The Tree Planting Problem, etc. 



129 



This rainfall question is one that few 

 of the settlers understand at first and 

 many are astonished when they are 

 strongly advised not to prune their trees 

 up like whip stocks or plant them at 

 six or eight feet apart as they used to 

 do where they came from. 



The Chinooks and the Xew 

 Plantations. 

 In the new plantations in the chinook 

 belt we have found no trouble so far 

 from the untimely flow of sap in the 

 winter and the subsequent freezing that 

 we used to hear so much about. What 

 does do damage occasionally is the lack 

 of moisture in the winter, for it must be 

 borne in mind that in that covmtrv there 



that in these districts the rainfall is 

 usually much greater than further out 

 on the prairie, and the growth is some- 

 times carried on late into the fall, when, 

 if the new shoots are not matured when 

 frost comes, the trees are sure to be 

 killed back to within a few feet of the 

 ground. This is notably the case with 

 the Dakota Cottonwood and sometimes 

 also with the maple, and it has now been 

 decided to plant a hardy variety ot 

 Russian Poplar in the plantations in- 

 stead of Cottonwood. Whenever there 

 is likely to be trouble of this sort it has 

 been found good practice to pinch back 

 the tips of the growing shoots about two 

 weeks before frost is expected, which 

 stops length growth and enables the 



Inspector of Reserves Knechtel and Chief Forest Ranger Margach (Calgary), on a tour of 

 inspection along the eastern slope of the Rockies. (August, 1909.) 



is no steady covering of snow to protect 

 the trees and keep the ground moist as 

 there is farther east. This sometimes 

 gives trouble, but we find that if cultiva- 

 tion has been thorough the previous 

 summer and so a plentiful supply of 

 moisture has been kept in the soil there 

 is usually no damage done. 



Damage from Early Frosts. 

 In the more elevated parts of Alberta, 

 towards the foothills and northwards, a 

 good deal of trouble has been experienc- 

 ed with early frosts. It is not so much 

 the earliness of the frost, as the- fact 



wood to ripen up before the first nip of 

 winter. On this account, also, it is well 

 in these districts to stop cultivating 

 earlier in the season than usual and it 

 should never be done after the middle of 

 July. Any weeds that may grow up 

 after that date and are likely to seed 

 may be destroyed by hand pulling. 



Irrigation. 

 Under irrigation the plantations do 

 extremely well, and, as might be expect- 

 ed, their growth is considerably greater 

 than under "dry" conditions. Care, 

 however, must be exercised to avoid 



