ROA ONDE STI Arete Ly Mee See ey EN EL Tay 
i a3 fed ed (en Re Le eee Shae reyes 
“HOW TO GROW AN EVERGREEN WINDBREAK. 148 4 
As soon as the trees arrive—which should be before or just as the 
buds are starting—unpack and separate, and puddle or dip in water 
and heel in in moist ground ina shady location or under cover fora | 
protection from thesun. When ready to set out, if possible select a 
- cloudy day, so as to avoid exposure to the sun. The trees should 
be carried in water for protection and to keep the roots moist. 
e In planting, dig large holes, and fine soil should be put carefully 
es, around the roots and firmly pressed down, so that the roots will be 
brought in contact with the soil. Ifthe soil is at all moist,it is best 
not to use water. 
7 The top soil should be left loose,and a fine mulch should be 
; spread over the ground for retaining the moisture. Coarser mulch 
will answer as the trees get larger. Cultivating the ground may be 
__— as good, but I believe mulching to be the best. The mulch should 
be thick enough to keep the weeds from growing. If the trees can 
be sheltered from the wind and sun, I think it advisable to do so. 
a Care should be exercised in not planting too near large deciduous 
e trees, whose roots extend out a long distance, as they are great 
suckers of moisture. I believe many evergreens have been killed 
by being set too near other trees. 
If evergreens are set near deciduous trees for a protection, they 
a should be far enough away so that the moisture will not be extracted 
___— by the roots of the large trees. 
; As tothe best varieties of evergreens to plant,the Scotch and 
white pine and the white and Norway spruce seem to do as well as 
any. I presume other varieties may do as well. 
If a windbreak is wanted at the earliest date possible, the trees 
a should be set close together, six or eight feet, but much further 
_-—s apartif the best shaped trees are desired. Double rows will make 
i; the best windbreak. Whatever trees are set,and whatever method 
a is followed in caring for them, and however good the care, many 
times failure will be the result; at other times, with poor or indif- 
‘g ferent care, or even with total neglect, success will be the result. 
7 Over twenty years ago the St. Paul & Pacific Railway company 
(now the Great Northern) inaugurated the plan of planting trees 
along the line of its road, and at a number of its stations set out 
groves of several acres of different varieties of trees, deciduous and 
evergreens, Morris was one of these places. The railway company 
failed, and the trees were left to themselves. It was a struggle with 
grass and weeds, but the trees came out ahead, and the Scotch pine 
and white spruce still stand and are thrifty, standing over thirty 
feet high and are a foot or more in diameter. This is an illustra- 
tion of how evergreens will thrive with neglect. ; 
The finest grove of white spruces in this section were thoroughly 
mulched with straw. The trees are very thrifty, and they are about 
twenty-five feet tall; the limbs are thick to the ground. Last win- 
ter the snow drifted nearly over the tops of the trees and broke some 
of them down, and others were stripped of their limbs. 
