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THE FORESTER. 



December, 



" Every dollar expended by the National 

 Government for the building of storage 

 reservoirs and great irrigation works to 

 reclaim the millions of acres of western 

 aridity will return to the Federal treasury 

 six-fold in the form of increased taxes on 

 increased land values and population. 

 Every Congressman knows this, now that 

 his attention is being called to the subject 

 by eastern manufacturers who want a larger 

 market in the West for their goods, and 

 all that is required for his favorable action 

 is a strong and aggressive demand from 

 every western State and Territory and 

 Congressional district." National Advo- 

 cate for November. 



The Results of The Division of Forestry 

 Tree Planting in has just completed the first 

 the Middle West. extended survey of the re _ 



suits of the early tree planting enterprises 

 which has ever been made in the Middle 

 West. Hitherto there has been no attempt 

 to digest on any considerable scale the ex- 

 perience which might have been gained 

 from these plantations. The result has 

 been that though plantations of trees are 

 everywhere needed as windbreaks and 

 ready sources of supply for fence posts, 

 fuel, etc., they have hitherto been estab- 

 lished chiefly according to rules and cus- 

 toms which were founded only on loose 



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generalities and scanty experience. Since 

 last July, however, two field parties from 

 the tree-planting section of the Division of 

 Forestry have been examining large num- 

 bers of plantations in Kansas, Nebraska, 

 South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and Okla- 

 homa, with the purpose of observing the 

 effects of the soil, location, and methods 

 of planting on the growth of trees in as 

 great a number of plantations as possi- 

 ble. 



The summer's work was begun near 

 Wichita, Kans., and under the direction 

 of Mr. W. L. Hall, Assistant Superin- 

 tendent of Tree Planting in the Division 

 of Forestry was carried on by two parties. 

 One of these traveled northward as far as 

 South Dakota and then back again through 

 Iowa and Missouri. The other, with Mr. 

 Hall in charge, made a thorough survey of 



the plantations in southern Kansas, eastern 

 Arkansas, and the southwestern corner of 

 Missouri. Both of these parties lived 

 under canvas and were thus able to visit 

 almost all the plantations in the regions 

 through which they passed. The surveys 

 which they made proved most instructive 

 as regards the influence of methods of 

 planting, soil conditions, exposure, etc., 

 on the growth of the trees, and their re- 

 sults will greatly facilitate the preparation 

 of planting plans in the future. 



Among the plantations which were 

 visited were the well known ones of the 

 Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis 

 Railway, of Mr. H. H. Hunnewell at 

 Farlington, of Mr. George W. Munger at 

 Eureka, and of Mr. George W. Tincher 

 near Council Grove. The natural timber 

 growth in western Arkansas was carefully 

 examined, in order to make a comparison 

 between the supply from these native 

 forests and the need of posts, fuel, tele- 

 graph poles, etc., in the adjacent tree- 

 planting States. 



Most of the localities visited showed 

 great interest in the subject of forestry. 

 Frequent meetings were held in order 

 to give Mr. Hall and Mr. Clothier, who 

 had charge of the work in the northern 

 states, opportunity to discuss publicly the 

 tree planting work, and to give opportune 

 instruction on methods of establishing and 

 developing forest plantations. Such meet- 

 ings serve, beside the purpose of instruc- 

 tion, to stimulate a livelier interest in the 

 work of timber growing and to create a 

 keener appreciation of trees and forests. 



A Working Plan Mr. E. M. Griffith, a field 

 for the Black assistant in the Division 

 Hills Reserve. of Forestry of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, with a large body of 

 assistants, has just finished making a forest 

 survey of the Black Hills Reserve in South 

 Dakota. The summer's work, which has 

 thus been completed, is preliminary to the 

 preparation of a "working plan" for the 

 forests of the Reserve, which was under- 

 taken at the request of the Secretary of 

 the Interior. It will be submitted to him 

 by next spring, and, if adopted, will result 



