Canadian Forestry Journal, November, 1919 



445 



WIND INJURY. 



This region is also noted for its frequent high 

 winds, and after three or four summer fallows 

 it is found that the soil becomes divided into 

 such fine particles that in an ordinary spring a 

 great deal of the top soil, the very best of the 

 fertility, is blown away and lost. In a really 

 dry and windy year such as this has been, this 

 loss from soil drift becomes alarming in extent. 

 In many cases all attempt at raising a crop is a 

 failure on account of both soil and seed being 

 blown away. 



This soil drift is taking place more or less 

 every year and if allowed to continue cannot 

 fail to result in a loss of fertility that we can- 

 not hope to replace possibly in centuries. 



These are facts, no matter how disagreeable 

 they may be, and they must be met if men are 

 to remain on their farms on the dry areas. 



I say "wind injury" for the wind not only 

 causes loss through ^ soil drift; it sometimes 

 blows the growing crop right out of the soil 

 when young and shells it out when ready for 

 the binder and is more or less a menace all along 

 the line till it is in the stook. 



Add to this the loss it causes through accel- 

 erating evaporation, and you will see that the 

 wind problem is one of the very first importance 

 when we come to consider the permanence and 

 stability of agriculture on the dry prairie. 



TREES ON IRRIGATION DITCHES. 



We went to Coaldale in 1911 and that spring 

 and for several others afterwards we found 

 could scarcely breathe for days at a time from 

 dust storms. Seed was blown away repeatedly 

 and young plants and cuttings were destroyed 

 by the thousand from the erosive action of the 

 blowing soil. 



WINDBREAKS OX AX Ahi:i-:KTA FARM SIX YiOARS AFTER PUVXTIXO. 

 Trees supplierl by llic r)i)miiii()n Kori-si Xursery Station, Indian Head. Sask 



We know that Brome Grass roots and West- 

 ern Rye will help to bind such soils, but often- 

 times it is difficult getting the roots of these 

 grasses to remain long enough in the soil to 

 germinate. 



We also know that corn roots will help to 

 bind soils, but the corn is not here yet, and 

 meantime the question rises: are we doing all 

 we can to solve this most important problem 

 of wind injury? 



In 1912, we began planting shelter belts 

 across the land and now we have no trouble 

 from wind whatever. People coming in on a 

 windy day remark the shelter we enjoy and it 

 has occurred to me that a thorough system of 

 farm forestry might yet be the salvation of this 

 part of the country. Such a system on dry 

 land still presents some unsolved problems, but 

 there will be no difficulty in growing plenty of 

 shelter trees in the irrigated sections. 



