NORTH DAKOTA 



NORTH DAKOTA 



1095 



per cent on the average, with many samples giving as 

 high as .30 per cent. 



General Climatic Condition*. The winters are cold 

 but dry and agreeable. An occasional winter with too 

 much sunshine kills young trees of the thin-barked va- 

 rieties through the process of desiccation. 



The springs are short, the warm days of summer com- 

 ing very soon after winter and some time before the frost 

 is out of the ground. In summer the days are long and 

 sunny, with nights invariably 

 cool." This condition gives the 

 most perfect development of 

 hardy vegetables, like the cab- 

 bage and celery, but retards 

 the cucurbits and other semi- 

 tropical species. At the same 

 time, the fruit that does mature 

 is of undoubtedly high quality 

 and rich flavor, while the sugar 

 beet and sweet corn give a very 

 high sugar content. 



The fall is usually dry and 

 very pleasant, favorable to the 

 maturing of woody plants, but 

 rather liable to frosts. The 

 ground freezes permanently 

 about November 10. 



Fruit-growing. General set- 

 tlement of what is now North 

 Dakota did not begin till the 

 building of the first railroad in 

 1873, and any effort to grow 

 fruit has been made since that 

 time. In 1874 Andrew McHench, 

 of Fargo, made the first attempt 

 at fruit-growing upon any ex- 

 tended scale. In that year he 

 bought, at a nursery in Minne- 

 apolis, a car-load of young apple 

 and crab trees of such varieties 

 as the Wealthy, Hyslop, Trans- 

 cendent, etc., and the year fol- 

 lowing planted 7,500 root-grafts of these and other varie- 

 ties. Though Mr. McHench obtained some fruit and at 

 different times grew trees that were models of thrift 

 and fruitfulness, yet the venture was not a success. 



The varieties that successfully resisted the cold win- 

 ters succumbed to the blight (Bacillus amylovorus) 

 shortly after they came into bearing. Other attempts by 

 different men made along the Red river valley since then 

 have resulted similarly. In other sections of the state, 

 particularly the Missouri slope, experiments in apple- 

 growing have been more successful, this being due espe- 

 cially to less prevalence of blight. It is rather early to 

 make the prophecy, but it seems reasonable that with 

 irrigation the southwestern part of the state will, in 

 time, become the apple region. Even without irrigation 

 there are already indications of success. 



The strawberry does not thrive in the strong sunshine 

 and winds of North Dakota, and the blackberry finds the 

 winters too cold, but gooseberries and currants grow and 

 bear well anywhere and the hardy varieties of the rasp- 

 berry thrive with winter protection. Grapes have never 

 been thoroughly tried, but it is doubtful if their cultiva- 

 tion ever becomes general. 



Vegetable Culture. There are but few vegetables that 

 cannot be produced abundantly and cheaply. This is 

 particularly true of celery, onions, parsnips, etc., that 

 require a deep, mellow soil. The season is long enough 

 for the earlier sorts of corn, but tomatoes do not always 

 ripen before frost. The ease with which the soil is worked 

 and the fact that no fertilizer is required reduces the 

 cost of production to the minimum. 



The Flora. So far as collected, the flora of North 

 Dakota includes about 600 spermaphytes and vascular 

 cryptogams running through 80 families. The grass 

 family is by far the prevailing one, though the compos- 

 ites present the largest number of species. About 85 

 grasses have already been collected. Forests are found 

 only along streams and in the broken areas south of 

 Devil's Lake and in the Turtle and Pembina mountains. 

 The number of species of trees is very limited. The 

 more prominent of the trees as regards distribution and 



size are the bur oak and white elm in the eastern part 

 of the state, and cottonwood and green ash in the western. 

 The box elder, linden, aspen and hackberry are about the 

 only other trees commonly found. The red cedar is found 

 to some extent along the Little Missouri. In establish- 

 ing tree plantations, the white ash, white willow, box 

 elder and cottonwood are the trees usually employed. 

 With reasonable cultivation it is not difficult to obtain a 

 thrifty, rapid growth of these. In proportion to the trees 



4-9" 



8* 



1494. North Dakota, to show some of the physiographical features. 



the number of shrubs is large and, besides several of the 

 commoner kinds of the Middle States, includes such 

 striking species as ShepJierdia argentea and Elceagnus 

 argentea. Rosa blanda is found everywhere in great 

 profusion, exhibiting a variety of exquisite colorings. 

 Aside from the grasses the composite are most in evi- 

 dence, and throughout the summer and fall the bright 

 colors of Gaillardia, Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Liatris, sun- 

 flowers and asters make a profusion of gaiety. The 

 legumes, too, are very common, the bright Petalostemons 

 and Astragalus adding much to the showiness and rich- 

 ness of the landscape. The high nitrogen content of the 

 soil is probably due in large measure to the prevalence 

 of the Amorphas and vetches. The prairie fires that 

 swept over the state annually for many hundred years 

 have doubtless greatly modified the flora. As a result, 

 the indigenous flora had very few annuals or plants with 

 perennial tops, and these only in broken places, or along 

 streams where the fires did not penetrate. In the west- 

 ern part of the state insufficient moisture would account 

 for lack of forests. The remains of large trees in pet- 

 refactions and lignite deposits tell us that in cretaceous 

 times the conifers found a most congenial home, while 

 towards the tertiary period the angiosperms appeared. 



Native Fruits. While the wild fruits occupy an in- 

 considerable portion of the total area of the state, yet 

 they are important in that they furnish thousands of 

 families with their yearly supply of jellies and other 

 fruit products. A list of the wild fruits in order of their 

 importance would be about as follows: plum, buffalo 

 berry (Shepherdia argentea ), cherry (Prumis demissa), 

 grape ( Vitis vulpina) and Juneberry ( Antelanchier 

 alnifolia). The red raspberry and strawberry are also 

 found sparingly. The only plum in the state is P. 

 Americana, and this is found wherever other trees or 

 shrubs grow. It is sometimes confined to thickets, as in 

 the Middle States, or it may be scattered for miles along 

 with the thorn and Juneberry. It is strongly variable 

 in almost every character except fruitfulness, all forms 

 being decidedly prolific. The shrub rarely grows more 

 than 8 feet high. The fruit generally is of good quality, 



