1 904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



345 



but careful and intelligent. Those who 

 took up claims planted not only because 

 it was necessary to make their titles 

 good, but, since they felt the need of 

 trees, they cultivated them properly, 

 and they are now rewarded with val- 

 uable assets in their plantations. This 

 growth will be carefully examined and 

 measured as a basis for recommenda- 

 tions concerning scientific tree planting 

 and management. 



The field force this summer will be 

 six experts, divided into two parties. 

 They will begin in the southern part of 

 South Dakota and work northward, cov- 



ering both states east of the 



me- 



ridian. 



The topography and climate of the 

 Dakotas make tree plantations essential 

 to the highest development of the rich 

 agricultural lands. The rainfall is less 

 than in Nebraska or Kansas, but this ' 

 is largely neutralized by the shorter 

 crop seasons. The winds in summer 

 are hot and dry, and of about the same 

 velocity as in the two latter states. 

 Because the rainfall is so small and the 

 evaporation, accelerated by the high 

 dry winds, is so great, trees in abun- 

 dance are required to offset these dis- 

 advantages. Properly selected, and 

 planted as shelterbelts and windbreaks, 

 trees will greatly increase the yield from 

 all crops by cutting down the force of 

 the wind and conserving moisture. 



The creation of woodlots is one result 

 of tree planting that should specially 

 appeal to the residents of the Dakotas. 

 The long and bitterly cold winters ne- 

 cessitate the use of an enormous amount 

 of fuel. This fuel can be grown within 

 a few hundred yards of the house, far 

 more cheaply than coal or wood can be 

 delivered by the railroads. The wood- 

 lot will not only furnish fuel, but also, 

 if the trees have been properly chosen, 

 all fence posts and general repair mate- 

 rial needed. 



Woodlots need not be planted as a 

 separate venture. They can be grown 

 in connection with and partly as the 

 result of the establishment of shelter- 

 belts. The wider these are made, to a 

 certain limit, and the more thoroughly 

 they are extended around the farm, the 

 greater the advantage in crop protection 



and the larger the annual cut of wood 

 obtainable. 



The first object of the Bureau of For- 

 estry in its work in the Dakotas is to 

 ascertain if the trees now growing there 

 are the species that can be most profit- 

 ably planted. The study will also cover 

 the methods and cost of the tree plant- 

 ing that has been done, with the ex- 

 pectation of offering suggestions for 

 improving those methods and lessening 

 the cost. The results of this work can 

 not fail to be decidedly advantageous 

 to the fanners of those states, who, it 

 is to be hoped, will further the work by 

 offering the field parties all the infor- 

 mation and assistance in their power 

 to give. 



Tree Planting The Bureau of Forestry 

 in Illinois. will this summer pur- 



sue in Illinois a stud}' 

 from which it is expected material ad- 

 vantage will inure to the vast agricult- 

 ural interests of that state. Planted 

 timber will be made the subject of care- 

 ful examination to determine what kinds 

 of trees make the most rapid growth 

 and are most valuable commercially and 

 for use as windbreaks under the pre- 

 vailing conditions of soil, moisture, and 

 cultivation. The topography of Illinois 

 is such that a forest cover is not usually 

 needed to protect the soil from erosion. 

 The land for the most part is rolling or 

 level prairie, rich and admirably suited 

 for agriculture. A farmer reaping large 

 harvests from his lands naturally will 

 not consider putting those lands to a 

 less profitable use, but experiments 

 have proved that shelterbelts, in pro- 

 tecting the lands from wind, influence 

 a larger crop yield. 



Shelterbelts are invaluable in protect- 

 ing crops from the damage frequently 

 resulting from the full force of destruc- 

 tive winds, but possibly their chief value 

 is in conserving the moisture so abso- 

 lutely essential to crop growth. Wind 

 is a strong ally of evaporation. It is 

 established that as the velocity of the 

 wind increases, evaporation is very rap- 

 idly augmented. Shelterbelts, in op- 

 posing the wind, effectively retard evap- 

 oration, and thereby save to growing 



