270 THE PLAINS SHELTERBELT PROJECT 



Great care has been exercised in the selection of trees to be used. 

 The drought of 1934 and the survival of trees have furnished an excel- 

 lent guide in determining the best trees to be used. Therefore rapidly 

 growing trees or those easy to plant or handle in the nursery are not 

 given first consideration. Altogether native trees of the western region 

 that have become adjusted to the climatic and soil conditions through 

 many years will be the favored species. The list varies from north 

 to south, although red cedar is found naturally throughout the entire 

 range and is the outstanding tree as a survivor of droughts. Green 

 ash has proved to be very successful, although it is attacked in the 

 South by borers and will be used sparingly, unless these pests can be 

 controlled. Elm has proved to be a very satisfactory tree. Chinese 

 elm is one of the foreign species which is believed to have great pos- 

 sibilities. In the southern portion of the region, honey locust is the 

 outstanding hardwood. Black locust is a vigorous and hardy tree in 

 the South, but because of borers its extensive use is considered hazard- 

 ous. Cottonwood is used on the moister situations throughout the 

 range. Hackberry is also encountered throughout the range and can 

 be used with safety in mixed plantations. Ponderosa pine and jack 

 pine have proved successful in the Nebraska National Forest along 

 the Niobrara River in northern Nebraska. Extensive plantations 

 made by the Forest Service for the past several decades as well as 

 many shelterbelts made by farmers and railroads throughout this re- 

 gion furnish excellent guides for the species to be favored. Ponderosa 

 pine has already proved its drought resistance, and although slow 

 growing, is an excellent tree. 



Among other species are Russian olive, caragana, bur oak, choke- 

 cherry, plum, hawthorn, willows on moist sites, black or Texan walnut, 

 Russian mulberry, Austrian pine, osage orange, Chinaberry, Chinese 

 arborvitae, Arizona cypress, and pecan. The last four species are 

 used only in Texas and Oklahoma. Blue spruce and the first named 

 species in this group are best adapted to the north and central portions 

 of the shelterbelt range. 



Special emphasis is given to the collection of seed within the range 

 and the latitudinal zones in which the trees will be planted. 



It is planned to grow and plant, beginning in 1936, about 200 

 million trees annually in this thousand-mile protective zone, and all 

 available facilities will be utilized. Government nurseries will be in- 

 stalled as needed at key locations where favorable soil and moisture 

 conditions are available. Contracts are to be made with existing com- 

 mercial nurseries for growing the little trees used in planting. Thus 

 the nursery plans will be divided between organizations and facilities 



