308 ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



WINDBREAKS 



Value. — A good windbreak about a farm home is very 

 valuable and is an inexpensive luxury. If there is a good 

 windbreak about the buildings, less fuel is required to keep 

 the house warm and the stable will be much warmer. Ani- 

 mals must be kept' warm during the winter either by shelter 

 or by feed. If they are exposed to the cold winds or are 

 kept in cold stables, they must have more feed. Feed is 

 too expensive to be given merely to produce warmth. The 

 shelter belt really saves feed, which is worth money. 



The windbreak also protects the orchard and garden 

 from early frost, from storms, and from hot winds, making 

 them much more likely to produce good crops. 



It is a great comfort to hay-makers and harvesters to 

 get behind a good windbreak, on windy days, to unload 

 hay or grain. Many times it is possible to finish stackina; 

 behind such shelter, when it would be impossible to handle 

 the hay or grain out in the open. 



The windbreak makes the task of doing chores much 

 pleasanter and easier during the winter than it would be 

 if the buildings and yards were exposed. 



Kinds of Trees to Use. — There are many kinds of trees 

 that make good windbreaks. The first requirement is that 

 they be hardy — ^that is, will not kill out during the winter 

 or during a dry summer; second, that they have a neat 

 appearance and grow in such form that they really check 

 the wind. 



In starting a new windbreak, trees that grow rapidly 

 are, as a rule, used. The white and the golden willow, 

 Cottonwood, Norway poplar, box elder, soft maple, etc., 

 are some of the rapid-growing trees. These trees, if properly 

 set out and cared for, will make a good windbreak in five 

 to ten years. Trees that grow rapidly usually do not last 

 very long; so, if the quick-growing trees are used, slow- 

 growing and longer-lived trees should be set among them 

 to replace them when they begin to die and break down. 

 Some of the common slow-growing, long-lived trees are the 

 elm, hard maple, green ash, and several of the evergreens. 



Planning for the Windbreak. — In planning for a wind- 

 break it is well to make a sketch of the farm, showing the 



