THE WINDBREAK AS A FARM ASSET. 11 



rows and belts extended in an east-west direction. The effect on corn 

 was very marked for a short distance on the south side of such wind- 

 breaks and for a much greater distance on the north side. Fields 

 of young corn showed much better growth in the area protected and 

 warmed by the windbreak. The effect was visible to the eye early 

 in the season, which was rather cool. Height measurements on one 

 field showed the plants to be 4J feet high in the first 18 rows next 

 to the windbreak, while beyond this protected zone the height was 

 only 2J feet. This luxuriant growth was still in evidence at the end 

 of the season, and not only produced more fodder, but bigger and 

 heavier ears. The field showed a production of 59 bushels to the 

 acre in the protected part and only 41 bushels in the exposed part. 

 The net gain, including the area shaded by the grove, was equiva- 

 lent to the yield of a strip twice as wide as the height of the trees, 

 which were 38 feet high. The increased yield paid, then, for a 

 strip 76 feet wide. The windbreak happened to be wider than this, 

 but need not have been to afford the same amount of protection. 



With ordinary field crops the farmer may count on a benefit from 

 windbreak protection which will make the loss of the area occupied 

 by the trees negligible. Under Middle Western conditions a wind- 

 break whose width does not exceed two or three times its height 

 will more than pay for itself , regardless of the timber which it may 

 produce. Farther east the same kind of influence and benefit will 

 exist, though in a less marked degree, and a greater direct return 

 may be expected from growing the timber for its own value, so that 

 the need of even a slight amount of protection should make wind- 

 break planting attractive. 



WHERE AND WHAT TO PLANT. 



In any region the windbreak should be so laid out as to offer the 

 greatest resistance to damaging winds and to protect the greatest 

 area. This simply means having the belt or row at right angles to 

 the prevailing winds. 



In most of the Middle West the principal wind to be feared is the 

 drying south wind of summer. Where the soil is reasonably moist, 

 the cottonwood belt, extending east and west across the southern 

 boundary of the farm, is preeminently the windbreak for this region. 

 It may be supplemented by other east-west windbreaks or hedges, 

 dividing the farm into lots and fields, and made up of mulberry or 

 osage orange, green ash, or locust, depending upon the moisture 

 of the soil. The cottonwood windbreak is recommended because it 

 so quickly attains great height and produces so much wood for fuel. 

 After it has grown, however, it may need underplanting or side 

 planting to fill the gaps in the lower story. The underplanting, if 

 any, must be done within a few years after the planting of the cotton- 



