104 



C'liiiadidii forestry Journal, March, iq20 



%f^!,>C 





Part of the shelter belt of Laurel leaf Willow on the Brooks' Demonstration Farm in South- 

 ern Alberta, together with the irrigation lateral. 



a good foothold in a plantatioii it is 

 only a matter of time in most cases 

 until the trees gradually die out 

 There is not sufficient precipitation 

 to support a growth of grass and trees 

 on the same piece of ground. This is 

 a point which must be fully realised, 

 as it is the whole secret of success. 

 We have never yet seen a failure 

 where ])roper methods of cultivation 

 have been intelligently carried out. 



To be successful in tree-growing 

 requires patience and perseverance, as 

 one is certain to meet with many dis- 

 couragements. One season it may b? 

 damage from insects, next winter- 

 killing, then hail or perhaps rabbits 

 may destroy the whole of a young 

 plantation a year or two after the 

 trees are set out. However, such set- 

 backs are generally only of a tempor- 

 ary character, and probably the ma- 

 jority of planters will largely escape 

 such disasters. But even should one's 



trees be occasionally more or less in- 

 jured ])y Avinter-killing, which is per- 

 haps the most serious of our 

 dift'iculties, that is no more reason for 

 giving up tree culture than for a 

 farmer to stop growing grains be- 

 cause his crop is once in a while des- 

 troyed by frost. 



A well-established and properly ar- 

 ranged system of tree belts is an 

 enormous asset to any farm. We 

 have in our office hundreds of letters 

 from farmers who place the value of 

 their belts at very large figures, run- 

 ning from some hundreds of dollars 

 to, in many cases, three or four thou- 

 sand. At present few farmers plant 

 trees with a view to the ultimate 

 ^'alue of the Avood products. The first 

 consideration is always to provide 

 shleter and improve the appearance of 

 the homestead. Only those who have 

 lived on the open prairies can realise 

 just how much such shelters add to 



