298 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



July 



this would give them ample lands for 

 their support, judging from the experi- 

 ence of the Mormons in Utah, where 

 the average irrigated farm is less than 

 30 acres. The lands not utilized by the 

 Indians are to be opened to white set- 

 tlers who will pay for them. Under the 

 terms of the reclamation law the sale of 

 lands will serve to defray the expenses 

 of the irrigation works, payment being 

 made in ten annual installments. South- 

 ern California and adjacent portions of 

 Arizona should be benefited by the in- 

 flux of settlers which is sure to follow 

 the irrigation of the land. 



Eastern For several seasons the 



Nebraska Bureau of Forestry has 



Timber. been making a careful 



study of the timber re- 

 sources of Nebraska. This study will 

 be carried still further this summer. 

 The survey in the western portion of 

 the state has been completed , and reports 

 on it are now being prepared. A direct 

 result of the work in western Nebraska 

 has been the establishment of the Dismal 

 River and Niobrara Forest Reserves, 

 comprising some 212,000 acres in the 

 sand hills. These two reserves have 

 been surveyed, and planting operations 

 are under way on the former. 



Considerable work has also been done 

 in eastern Nebraska from time to time, 

 and a party under Mr. Frank G. Miller, 

 of the Bureau of Forestry, will continue 

 the investigation the present field season. 

 The territory to be covered includes all 

 that part of the state lying east of the 

 ninety-ninth meridian. Mr. Miller is 

 now in the field making preliminary 

 preparations for the investigation, and 

 his party will follow about July i . It 

 is expected that the field work will be 

 completed by October i . The data col- 

 lected in the meantime and the notes 

 now on file concerning this region will 

 be brought together in one report. 



The investigation will include a care- 

 ful study of both the natural and planted 

 timber. Nebraska is credited with hav- 

 ing more than 200,000 acres in forest 

 plantations, by far the larger portion of 

 which lies within the region to be cov- 

 ered by the study. Note will be made 



of the character of planting done in the 

 past, with a view to determining the 

 most profitable species for future plant- 

 ing in the same localities. A great 

 number of measurements in commercial 

 plantations will be made to get an esti- 

 mate of the yield in cord wood, posts, 

 ties, poles, etc., that may be expected 

 from a planted grove of a given species 

 in a specified time. The information 

 thus obtained will be of great value to 

 farmers on the plains, since it will give 

 them a basis for judging accurately how 

 much planting they must do to supply 

 their domestic needs, and what kinds of 

 trees will in the long run prove most 

 productive for different purposes. 



The study of the natural forest growth 

 will include a classification of the trees 

 and shrubs, together with notes on their 

 distribution. Special attention will be 

 given to the extension of the natural 

 timber areas. Those who have given 

 this question careful thought find strik- 

 ing evidence of the rapid advance of 

 woody growth to new ground. Cases 

 are known where natural timber belts 

 have extended up ravines for two miles 

 in eastern Nebraska within the last 

 thirty years. This tendency is marked 

 throughout the eastern portion of the 

 state. The investigations this summer 

 will give an excellent opportunity for 

 further study of this most important 

 phase of forest extension. 



The field party, which will consist of 

 six men, all of whom are college or 

 university graduates and in addition 

 have had special training in forestry, 

 will be outfitted at Lincoln. Two par- 

 ties of two men each will travel over- 

 land by team, and will have special 

 charge of the study and measurements 

 of plantations. A fifth man will be 

 equipped with a saddle horse, and will 

 give his attention more particularly to 

 an examination of the natural timber 

 resources, while Mr. Miller will have 

 general charge of the investigation. 



The Bureau of Forestry bespeaks the 

 hearty cooperation of the people of Ne- 

 braska in this work, and will greatly 

 appreciate any favors shown the mem- 

 bers of the party that will in any way 

 assist them in the prosecution of this 

 study. 



