SOIL CULTURE, CEREALS AXD FRUITS. 33 



have not been a success generally. It seems to be a very difficult matte* . u grow any 

 other evergreen than the white spruce in the North-west. That is native ii\* ome parts 

 of the country and can be transplanted without much difficulty. We have not found 

 any of the European evergreens entirely hardy there in the open, but, when shelter is 

 provided by the growth of native trees, the Scotch pine and Norway spruce will 

 sometimes succeed. The Manitoba maple or box-elder is now very generally dis- 

 tributed. There is scarcely a farmer in the West who has not his little plot of trees, 

 some five or six years old, some younger. These plantations furnish more or less 

 shelter for the buildings and stock and for the growing of garden vegetables, small 

 fruits and flowers, and at the same time make the dwellings of the settlers more 

 attractive and homelike. Since experience has shown that the box-elder, the tree 

 most used in this distribution, grows rapidly and begins to produce seed when about 

 six or seven years old, a very large number of the seeds distributed during the 

 earlier years must have reached seed bearing age and the quantity of seed convenient 

 and available will now be greatly increased from year to year, and thus an immense 

 impetus given to tree growing on the western plains. On the experimental farms 

 at Brandon and Indian Head large supplies of seed are now ripened every year, 

 sufficient to provide for an extensive distribution every season. 



Tree planting is a very important question for the North-west country, and I 

 believe that every ett'ort should be made to assist settlers in their efforts to provide 

 shelter for their homes and to make them more attractive. 



By Mr. Wilson ; 



Q. You have done well to bring up this important matter. I am sorry none of 

 the representatives from the North-west are present. 



COST PER ACRE OF GROWING FOREST TREES. 



By Mr. Erb : 



Q. Before leaving the tree question, have you any figures to show the cost per 

 acre up to the present of the tree planting on any of the farms ? 



A. We have kept an account of the cost of planting per acre and of cultivating 

 until the trees were large enough to shade the ground so as to prevent weeds from 

 growing, and hence need no further care at the branch farm at Brandon, Man., where 

 it has cost $16.25, also at Indian Head, N.W.T., where it has cost from $12 to $18 

 per acre, varying with the kind of trees used and the distance at which they were 

 planted. 



By Mr. Wilson : 



Q. Do you bestow any labour on the trees after planting them ? 



A. Wo use a horse cultivator between the rows — that is generally done twice 

 each season — and have also to do a little hoeing. As a rule, by the time the 

 trees are four or five years planted they shade the ground so completely as to 

 require no further care. 



METHODS OF PLANTING. 



By Mr. Calvert 



Q. Did I understand that vou planted the trees five feet apart ? 



A. Yes, usually five feet apart each way. 



Q. How many rows do you usually put in your shelter belts ? 



A. At Indian Head it is 20 rows, that is 100 feet in width ; this runs all along 



the north and west, borders. On the east we have a hedge where the trees are 



growing close together. This has been produced by sowing a single row of tree seed 



and the seedlings are allowed to grow thickly. In this way a hedge is soon formed 



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