20 



PAPERS READ BEFORE THE ASSOCIATION. 



whether as ornaments in a rural landscape, 

 for shade or for application in the thousand 

 and one arts where wood is used; and thus, 

 as we cherish what we love, the rising gener- 

 ation will for love of the trees and of each 

 others welfare preserve the forests. And, 

 further, as we cannot truly love even a tree 

 or bush without becoming more gentle and 

 refined, the improvement of character and 

 consequent multiplication of kind acts and 

 the ameneties of life will be in time the 

 work of this association, and future bene- 

 ficiaries of your present wise and unselfiish 

 action will murmur: ''They builded better." 



TREE-PLANTING ON FARMS. 



BY J. H. BEERY OF FRUITA. 



The preservation of the timber on the 

 mountains will no doubt require State or na- 

 tional legislation, but if tree-planting in the 

 mountains is to be a success, which in course 

 of time it may be, a great point will be gained 

 by having the lower valleys planted first. To 

 gain this end it would be very necessary to 

 get the farmers to understand that it would 

 b<- to their interest to grow trees on their 

 farms. Why should not the farmers in the 

 valleys have a belt of trees round their 

 farms, and where the fields are divided have 

 a row of trees? If they don't want to plant 

 forest trees such ss ash, elm, maple, sycamore 

 and such large trees, why let them plant 

 fruit trees, such as apples, pears, apricots, 

 peaches, etc. They will beautify the country 

 and at the same time help to fill their own 

 pockets, besides supplying the family with 

 all the fruit they want to use. 

 These rows of trees spread 

 across the valleys will act as a 

 shelter to the field by breaking the force of 

 the strong, dry winds that at certain seasons 

 of the year sweep over the valleys and carry 

 away the last particle of moisrure there is in 

 the ground. Everyone who has lived for a 

 few seasons in these valleys knows how dry- 

 ing these winds are. Now, if those valleys 

 were protected by rows of trees stretched 

 across their whole breadth, evaporation would 

 go on much more slowly, and consequently 

 there would be less necessity for so much ir- 

 rigation with cold water, and the crops would 

 be all the better, as the water in the early 

 part of the season is apt to chill the ground 

 and consequently retard growth. 



To keep the trees growing there is always 

 an abundant supply of water running in the 

 ditches at all necessary seasons, so that irri- 

 gating them would be no extra labor 

 or expense. If this plan were carried 

 out as far back towards the moun- 



tains as the highest ditch, of course 

 time would be required, but if only once 

 fairly started and a little patience exercised, 

 these valleys could be made to look lovely 

 and more than pay for all the expense in- 

 curred, aid be an ornamont to the State and 

 form a splendid contrast to the mountains in 

 the vicinity. Such will be the resulc in a 

 few years if each farmer will lend a hand; 

 every little town sb.ows a good example. The 

 streets *,re scarcely laid off when up start 

 rows of trees as soon as a drop of water can 

 be had, even if it has to be hauled from the 

 rivers. Why should the country people be 

 so far behind where shelter and shade is so 

 much wanted? 



The quantity of cotton wood seed annually 

 carried down by the wa^er in the main 

 ditches will soon have the banks one mass of 

 these trees, but what is wanted is a better 

 class of timber; could not some of the enter- 

 prising owners of these ditches see that it 

 would be their interest to plant some of the 

 hundreds of miles of the banks of their 

 ditches wioh some good fo est trees, say 

 catalpa, ash, elm, maples of different kinds, 

 sycamore, tulp poplar, and hickory and Wal- 

 nuts. Cedar, spruce and pine would also grow 

 there, and by so doing, in a few years they 

 would save enough on evaporation alone to 

 pay f >rthe work, and stiengthen their ba? ks 

 and have the timber getting ready for use. 



As far back as this the planting and grow- 

 ing of trees would be comparatively easy and 

 sure from the first start. Now we come to 

 the foot-hills, where irrigation is necessary 

 as a rule, but where water is scarce when 

 wanted. Of course in eaily spring thrre is 

 rleuty rain fall most seasons, and trees pi anted 

 as early as possible in spring may get enough 

 moisture to keep them growing till July, at 

 which time they can have a good hold of the 

 ground. After that time the rains are uncer- 

 tain, and success would depend mainly on 

 the hold the roots had got in the ground and 

 whether there was any vegetation to shade 

 the ground. Higher up in the mountains, 

 with the exception of the moist valleys, suc- 

 cess would be very uncertain, K,sthe quantity 

 of seeds that annually fall from the trees and 

 find no place to vegetate amply shows. 



ABOUT NUT TREES. 



BY H. B. SNYDER OF COLORADO SPRINGS. 



As fall is coming on leaves and nuts will 

 begin to fall; and this reminds me that 

 something may profitably be said on the sub- 

 ject of planting nut trees. It seems to me 

 that an effort should be made to supply that 

 which has been denied this section of the 



