtT forest cover of the plains is 

 borne out by the discovery of pine forests buried in the sand hills of northern Nebraska ; 

 and that he found growing naturally in eastern Nebraska the .same kin<l of pine that 

 covers the Black Hills and Rocky Mountain slopes, namely, the bull pine (I'inun pon- 

 der osa). 



Articles setting forth the results of personal experiences in tree plant- 

 ing on the Dakota plains are appended to the bulletin, the authors 

 being A. M. Thouisou and J. W. Smith. 



OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



Experiment Station Bulletin No. li, Part ii. 



Digest of the Annual Keports of the Agricultural 

 Experiment Stations in the United States for 1888 (pp. 17.i).— 

 This contains a digest of the reports of the stations in Kan.sas, Ken- 

 tucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsyl- 

 vania, Rhode Island, South Carolina (part ii), and West Virginia, which 

 reports were not received by the Ollice until after the i>ul)lie<ition of [lart 

 I of this bulletin. Separate indexes of names and subjects accompany 

 each part of the digest. 



Miscellaneous Bulletin No. 3. 



Proceedings of the Convention of American Agricultural 

 Colleges and Experlment Stations at Champaign, Illinois, 

 November, 1890 (pp. 156).— This is edited by A. "W. Harris for this 

 Office, and H. E. Alvord for the Association. Besides minutes of the 

 general and sectional sessions, the papers read are given in full or by 

 abstracts. For a brief account of the convention, with the titles of 

 papers, see Experiment Station Record, vol. il, p. 265. 



