1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



105 



shrewd and far-sighted man may, even 

 without technical advice, secure good 

 returns from his woodland without 

 impairing its productive value and 

 while putting himself in position to 

 profit by the steady rise which is tak- 

 ing place in timber values. 



North Dakota , le gj slature 

 Irrigation Code. ^ ortri Dakota recent- 

 ly passed a compre- 

 hensive irrigation code which follows 

 closely the provisions of the suggested 

 State irrigation code drawn up last 

 summer by Mr Morns Bien of the 

 L. S Reclamation Service. This is 

 the first effective legislation on the 

 subject in North Dakota and will put 

 irrigation investigations there upon a 

 well established and permanent basis, 

 so that it is now possible to secure the 

 exclusive services oi a competent man 

 as State engineer. The first State en- 

 gmeer Professor EF. Chandler who 

 began that work last season and has 

 been carrying it on in addition to his 

 work as resident hydrographer for 

 the . S. Geological Survey and to 

 his regular duties m the State Univer- 



A y i n S W ,, transfe / s r , the m to ^ n 

 A. L. tellows, of Denver, Colo., who 



has been for the past two years district 

 engineer for Colorado of the U. S. Re- 

 clamation Service, and who under the 

 new law is now ppointed by Cover- 

 nor Sarles as State engineer of North 



Planting 



The agents of the 

 Bureau of Forestry 

 detailed to investigate 

 planted groves and natural timber in 

 the eastern half of the two Dakotas 

 and the western third of Minnesota 

 have completed their field work. The 

 results of their investigations will be 

 embodied in a report which will be 

 published as soon as the data collected 

 can be tabulated and definite conclu- 

 sions drawn. 



Throughout the region investigated 

 a good deal of tree planting has been 

 done to meet the requirements of the 

 Timber Culture Act or for protective 

 purposes. Local benefits have been 



gained by this planting, and a study of 

 the results gives a good basis for sug- 

 gestions looking towards still better 

 results in the future. The species 

 most generally tried are those which 

 grow naturally in the river bottoms of 

 the region, together with some which 

 have been introduced from Europe. 

 They are cottonwood, boxelder, green 

 ash, silver maple, white willow, and 

 w hj te elm. These trees have some ad- 

 mirable qualities, but are in some re- 

 spe cts unsuited to the region 

 Thfi idgal trge for j . Qn 



irig ig Qne h{ h g w * 

 extremes of d ht and 



is free from ^ enemies, makes a 

 id h and ig ^ ^ ^ . 



valuable for both protective and com _ 

 merdal usgs SQ ^ Q Q h . 



Qr ever ns have these characteris _ 

 ticg in a fai fa d and 



land Q certain - ies 



spruce> & and larch has P been don P e ^ 



)roye theif su ioritv> For future 



laflti in thig section ' the Bureau m 



bably rec ommend the substitution 

 to a large extnt Q cone _ beari trees 

 for SQme Q the ies whic haye 



been in common use 

 . 



In the P as ] the timb r va ! u e of trees 

 was a secondary consideration. Trees 

 were planted for their protective value 

 a ; id for ornament But by a proper 



choice of , trees A a direct P ro ^ , can also 

 be reaped. A species which meets 



commercial requirements will, in most 

 cases, answer all other demands. This 

 additional commercial benefit in tree 

 planting the Bureau will emphasize in 

 its forthcoming report. 



The region examined is prairie land, 

 very fertile, and for the most part de- 

 voted to profitable farming. But the 

 hot, dry winds from the southwest 

 are very injurious in summer, while 

 the crops are maturing ; in the long 

 winters the piercing cold winds from 

 the northwest are a menace to live- 

 stock as well as a source of great dis- 

 comfort. Hence windbreaks along the 

 south, west, and north sides of farms, 

 buildings, and inclosures contribute 

 largely to the welfare of farm life. It 



