CONTROLLING SNOW BY TREE PLANTING 



39 



so stop the snow. Several kinds were tried out. The 

 laurel leaved willow has proved the hardiest and is the 

 one that will be used most extensively in North Dakota. 

 The willows are planted in the outer row and also in some 

 of the rows nearest the track. The buffalo berry, carra- 

 gana, buckthorn and artemesia are also used in the out-' 

 side row, the aim being to have a low growing spreading 

 tree or shrub in the outside row, one that is quite dense 

 near the ground so that there will be no big openings for 

 the wind to shoot through. The artemesia dies down 

 each year but the stems hold many of the leaves and re- 

 main upright during the winter so that they make quite 

 an effective barrier to the wind even the first year. The 

 artemesia will grow under very severe conditions. Wil- 

 lows are cut back to cause them to thicken up. When cut 

 back in the spring they send up a great many shoots that 

 grow to a height of four to six feet by fall, making a 

 good protection for the winter. The second row is 

 planted to green ash or cottonwood. The third row is 

 planted to green ash or box elder, and the remaining five 

 rows are planted to willows. These will be cut back 

 periodically one row at a time. Eight rows of trees are 

 planted on the north and west sides of cuts and six rows 

 on the south and east sides. At first but four rows were 

 planted on the north and west sides and three on the 

 south and east sides, but this did not give enough pro- 

 tection, so it was decided to increase the plantings. 



The fifty foot right of way on each side of the track 

 was found to be too narrow for effective tree planting, so 

 now 75 feet in addition are being bought on the north 

 and west sides of cuts, and 50 feet additional for the south 



THE PLANTER IN OPERATION 



Planting trees with the original tree planter. This was drawn by horses, 

 and was a fcj-eat improvement over the old method of hand planting. Horse- 

 power has now given way to gasoline. 



and east sides. The trees are set three to four feet apart 

 in rows eight feet apart. The land that is in native sod 

 is given two years' preparation and that which has been 

 in cultivation is given one year's preparation before the 

 trees are planted. 



A nursery has been started and the trees are being 

 raised for the railway planting. So far most of the trees 

 have had to be bought from nurseries. Many of these 

 old trees have been secured at from $2.50 to $6.50 per 

 thousand. The trees from the railroad nursery have 



done the best, probably explained by the fact that it is 

 on sandy land and under the same climatic conditions as 

 those under which the trees are to grow. 



The trees are taken in refrigerator cars to the cuts 

 where they are to be planted. In this way it has been 

 found possible to keep the trees dormant until July. The 

 cars are placed at the nearest railroad station and the 

 trees hauled out to the cuts and heeled in until needed for 

 planting. 



This tree planting is encouraging many farmers along 

 the right of way to plant trees. One of the drawbacks in 

 successful tree planting is often that the land is not 

 properly prepared. Any one who observes the way the 

 trees on the right of way are planted can readily learn 



CULTIVATE THE TREES 



The cultivation is done largely by discs. The orchard disc and the com- 

 mon disc are used alternately so as to keep the ground level. The one 

 throws the soil in and the other throws it out. 



how to do it on adjoining farms. There is no patent on 

 the tree planter here described, so anyone may make and 

 use it. 



While most of the tree planting has been done in North 

 Dakota, it is also needed on the cleared land in the states 

 originally wooded. Mr. Hoverstad is advocating buying 

 the extra right of way before the land is cleared. It does 

 not cost much then and the trees are already on it. After 

 the land is cleared it becomes much more expensive and 

 difficult to buy and then it must be planted. 



While the tree planting has not been carried on long 

 enough to have much data on the cost of it, enough has 

 been done so that a general idea can be formed as to how 

 the cost of protection with board panels compares with' 

 the cost of securing protection by tree planting. It takes 

 640 16-foot panels to protect a mile of right of way with 

 a single snow fence. These cost at least $2.50 each, or a 

 total of $1,600. The annual depreciation is 20 per cent, 

 or $320. The cost of setting up and taking down is 

 about 20 cents each, or $128. Interest at six per cent is 

 $96, or a total of $544 per mile per year. Planting eight 

 rows of trees on one side of the track and six on the other 

 will require 25,000 trees for a mile. At five dollars per 

 thousand this will amount to $125. The cost of planting 

 will be less than $50. The trees will occupy 15 acres and 

 if the cost of preparation is $15 per acre this will amount 



