128 



Canadian Forestry Journal. 



trees would not grow on the prairies and 

 that, as was actually said once at a 

 meeting at Medicine Hat, "Providence 

 never intended trees to grow on the 

 prairie, or they would be there now." 



The Experimental Farms. 

 In dispelling illusions such as these 

 the work of the experimental farms soon 

 began to make itself felt — largely 

 through their publications, for, living 

 as they did many miles from the farms, 

 very few of the Western men ever had 

 an opportunity to actually see the 

 farms for themselves. People gradually 

 .got the idea that it was possible to grow 

 a few trees, especially in sheltered 

 situations, and the free distribution of 

 small quantities of seedlings gave a great 

 stimvilus to the movement. But these 

 experiments were mostly confined to the 

 towns, and very few farmers had done 

 any planting prior to 1900 and that 

 nearly always in the river bottoms or 

 behind the shelter of a slab fence. Here 

 and there you would find a farmer who 

 had dug holes in the sod and planted a 

 tree or two, but these were, of course, 

 always a dismal failure. 



The Forestry Branch. 



The co-operative system of tree plant- 

 ing was begun by the Forestry Branch 

 of the Department of the Interior in 

 1900, and utilized to a very great extent 

 the results of the work of the Experi- 

 mental Farms. A very complete system 

 of procedure has been worked out which 

 has given good satisfaction, and the 

 success of the efforts of the officials and 

 the popularity of the work is attested 

 by the fact that the number of appli- 

 cants this year is 44 per cent, greater 

 than last year. 



The inspection of the land prior to 

 planting was of great importance, as 

 proper preparation had been found of 

 paramount necessity in all the work of 

 the experimental farms; its usefulness 

 will be readily allowed when it is known 

 that only about 50 per cent, of the people 

 who applv for trees have their land 

 ready for planting when visited by the 

 inspectors. And when it is remembered 

 that thirteen million trees have already 

 been distributed it will be seen how 

 important this feature of the work has 

 been, for, if these trees had been sent out 

 indiscriminately to all and sundry who 

 applied for them, there would have been 



at least six millions and a half which 

 never would have had a chance to grow. 

 Value these at 25 cents per 100 and you 

 have a saving effected to the country of 

 $16,250.00 in .seedling trees alone, not 

 taking into account their potential value 

 to the future. Add to this the labor 

 saved by these men in insisting on close 

 planting, early cultivation and wide 

 plantations kept well back from the 

 buildings and so on, and you have work 

 done of a value many times bevond its 

 cost. 



With regard to supplying trees, when 

 it is remembered that two and a quarter 

 millions were sent out this spring, and 

 that the number of applicants is in- 

 creasing so rapidly, it will be readily 

 seen that all the private nurseries in the 

 West together would find it difficult to 

 keep up with the demand. 



Now-a-days people have a far better 

 understanding of the question and even 

 in southern Alberta, in the chinook 

 country, people realize that trees will 

 grow on the prairie, if you treat them 

 properly. 



Preservation of Soil Moisture. 



But while tree growing is proving 

 quite successful it must never be for- 

 gotten that the conditions which worked 

 so strongly against the natural forest are 

 still with us and are just as much the 

 enemy of tree life as ever thej' were. 

 Other conditions are different now, 

 though, for settlement has curtailed the 

 prairie fire, and plantations seldom or 

 never suffer from that source, and thanks 

 to the work of Mr. MacKay we know 

 now how to carry over the rainfall of one 

 year to help that of the next, and by 

 cviltivating thoroughly the year before 

 planting — either by summer fallowing or 

 by breaking and backsetting — we are 

 able to give the young trees a finst-rate 

 start and a good chance of success. 

 Careful cultivation for three or four 

 years afterwards, till the branches meet 

 and shade the ground, brings the planta- 

 tion through till it is able to take care of 

 itself. Broad belts of twenty or thirty 

 yards wide with the trees closely plant- 

 ed, not wider than four feet, we find of 

 great advantage in combatting the lack 

 of rainfall. A narrow belt of only four 

 or five rows allows the drying winds to 

 go through it, and in a prolonged dry 

 spell with high winds the plantation is 

 sure to suffer. 



