TREES IN THE SHELTER BELT. 231 



trees that are native to your state and mine that are valuable 

 while growing, and very valuable when grown, and beat the 

 willow altogether. I know a grove that was planted twenty to 

 thirty years ago with different kinds of native deciduous trees 

 and quite a sprinkling of evergreens. You go to those groves 

 today and examine the different varieties, and if you could have 

 the same trees on your farm today see how many of you would 

 select the willows. I do not believe one of you would. 



Mr. Wedge: What would you plant, Mr. Gardner? 



Mr. Gardner: I would not plant the willow or the cotton- 

 wood. There is not time to go into the minutiae of growing 

 these different varieties of forest trees, but they are just as 

 easily grown, and you can get just as good size as you can get 

 with willows if you know how. Take the oaks and that class 

 of trees, the black walnut and the butternut, they can all be 

 easily grown. 



Mr. Dewain Cook: I live about one hundred miles west of 

 Albert Lea, and I think it is absolutely necessary to have a 

 shelter for evergreens. The white pine is worthless. The 

 best tree to start for a shelter for evergreens, for the reason 

 that it is a rapid growing tree and breaks the wind, is the 

 willow. 



Mr. C. L. Smith: In my paper I said I gave suggestions for 

 planting trees which had reference only to those which I planted 

 myself. To a certain extent I could endorse what Mr. Gardner 

 says. He puts in the proviso "if they know how." The diffi- 

 culty is they do not know how, and they have not got time to 

 learn. If they do not have time and do not know how, the 

 safest thing to plant is the willow. My experience from an ob- 

 servation of thirty-three years is that the farmer who wants to 

 start a grove of evergreens should plant two rows of willows 

 for a shelter. 



Mr. Richardson: If you will come down our way and see 

 what they have done with the willows the last ten years, it will 

 take all that nonsence out of you. (Laughter). 



Mr. C. L. Smith: Yes, after they had the willows twenty 

 years it was more profitable to plant the other trees. If Bro. 

 Richardson had been there when I was there, he would have 

 tied to the willow. 



Mr. Clark: I will endorse what Mr. Smith says in his last 

 remark. I think it usually depends a great deal upon the loca- 

 tion. You take the eastern half of Minnesota, and the climate 

 is such that it is all right to begin to plant other trees besides 



