soft maple and on the other by ash and oleaster. For the 

 last ten years they have really needed no protection. Where 

 the Norway spruce can be readily started and grown, as among 

 the fruit growers of the eastern states, it is the most popular 

 windbreak, since a single row is more effective than three or 

 four row r s of deciduous trees. 



The western yellow or bull pine, known to botanists as 

 Pinus ponderosa, is doubtless the one evergreen destined to 

 be planted largely in North Dakota for windbreaks. This 

 tree grows wild in the southwestern part of the state, where 

 it attains a height of from fifty to seventy feet and a diameter 

 of two and one-half feet. It is native also over most of Mon- 

 tana and the entire Rocky Mountain region. In the most 

 favored locations it attains a height of over two hundred feet 

 and a diameter of eight feet. This tree is characterized by 

 its remarkably dense, heavy growth. The leaves or "needles" 

 are very thick and firm and about six inches long, giving it 

 a luxuriant appearance such as is ordinarily possessed by only 

 tropical plants. 



It is noted for its ability to grow in very dry locations 

 having great extremes in temperature. It is said to require 

 only one-sixth as much moisture as the average deciduous 

 tree of the same size. A branch collected in the western part 

 of the state a week ago is still lying upon the writer's desk 

 and tho the temperature of the office has averaged about 

 ninety degrees the pine shows no more signs of wilting than 

 does the whisk-broom beside it. 



In starting this tree, small plants not more than a foot 

 in height and not over four years old should be used. They 

 should be shaded the first year or two and mulched. Cover- 

 ing the entire plant with a light mulch the first winter is good 

 practice. It is best also to plant them on the north of box- 

 elders that will be removed later. When once they are es- 

 tablished they will thrive where most other trees would perish. 



The jack pine, which grows so widely over barren lands in 

 Wisconsin and Minnesota and on east to the Atlantic, is a 

 rapid growing tree when young, perfectly hardy and content 

 to grow in any kind of soil. It never makes a large tree, but 

 is of recognized value for windbreaks, especially on light, 

 sandy soil where few other trees will grow. The other pines 

 which we have tried are not so reliable as the two mentioned. 



