301 



THE IRR1GA1ION AGE. 



results carried on at some of the experi- 

 ment stations, it seems reasonable to con- 

 clude that where the soil is not dry the 

 best results may be obtained from shallow 

 planting. In any case early planted pota- 

 toes will probably succeed best when 

 planted shallow, and in places where the 

 spring is late, or where the ground is cold, 

 best results will always be had from shallow 

 planting. 



DIVISION OF FORESTRY. 



Interest in scientific forestry is rapidly 

 increasing in the South. A preliminary 

 examination has been made by the Divi- 

 sion of Forestry of the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture of the largest forest in Polk 

 and Monroe counties, Tennessee, owned 

 by Senator George Peabody Wetmore, of 

 Rhode Island. The examination has es- 

 tablished the suitability of this tract to be 

 handled under practical forest methods. 

 Work will now be begun and pushed in 

 making a working plan for the forest, 

 which contains 84,000 acres of hardwood 

 timber. 



The Division has also received from the 

 South two other important requests for 

 expert assistance in forest management, 

 both from owners of private tracts. The 

 first is from the Okeetee Club, which 

 owns 60,000 acres of Shortleaf Pine land 

 in Beaufort and Hampton counties, in 

 South Carolina. Mr. Overton W. Price, 

 Superintendent of Working Plans in the 

 Division of Forestry, will make a pre- 

 liminary examination to ascertain whether 

 a working plan for the tract is feasible. 



In addition to Shortleaf Pine, this tract 

 contains Cypress in the swamp lands, and 

 also some hardwood timber. The Okeetee 

 Club's tract borders on the Savannah 

 River; with markets by water aod rail at 

 no great distance. 



The other request to the Division for 

 assistance comes from northwestern Geor- 

 gia, where a preliminary examination of 



16,000 acres of Shortleaf pine is wanted.. 



The Division of Forestry, through its- 

 section of tree planting, lias succeeded in 

 arousing widespread interest in the sub- 

 ject of tree growing on the plains of the 

 upper Mississippi Valley. An agent of 

 the Division has recently returned from 

 that region and reports that the farmers in. 

 the terriiory west of the Mississippi and 

 north of the 40th parallel of latitude are 

 awaking to the importance of planting 

 trees, especially for economic purposes. 

 The planter? of this section are anxious to- 

 avoid the mistakes made during the opera- 

 tion of the Timber Claim Act. The groves- 

 now being planned are designed to be 

 permanent features on the horneste;ids. 



To that end, the farmers will use a^ 

 greater proportion .of long-lived, slow- 

 growing speeies than formerly. The de- 

 mand for such hardy, drouth-resisting 

 species as the Hackberry, Green Ash,. 

 White Elm. Bur Oak, Red Elm, Red 

 Cedar, and Western Yellow Pine (Bull. 

 Pine) promises to be greatly increased 

 during the next few years. The greatest 

 present difficulty with which the prospec- 

 tive tree planter has to contend is the fact 

 that commercial growers of nursery stock 

 are not supplied with this kind of mat- 

 erial. The nurseries still carry large quan- 

 tities of the short-lived kinds, such as 

 Boxelder, Cottonwood, Maple and Willow, 

 but are short on the more valuable species. 



The planting of conifers on the prairies 

 of the West during the past has not been, 

 attended with general success. This is 

 owing to the use of eastern and introduced 

 kinds that are not adapted to the country. 

 There is abundant evidence, however, that 

 the Red Cedar and Western Yellow Pine 

 (Bull Pine) will thrive throughout this 

 section. The desirability of evergreens- 

 for wind-breaks on a bleak prairie should 

 lead owners to turn their attention to these 

 hardy native species. 



