276 



Canadian Porestrx Jonrnul. June. 1920. 



Let the Prairie Farmer Raise His Trees 



The question is often asked by 

 Journal readers : "If the Nursery Sta- 

 tion at Indian Head is already pro- 

 ducing trees for prairie planting fully 

 up to its capacity, how is any new de- 

 mand to l)e met? Can farmers grow 

 their own trees from seed?" 



Mr. Norman M. Ross, Chief of the 

 Tree Planting Division, has the fol- 

 lowing to say regarding the farm nur- 

 sery under prairie conditions : 



"Where seeds of native trees can 

 be obtained the cheapest method of 

 getting seedlings is for the planter to 

 grow them himself. Most of the 

 hardy varieties are very easily raised 

 from seed, the labour and expense in 

 this connection on a farm amounting 

 to very little. 



Seed should always be procured, if 

 possible, from mature trees growing 

 under climatic and other conditions 

 similar to those the seedlings will be 

 expected to endure. The Manitoba 

 maple has a very wide range, and seed 

 might be procured almost anywhere 

 in North America. It would be found, 

 however, that that picked in the 

 Southern States or even in Eastern 

 Canada, would not produce seedlings 

 hardy in the Prairie Provinces. The 

 growing season is much longer in the 

 East than in the West, and it has 

 been found that seedlings from east- 

 ern seed do not ripen up or mature 

 early enough to escape the fall frost 

 on the prairies, and are consequently 

 cut back. The greater the difiference 

 there is between conditions of growth 

 affecting the parent trees and those 

 experienced by the seedings. the 

 greater the difficulties the latter have 

 to contend with. This shows that 

 many characteristics are acquired by 

 the '^eed from the parent trees, so that 



it would always be wise to get seed 

 from the best individuals and to 

 avoid, where jjossible. taking it from 

 dwarf or stunted trees. Seed from 

 young trees does not generally have 

 so good a germinating percentage as 

 that borne by mature ones. 



The amount of land a farmer would 

 require for his nursery is very small ; 

 in fact, one-quarter to one-half an 

 acre would be more than sufficient in 

 the ordinary case. Any land that is 

 in a suitable condition for growing 

 garden crop and is at the same time 

 moderately .protected from the high 

 winds, would do for this purpose. 

 The best soil for the nursery is rich, 

 sandy loam. It should be located near 

 the house so that the work could be 

 done in odd moments." 



WHAT U.S. FACES. 



(The Journal of Forestry) 



The annual consumption of timber 

 is one hundred thousand million sup- 

 erficial feet. 



The present annual growth of tim- 

 ber is thirty-five thousand million 

 superficial feet. 



Eighty per cent, of the standing 

 merchantable timber is privately own- 

 ed, and ninety-seven per cent, of the 

 annual cut comes from privately own- 

 ed forests. 



The national and state forests can- 

 not meet the situation. 



A timber shortage already exists in 

 the United States and is rapidly be- 

 coming acute. 



Prices will continue to increase. 



THE COMMON STORY 



New South Wales (Australia) once 

 contained millions of acres of cypress 

 forest in the Central division ; but to- 

 day the forests w^hich have been left 

 are chiefly either grass paddocks, or 

 stocked mostly with small undersized 

 trees up to 9 inches in diameter. 

 (Australian Forestry Journal) 



