210 YEAKBOOK OF THE DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



disseminated the seeds from which the trees came, but man protected 

 and encouraged the growth. The natural timber of the present time 

 is, therefore, due almost entirely to his care. 



VALUE OF THE NATURAL TIMBER OF NEBRASKA. 



The value of the young timber can scarcely be overestimated. 

 Besides its beneficial climatic influence, it has great value on account 

 of the fuel and lumber it will furnish. Its economic value is empha- 

 sized by the fact that for the most part it occupies land which, on 

 account of proximity to streams and ravines, is not available for other 

 agricultural crops. 



The farm of Hon. J. Sterling Morton, 1 mile west of Nebraska 

 City, affords a notable example of the value of the natural timber 

 under a good system of management. This farm in 1855 included 56 

 acres of brush land which was of little value for agricultural crops on 

 account of the circuitous course of a small stream which penetrated 

 it. A course of thinning and improvement cutting, at once under- 

 taken and since adhered to, has for forty-five years resulted in an 

 annual product of $200 worth of firewood and posts, or a total sum 

 of $9,000. The cutting and pruning constantly improved the char- 

 acter of the timber. The trees are now better in form, stand, and 

 reproduction than at any previous time, and represent a value of 

 several thousand dollars. (See PI. XL) 



In many instances the encouragement of the natural timber has paid 

 better than planting. 



THE PLANTED TIMBER OF NEBRASKA. 



Many estimates have been made of the area of the planted timber 

 in Nebraska. Some of these are accurate to a certain degree, but they 

 do not convey a vivid impression of the actual well-planted condition 

 of the State. The fact becomes far more impressive when one passes 

 through the State and observes the almost countless groves on every 

 side. Nearly every farm has its plantations. Even these do not 

 represent the planting actually done, for unfortunately a great deal 

 of it was done wrong, and there is now little or nothing to show for 

 it. Then, in some localities there have been heavy losses on account 

 of adverse conditions of soil and moisture. Yet, in spite of losses, 

 Nebraska has over 200,000 acres of planted timber, and has honestly 

 won the title of u The tree planting State." 



While the planted timber is unequal in area to the natural timber, 

 and, as a rule, is inferior to it in thrift and quality, it has had greater 

 influence than the natural timber in changing the appearance of the 

 State from unbroken prairie to a combination of farm and woodland. 

 It has already been pointed out that the natural timber occupies the 

 low land along the streams and ravines. Looking across the country, 

 the natural timber is often entirely hidden from view, or else so 



