352 Planting in Kansas. 



Preparation of the Ground. 



1420. This is uniformly necessary in a prairie country, and can 

 best be done by thoroughly plowing and harrowing, after raising 

 one or two crops of grain. For early planting or setting of cut- 

 tings or young seedlings pulled up along the sand-bars of rivers, the 

 plowing may best be done the fall before, and the markings when 

 ready to plant or set. 



1421. The weeds must be kept down by passing between the rows 

 with a cultivator, and afterward by hoeing, as with corn. This 

 should be done only in the early part of summer,- (never later than the 

 middle of July), and should be repeated three or four years, until 

 the ground is well shaded, after which the trees will 'need only 

 thinning out from time to time, and protection from cattle and from 

 fires. It is not until the trees get so large that their foliage is above 

 the reach of stock, that cattle may be admitted safely to a planta- 

 tion. 



1422. The rubbish from fallen leaves, etc., should always be left 

 to decay on the ground. A bed of leaves tends to hinder evapora- 

 tion from the soil, and to keep the ground moist longer after a rain. 



1423. In setting any of the evergreens, we would decidedly 

 recommend their purchase from nurseries, as they are difficult to get 

 started from the seed without careful management. They will be 

 best likely to succeed where sheltered in the south side by a grove 

 or hedge. They will also need a heavy mulching in dry seasons. 



Tree-culture in Places ivell advanced upon the Plains. 



1424. The plantation of cottonwoods for temporary use, ma v some- 

 times be practiced in places well advance upon the plains, where in 

 very dry seasons they may sometimes fail when six or eight inches in 

 diameter. Such failures may cause disappointment, but are by no 

 means a total loss. The wood is still available for firewood, and the 

 trees while they lived, proved a shelter to fields and orchards, and 

 perhaps may have protected the slower growing kinds that survived 

 the drouth. This should not discourage from renewed attempts in 

 planting, with the view of securing these temporary benefits, even 

 if the trees grow no larger than poles. In such case, it would 

 be worth while to plant a certain portion of land every year, ex- 

 pecting perhaps only a crop of firewood and poles. They will be 



