280 CanadiiDi I'orcstry Journal, June, I'JiO. 



Tree Windbreaks as a Farm Asset 



By Carlos Cr. Bates. U.S. rarest Scrrice 



Convincing Proof Gained From 



American Experiments How a 



Windbreak Adds Dollars to the 



Prairie Farm 



When the prairie farms of the mid- 

 dle West were first developed, the 

 lack of trees was felt severely. The 

 clear sweep of the winds across the 

 flat plains was a great hindrance to 

 agriculture, for the soil was dried out 

 quickly by evaporation, and grain was 

 lodged and orchards injured by the 

 mechanical force of the wind. Wind- 

 breaks were the only remedy, and 

 thousands of miles of them were plant- 

 ed along roads and farm division lines. 

 The effect of this planting, though 

 only gradually felt, w^as very distinct ; 



farming and living conditions became 

 more favorable throughout the whole 

 region. 



Considerable ])lanting is still Ijein.L^ 

 done, but probably no more than en- 

 ough to counterbalance the cutting in 

 windbreaks already planted. Of course 

 the need of windbreaks is not so acute 

 now as it has been in the past, but 

 some extension of the planting in this 

 region is desirable, at least enough to 

 protect the new areas which have been 

 put under cultivation. 



Any body of trees which gives pro- 



Effect of favorable atmospheric conditions on growth of corn plants and yield of fodder. On right, in 

 protected zone (weight 81 pounds); on left in unprotected zone (weight 42 pounds). 



