240 AN^NTJAL REPORT. 



dicular, place the foot on the spade, pressing it into the ground 

 the full length, then shove the top of the handle from you and at 

 the same time turning the spade so as to open the hole as much as 

 possible; here have the second man with the trees ready to place 

 one tree in the hole the proper depth; hold onto it and pres& 

 the earth firmly against and around the tree. 



At this particular place allow me to call the attention of the 

 planter to the importance of pressing the soil solid around the 

 trees, so that it will exclude all openings about the roots. 



Two good laborers can easily plant from two to three acres per 

 day. In the handling of the trees from the time they are taken 

 from the nursery where the seeds were grown to the place where 

 permanently planted, great care should be exercised in prevent- 

 ing the roots of the trees from exposure to sun and wind. Remem- 

 ber that the roots grow in the ground and not in the air; this cau- 

 tion has so often been repeated, that it is an old story to the 

 practical horticulturist, but we must remember that our vast 

 prairies are being settled by a class of young eastern men, who 

 have not had this matter impressed on their minds. 



The question of what shall we plant must be determined by the 

 planter himself — what are your circumstances financial and other- 

 wise, are you a new farmer opening up a farm on the open prairie, 

 and want shelter-belts, fuel and shade; then plant cotton-wood, 

 white poplar, and box elder. These trees will make wood rapidly 

 and will grow readily in comparativel}'- new soil. If in an older 

 country, on farms in Minnesota, pines will be valuable. For 

 black-walnut, a deep rich alluvial soil will pay thirty per cent, on 

 the investment in ten to twenty years. Plant our western white 

 ash on any dry, rich prairie soil in Minnesota and east half of 

 Dakota. Europeon larch if properly handled will give rich re- 

 turns for the investment if planted in Minnesota or the lied River 

 Valley of the north, in Dakota. 



The box elder ( ash leaf maple ) will flourish in a drier climate 

 that any other American tree. 



The white or English gray willow when grown as a tree is valua- 

 ble as a timber tree for building purposes, and when seasoned, will 

 stand for years as a fence post. 



Few persons are aware of the value of box elder for fence posts. 

 Cut in winter, pile up clear of ground and season for eighteen 

 months, and then set in the ground. As a fence post they will 

 last equal to western oak. 



