1902. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



187 



ministration of the latter office, in which 

 also the courage of personal convictions 

 in matters of duty was constantly felt. 

 His practice of rigid economy in the 

 disbursement of the public funds for 

 which he was accountable was also a 

 marked feature of his administration as 

 Secretary of Agriculture. 



Living on the great treeless plains of 

 the West, Mr. Morton early developed 

 the keenest interest in forest-tree cul- 

 ture as one of the great needs of the 

 West. He encouraged tree planting by 

 public addresses, by his writings, and 

 by a most notable example of successful 

 tree planting and the profitable manage- 

 ment of the resulting woodlot at his Ne- 

 braska farm home. 



His unusual efforts in behalf of tree 

 planting leaves Nebraska the lasting 

 honor of being the first state in which 

 Arbor Day was observed. He was the 

 originator of the idea of observing an 

 annual Arbor Day, and through his 

 efforts Nebraska celebrated the first 

 Arbor Day observed in the United 

 States, in 1872. The annual observ- 

 ance of this day by Nebraska schools 

 has resulted in the planting of millions 

 of forest trees in that state. Other 

 states have followed Nebraska's exam- 

 ple, until now Arbor Day is observed 

 in practically every state and territory 

 in the Union. J. Sterling Morton will 

 long be remembered in the Middle West 

 as the ' ' Father of Arbor Day. ' ' 



Ii*ri;ation in From the census bulletin 

 Alabama. it is learned that ' ' irri- 



gation does not as yet 

 occupy a very important place in the 

 agricultural development of Alabama. 

 But with the increase in acreage de- 

 voted to the growing of early vegeta- 

 bles for northern markets, its practice 

 will doubtless become more general, as 

 it affords an insurance against the short 

 but destructive periods of drought which 

 frequently occur in the spring. In 1 899 

 89 acres were irrigated. The products, 

 principally vegetables, were valued at 

 $10,758, or $121 per acre. The cost of 

 constructing the wells, pumps, tiling, 

 and ditches now in use is estimated to 

 have been $5 , 200. ' ' 



New Forest On the i6th of April two 

 Reserves. forest reserv^es were es- 



tablished by presidential 

 proclamation in the sand-hill district of 

 Nebraska. One, to be known as the 

 Dismal River Reser\'e, is situated be- 

 tween the Dismal and Middle Loup 

 rivers, just above their confluence, and 

 contains 86,000 acres ; the other, to be 

 called the Niobrara Reserve, occupies a 

 similar position between the Niobrara 

 and Snake rivers and contains 125,000 

 acres. 



These reserves lie near the center of 

 the great sand-hill district, which in- 

 cludes 15,000,000 acres, or nearly one- 

 fourth of Nebraska. The country is 

 characterized by many ranges of wind- 

 formed dunes, separated by small de- 

 pressions. In the past, while the hills 

 were being formed, the whole country 

 was barren, and even within the mem- 

 ory of men now living it contained 

 much shifting sand and but a sparse 

 cover of grass and shrubs. Since the 

 settlement of the surrounding country 

 improved protection from fire has al- 

 lowed vegetation to increase rapidly, 

 until now there is generally a fair cover, 

 the only barren places being the so- 

 called " blow-outs " places in the hill- 

 sides where wind erodes the sand when 

 the cover is once destroyed. 



Manv shrubs, such as Wild Plum, 

 Choke' Cherry, Wild Grape, Sand 

 Cherry, and Poison Ivy, have gained 

 an entrance in recent years. Such 

 shrubs in the eastern part of the state 

 are the first to spring up on land that 

 is passing into forest growth, and in 

 the sand-hills they seem to be the fore- 

 runners of trees in just the same way. 

 The increase of shrubs is an indication 

 of the strong tendency of the region 

 toward forest growth. 



The only timber which ever grew on 

 the reserves was along the streams men- 

 tioned as forming the boundaries. Most 

 of this has been cut away on account 

 of the great demand for fuel and timber 

 of all sorts ; but where any of it has 

 been left the reproduction is astonish- 

 ing. In some places, especially along 

 the Niobrara River, the young pines are 

 spreading far out into the sand-hills, and 

 if let alone will of their own accord in 



