120 TREE-PLANTING BY RAILROAD COMPANIES. . 



disappeared. The results prove nothing beyond the fact that nurseries 

 must be cultivated, and cared for, if we would have them succeed. 

 From two reports of the ageut before us, we find but few results worthy 

 of record, as they are mostly occupied with statements of plans. Unfa- 

 vorable opinions are expressed with regard to the chestnut, larch, pop- 

 lars, Osage orange, willows, silver maple, Norway spruce, and in fact 

 most of the evergreens, excepting the red cedar and possibly the Aus- 

 trian and Scotch pines. The black walnut was regarded as doubtful, 

 and the best prospects of success depended upon the cotton wood, ash, 

 box-elder, elms, catalpa, and honey-locust; but the trial was not con- 

 tinued long enough to fairly determine their actual or comparative 

 merits. The experiments were discontinued, not from discouragement 

 or failures in cultivation, and are claimed to have been satisfactory so 

 far as they were carried. 



The Missouri Kiver, Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad Company were in 

 May, 1877, preparing to plant IGO acres at Dry Wood water-station, 

 for timber growth. Of this amount 10 acres were to be in locust, 10 in 

 black walnut, 70 in catalpa, and 70 in Osage orange. 



The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company of NehrasJca, at 

 the close of 1875, reported that from 1872 it had planted the north 

 sides of the shallow cuttings at intervals along the road west of Lincoln 

 to the Platte River at Kearney, the ground broken for the purpose, 

 comprising 186 acres, and the length of the plats being 28j miles; 

 460,000 trees were i)lanted in 7 rows, the north row being honey-lo- 

 cust for hedge. The other six rows were 7 feet apart, and the kinds 

 used were soft maple, box-elder, sugar-maple, white elm, laurel-leaved 

 willow, Cottonwood, and evergreens. The ground was well culti- 

 vated, and in the fall of 1873, the following percentages of thrifty life 

 were found : ash, 98f ; honey-locust and box-elder, 92 ; soft maple, 88 ; 

 evergreens, 81 ; and willow and cottonwood, 75. The ground was often 

 unfavorable, being the highest points of the prairie table-land, often 

 clay from the cuts, and the banks slacked down exposing the roots. 

 The large failure of evergreens was attributed to the use of 8,000 Nor- 

 way spruce, which, having never been transplanted, were too weak for 

 the raw soil and exposed location. In 1874, the vacancies were filled 

 with one-year-old native green ash, but an unfavorable season caused 

 some loss. In 1875, the trees made a remarkable growth — cottonwood, 

 6 feet ; willows, 4 to 8, and the honey-locust hedge, having been twice cut 

 back to thicken up, was 5 feet high. The evergreens were well estab- 

 lished ; in many places the trees were high and thick enough for efficient 

 snow-breaks.^ 



Northern Pacific Railroad. — ^The land department of this road has an 

 experimental station of forty acres for tree-planting at Casselton, in 

 Dakota, twenty miles west of Fargo. The kinds under cultivation are 

 cottonwood, Lombardy poplar, ash, soft maple, box-elder, white willow, 

 &c. The experiment has been two years in progress, with encouraging 

 prospects. 



The Saint Paul and Sioux City Railroad, southwest from Mankato, runs 

 through a prairie country, where tree-planting has been attempted to 

 some extent, and with good success. In 1873 this company, under the 



^Mr. E. F. Stephens of Crete, Nebr., who had charge of the work, regards the ex- 

 periment a success; but if the work were to be done again he would conliue himself 

 exclusively to native trees, and plant black walnuts. He regards evergreens as re- 

 liable growers, and has 3,000 on his grounds, which ho managed as well as deciduous 

 trees.— (I^-ans. Nebr. St. Hort. Soc, 1877, p. 82.) 



