Canadian Forestry Journal. March, iq20 



103 



1 



WHAT CANADA'S PRAIRIE FARMS CAN DO UNDER PROPER CONDITIONS. 

 This great crop of onions on the Brooks' Denonstration Farm in Southern Alberta, is the 

 product of the irrigation system of the Canadian Pacific Railway, plus shelter belts of trees. The 

 trees provide essential protection against blighting winds. 



c^ra.s.s. weeds, etc. In most cases the 

 tendency is to give insufficient i)re- 

 l)aration to the soil 1:)cfore planting, 

 and this is nearly always fatal, and l)y 

 far the greater percentage of failures 

 can invariably be traced to this cause. 

 When a settler once decides to plant 

 trees he generally wants to see re- 

 sults in the shortest i)ossible time, 

 and for that reason, unless he should 

 hai)pen to ha\'e a piece of land which 

 has been under cultivation for some 

 time, is .seldom willing to postpone 

 the actual ])lanting in order to put 

 the ground in better condition, as hv 

 imagines that by so doing he is losing; 

 valuable time, whereas he is as a mat 

 ter of fad inviting failure and pr.iclic 

 ally throwing aw.iy \;ilual)K' time and 

 labor. ( )ur experience in connection 

 with the tree planting work of the 

 Dominion i'orestr\- IV-p.-irtment. 



covering a i)eriod oi the last sixteen 



years, in which we ha\e lieeii instru- 

 mental in estaldishing thousands oi 

 ])lantations in the three prairie Pro- 

 vinces, has proved ciMiclusively that 

 thorough summer falhnving. taking- 

 one year witli another, is th • i>nly 

 preparation that can be absolutely 

 relied U])on. If folK^wing such 



preparation, suit.alile \arieties are 

 selected .ind properly planted, success 

 is l)onnd to follow jM-oxidiinv reason- 

 al)le protection from stock, tire, etc.. 

 and enlti\;ition are subse(|uently given 

 to the \onng plantations. C'ultivation 

 .after i)lanting is as necessary as be- 

 fore, ,is on ,icconnt n\ our soils being 

 \ er\ rich, weeds .and grass will iptick- 

 1\- work in among the trees it not 

 eari'fnlK' looked after. ( ir.ass i-^ the 

 worst enemy of established tree belts. 

 and nearly always works in from the 

 edges unle-s proper measures are 

 taken to jirexi'm it. ( hiee gr.ass gets 



