468 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



October 



feet tall, growing thriftily, and no 

 doubt in much better condition than 

 larger trees would have been if they 

 had been planted. This is an illustra- 

 tion of the methods that must be em- 

 ployed in order to make forest plant- 

 ing a financial possibility. 



A Minnesota farmer usually plows 

 his land preparatory to tree planting, 

 and in the prairie regions this is abso- 

 lutely essential to success, though it is 

 not necessary in the east. The cost of 



absolutely essential and adds mate- 

 rially to the cost of the plantation. 



The Minnesota farmer, however, 

 has in store as a reward for his extra 

 Idbor and expense the prospect of a 

 market far superior to anything that 

 can be hoped for in the near future in 

 the east. The millions of fence posts 

 that are used every year on the prairies 

 of the West must be replaced in a few 

 years by others. The demand for 

 fence post timber is constantly increas- 



Near View of White Willow Snow-break, Grown in Four Years from Cuttings. 



North Dakota. 



plowing the land where gang plows 

 are used ought not to exceed 75 cents 

 to $i per acre. Minnesota farmers 

 will also need to provide cultivation 

 after the trees have once been estab- 

 lished. In the more humid eastern 

 states forest trees are left to take care 

 of themselves and are able to compete 

 with any other weedy plants which 

 might interfere with their growth. On 

 the prairies of the west, cultivation to 

 keep the grasses out of the grove is 



ing and this can be grown in compara- 

 tively a very short time. The tele- 

 graph and telephone pole industry is 

 also likely to prove very profitable in 

 the future. European larch telegraph 

 poles can be grown in twenty to twen- 

 ty-five years. When we remember that 

 such poles now are selling for $i to 

 $2 apiece on the prairies and under- 

 stand that 250 to 500 poles may be 

 grown per acre, we begin to see what 

 the possibilities are for commercial 



