APPLES 



179 



tiveness in pheoking the velocity of the 

 wind, value as timber, longevity, clifBculty 

 in starting, inclination to harbor orchard 

 pests, habits of encroachment upon the 

 areas protected, etc. Few trees meet all 

 of these requirements. When a single va- 

 riety is planted few ti'ees are as effective 

 as the poplars, especially the Lombardy 

 poplar. They develop rapidly, branch 

 from the ground up, and make a very 

 efficient windbreak when planted close to- 

 gether. A very effective windbreak can 

 be made by planting the black locust and 

 the Russian artemisia together in the 

 same row. The locust should be set about 

 eight feet apart in the row. The timber 

 of the locust makes valuable fence posts. 



The artemisia is a shrubby plant that 

 is started from 7-inch cuttings set 12 to 15 

 inches apart. It should attain a height 

 of 4 or 5 feet the first year and 8 or 9 

 feet the second year. Low windbreaks 

 can be made by planting the artemisia 

 alone. A good hedge of this plant is grow- 

 ing on the experiment farm of the State 

 College at Pullman, Wash., from which 

 cuttings may be obtained. 



The European larch instead of the black 

 locust may be used with the artemisia. It 

 will not spread and encroach upon the 

 protected area as much as the locust or 

 the poplars. Its timber also makes good 

 fence posts. 



Fig. 2 illustrates how temporary wind- 

 breaks may be made from sagebrush. 



Byron Iluntei-, Bureau I'laut Industry, Circ. 

 00. 



Windbreaks for Mississippi Valley 



In the mountain regions among the 

 hills or foothills an orchard site would 

 generally be selected with reference to 

 protection from the winds by the contour 

 of the land. For instance, if the pre- 

 vailing winds are from the west an east- 

 ern slope would be protected, and from 

 this view would be preferable to a west- 

 ern slope. If this is not practicable or 

 convenient then the trees are often set at 

 an angle of about 45 degrees, slanting to- 

 ward the wind so that the blowing will 

 not cause the trees to lean, but to assume 

 an upright position, and so that its center 

 of gravity will not be far from the line 

 of the tap root. The orchard needs pro- 

 tection either by the hills about it or by 

 means of windbreaks. 



In the prairie regions such as we find 

 in the Mississippi valley there are no 

 hills and the orchards are protected by 

 rows of trees or groves sometimes planted 

 so as to shelter both the house and the 

 orchard. 



For such situations the following in- 

 structions given by A. T. Erwin of Ames, 

 Iowa, are applicable: 



"In prairie regions a windbreak is of 



. 2. Asparagus Beds on Sandy .Soil Near Kennewick. Washington, Protected by Sage- 

 brush Windbreaks. When the land was cleared low posts were set upon the tops of 

 which a large smooth wire was stretched. Instead of burning the sagebrush, it 

 was bung on the wire to serve as a temporary windbreak. 



