38 THE NORTH DAKOTA FARMSTEAD 



windbreak are frequently broken down. The laurel leaf willow is fre- 

 quently recommended for this purpose, because of its low spreading 

 bushy habit, but as it is soon infested by insects and disease the White 

 Willow, and Russian Golden Willow are more suitable. The space 

 between this outer row and the shelter belt is an excellent place for a 

 never failing alfalfa patch or for a small fruit plantation. If a shelter 

 belt, planted according to these directions, is located 100 to 150 feet 

 from the buildings and drives it will give the maximum amount of 

 protection without piling the snow up to an objectionable degree. 

 With proper handling the shelter belt will provide a liberal supply of 

 fuel and lumber for farm uses. 



THE FARM WOODLOT 



It is a wise plan to increase the size of tlie shelter belt to a width 

 of 100 to 200 feet and let it serve as a woodlot. Parts of the farm not 

 easily cultivated can be profitably used for a farm woodlot. The farm 

 woodlot will not yield much profit for 7 or 8 years. By that time 

 it will be producing fence posts, from the more rapid growing species. 

 Later it will furnish poles, railroad ties, lumber for repairs and 

 finally the slower growing species can be marketed for their timber. 

 Our large forests are becoming smaller and smaller with the result 

 that already the farm woodlots are important sources of lumber. Their 

 importance will increase as the years go by, especially so in a section 

 as destitute of forests as is most of North Dakota. The farm woodlot 

 is an expense for several years, but thereafter should be a source of 

 income for the life time of the planter and those who follow him on 

 the farm. The species used in a woodlot depend very largely upon the 

 value of the land. On cheap land, that cannot well be utilized for 

 anything else, the long lived trees producing the most valuable timber 

 such as Oak, Hard Maple, Larch, Black Wild Cherry, Black Walnut 

 and Western Yellow Pine, should be planted. On higher priced land 

 the cheaper sorts of timber will prove most profitable, except where 

 the slow growing valuable timber sorts have a greater value for the 

 protection they afford and for ornamentation, than for timber. 

 The reason for this is that the cheaper timber products, are marketed 

 locally in the form of posts, railroad ties and cordwood which cannot 

 profitably be shipped to or from great distances and also because a 

 number of crops of these products can be grown in the time that one 

 crop of high priced timber could be matured. These cheaper sorts 

 would be such trees as the Willows, Ash, Cottonwood, Norway Poplar 

 and perhaps Box Elder. 



CARE OF WOODLOT 



No animals should be allowed to graze in the woodlot as they 

 will destroy many of the young trees and will injure the older ones. 

 The trees should be planted as close as in a shelter belt so as to make 



