460 



Canadian Forestry Magazine, October, ig20. 



Forest Restoration Needed. 



In the forest history of any country 

 we find three periods, forest destruction, 

 forest conservation and forest restora- 

 tion. Canada is now in the second period 

 — that of conservation and a lapping- of 

 the .periods is seen in the fact that to a 

 certain extent forest restoration is re- 

 ceiving considerable attention. This is 

 a lorni of reconstruction of the great- 

 est possible benefit to the prairie farmer 

 and for his guidance and assistance the 

 forest nursery station exists. 



Trees Check Soil-Drifting. 



The one big object in tree-planting is 

 to check soil-drifting and when forest 

 plantations are well-planned and care- 

 fully tended the loss of crop from this 

 cause becomes negligible. A row of 

 trees will protect more than a rod in 

 distance for every foot the trees are in 

 wide plantations in rows about fifty rods 

 apart, and working the land in strips, 

 drifting may be overcome entirely 



Tree plantations also afford shelter 

 from wind to crops, buildings and stock. 

 Theycollect and hold the snow during 

 tlie winters, preventing it from banking- 

 up aroimd buildings. They preserve and 

 retain the moisture in the soil by break- 

 ing the force of the hot winds in sum- 

 mer. 



Timber From Plantations 



Plantations will supply fuel, fencing 

 material and wood for repairs, which 

 is a very important point to many set- 

 tlers who live far away from any natural 

 supply of timber. Trees are of aesthetic 

 value beautifying the landscape and 

 making life on the prairie much more 

 pleasant and less monotonous, and they 

 add greatly to the money value of a farm. 



As farm lands in the west become more 

 thickly settled, a farmer to be successful 

 mtist make every acre of his property 

 produce the greatest possible revenue 

 without deteriorating the soil. In the 

 case of spots unfit for grain cropping, 

 there is no doubt that the only way to ob- 

 tain a revenue from them is to plant them 

 up with trees. For a few years after 

 planting, of course, no revenue can be 

 cllained from a plantation, but the inital 

 expense is not so very great and as an 



investment would pay good interest in 

 the future. 



Shelter Belts at Nursery 

 Some of the best shelter belt combina- 

 tions are to be seen in the plantations at 

 the forestry farm. One which commends 

 itself immediately both for beauty and 

 utility is the mixed deciduous planta- 

 tion. This is a six years' growth of 

 Manitoba maple, poplar, golden willow 

 and caragana. The caragana is a yel- 

 low-flowered legume which has more the 

 nature of a shrub than a tree, although 

 it grows often to a height of thirty feet. 

 With its dense growth it is an excellent 

 wind-break, while its flowers make it 

 highly ornamental. 



Another plantation which is most 

 strongly recommended for an outside 

 shelter belt is to be found running the 

 entire length of one side of the farm. 

 It is composed of four rows planted 

 four feet apart, showing six years* 

 growth. The outside row is of Mani- 

 toba maple, the next of Russian poplar, 

 the next willow, and the inside row of 

 caragana. Some oft he maples in this 

 plantation have reached a height of fif- 

 teen feet. 



Tainarac Being Tried Out 

 One of the handsomest plantations is 

 tha< of the native tamarac where the 

 trees, three years old when planted, have 

 been growing for the last six years. 

 This plantation is being tried out ex- 

 perimentally and so far is proving suc- 

 cessful, the saw-fly which has attacked 

 it in other districts, not having made 

 an appearance here. 



The large plantation of white spruce 

 makes a splendid showing and in their 

 six years of growth in this plantation 

 height of ten to twelve feet. The white 

 spruce is one of the most useful trees 

 from an economic standpoint. It is a 

 most valuable lumber tree and is exten- 

 sively used in the manufacture of pulp. 

 For forestry purposes it will undoubted- 

 ly prove one of the most successful trees 

 for western planting. 



The plantation of Scotch pine, that, 

 valuable European timber tree, has made 

 rapid growth. Each year prairie farm- 

 ers in increasing numbers visit the 

 forestry farm in order to learn what may 



