iSS 



THE FORESTER. 



August, 



to the advantage of mine owners to see 

 that all rules are closely observed, to war- 

 rant a continuance of them. 



An active policy in regard to its forests 

 in Colorado by the national government, 

 along the lines suggested, will do much to 

 relieve the present situation. It will also 

 do much to arouse the people of the state 

 to the importance of forest preservation. 

 Mining is only one of the many industries 

 of the state that is dependent in a great 

 measure on prosperous forests. If the 

 great natural resources of Colorado are to 

 be developed to anywhere near their full 



extent the present destruction of its for- 

 ests must stop and the remaining timber 

 lands exploited in a sensible manner. Per- 

 haps the greatest danger to the interests of 

 Colorado would be a failure of the water 

 supply ; that a steady supply of water is 

 greatly dependent on good forests needs 

 no argument. Therefore the preserva- 

 tion of forests in Colorado is a matter for 

 the serious attention of all the people. 

 With the national government pointing 

 the way there will be no excuse for lack 

 of interest on the part of the people within 

 the state. 



THE INVESTIGATION NOW BEING MADE IN NEBRASKA 

 BY THE U. S. BUREAU OF FORESTRY.- 



By William L. Hall, 







Superintendent of Tree Planting, Bureau of Forestry. 



THE forest investigation now in prog- 

 ress in Nebraska, consists of a 

 study of the planted and natural 

 timber. It is a part of the general study 

 of forest encroachment on the plains a 

 subject demanding investigation over at 

 least twelve states of the Middle West. 



The planted timber is being studied to 

 find, not only what thrives best in different 

 sections of the state, but what is most valu- 

 able for the various purposes for which 

 planting is done. Before complete success 

 can be regularly attained in growing tim- 

 ber, it must be known what kinds of trees 

 are most valuable for such common pur- 

 poses as shade, windbreaks, and fence- 

 posts, and how fast they will grow in a 

 given locality. It is equally necessary to 

 understand the methods of planting and 

 cultivation by which planted timber can 

 be made in the greatest degree profitable 

 and permanent. 



The natural timber is being: studied to 

 find what species occur, to what extent 



* This paper was read at the summer meet- 

 ing of the Nebraska State Horticultural Society, 

 held at Kearney, Neb., July 17 and 18. 



timber is increasing, and the conditions 

 under which the increase takes place. So 

 far as possible, these questions are being 

 studied in all parts of the state. The 

 eastern half offers the more attractive field, 

 because there the natural timber is more 

 abundant, the country has been longer 

 settled, so that more information is obtain- 

 able, and the natural tendencies seem to 

 exert themselves more strongly. But the 

 study of these questions, over the western 

 half of the state is more important at this 

 time, because their solution for that region 

 will throw light on the utilization of much 

 of the non-agricultural, government land 

 in that part of Nebraska. So in the west- 

 ern half of the state, the investigation is 

 being prosecuted with the greatest possible 

 detail. 



The work is done chiefly by observation. 

 I am sometimes ask whether or not we 

 make chemical analyses of soils to deter- 

 mine whether trees will grow. We do 

 not. The elements of fertility are present 

 in such quantity in all soils of the state as 

 to insure the successful growth of trees. 

 The chemical composition of a soil then, 



