472 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



October 



and the owners do not hesitate to say 

 that it is one of the most profitable crops 

 they ever grew. This forest is located 

 in a treeless district of the state, where 

 there is a ready demand for any supply 

 that may be grown. Many other tree 

 growers can testify to the same fact that 

 applies to the Yaggy forest. 



Every land-owner should have a cer- 

 tain portion of his land devoted to forest 

 growth. It would be wise and profit- 

 able to reduce the size of the orchard 

 and plant a timber belt on the south and 

 west sides of it. In all probability the 

 owner would procure more fruit from a 

 smaller number of trees that were situ- 

 ated within this sheltered belt, to say 

 nothing of the income received from the 

 forest trees. 



An additional reason why artificial 

 forests should be established is that we 

 believe that during the next twenty 

 years Kansas will enjoy her greatest 

 growth. This growth will call for an 

 increased supply of young timber, to say 

 nothing of constant renewals that must 

 be made. All of the present pastures 

 in Kansas will have to be renewed dur- 

 ing this time, and the increased acreage 

 of corn, wheat, alfalfa, and other crops 

 will cause the subdividing of many of 

 the large fields of the present day. The 

 demand for small country telephone 

 poles will be much greater than any 

 supply that will be grown. The tele- 

 phone is one of the things that has come 

 to stay. Every resident of the rural 

 districts will not be content without local 

 telephone service. The dairy interests 

 alone in central and western Kansas 

 will call for millions of posts and poles 

 for fencing and shelter. During this 

 twenty years the present prices will be 

 increased all the way from 25 to 50 per 

 cent, and it seems to me the height of 

 folly to pay this additional cost when we 

 can grow the same material on our own 

 ground and keep the money at home. 



LOCATION AND THE BEST SPECIES TO 

 PLANT. 



The location of a timber plantation is 

 an essential feature. It should be lo- 

 cated where the greatest demand will be 

 when the timber is grown. It would be 

 unwise for a man to plant a timber forest 



in the sparsely settled region of Arkan- 

 sas or in the heavily wooded districts of 

 Wisconsin, but the broad, fertile prairies 

 of Kansas, where the wheat and corn 

 belts come together, is an ideal location 

 in which to grow timber, for the reason 

 that long before this timber is large 

 enough to be used, there will be a de- 

 mand for it. This would be a good 

 location for the reason that when the 

 product is put on the market the matter 

 of freight will be cut down to a very 

 reasonable rate. 



Bottom land will grow trees to a mer- 

 chantable size in a shorter period than 

 prairie soil. However, we must take 

 into consideration the difference in the 

 price of bottom land and the prairie 

 laud. We must also consider that many 

 counties of Kansas have no bottom land, 

 and if the trees are grown at all it must 

 be upon high open prairie. 



The Bureau of Forestry, at Washing- 

 ton, D. C., has issued bulletin No. 37, 

 entitled " The Hardy Catalpa," written 

 by Mr. William L. Hall. This bulletin 

 gives an immense amount of informa- 

 tion, and deals entirely with catalpa 

 plantations in Kansas. It should be in 

 the hands of every land-owner in the 

 state. 



For the eastern half of Kansas I would 

 select catalpa (speciosci) in preference to 

 all other timber trees, because this tree 

 has been more thoroughly tested than 

 any other variety. It has more good 

 qualities and less objectionable ones than 

 any tree I know of. It will produce 

 first-class posts in from ten to twelve 

 years, and poles a few years later, while 

 it is almost indestructible in contact 

 with the soil. It is easily worked, will 

 hold staples perfectly, and is tough and 

 strong. 



For the central and western part of 

 the state I believe the Russian mulberry, 

 Osage orange, black and honey locust 

 will prove to be quite a factor in the . 

 post problem of the future. These trees 

 will grow where it is almost impossible 

 for others to live. They will grow to a 

 suitable size for posts in a dozen years. 

 The mulberry and Osage orange, in or- 

 der to produce an upright growth, must 

 be pruned annually until the stem is of 

 sufficient length to make a post. Much 



