QUARTERLY BULLETIN 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL FOR TREE PLANTING. 



Ground should be well tilled before planting to trees. The essential 

 conditions of a forest should be reproduced as nearly as possible. The 

 prairie gives us a tough, compact sod with the under ground stems of the 

 native prairie grasses holding the dirt in an almost solid mass. Beneath 

 the sod the subsoil is generally packed so hard that tree roots cannot make 

 their way through it. In the forest we find the soil loose to a depth of 

 many inches at least, and in most cases to a depth of several feet. In the 

 forest we find a mass of decaying leaf mold on top and a sub-soil made 

 porous by the growth and decay of the tree roots. Thus, it is easy to see, 

 that the first great work in raising trees is to properly prepare the soil. 



Land that has been under cultivation for a year or more is best. 

 This should be plowed to a depth of eighteen or twenty inches. The 

 growing of potatoes or corn the year previous to planting trees is a good 

 method. This insures thorough cultivation and eliminates the weeds. 

 After digging the potatoes or harvesting the corn, plow the land to the depth 

 indicated and then harrow to establish a mulch. Care should be taken not to 

 establish a dust mulch, the evil effects of which are now well known. 



Land upon which grain has been raised is not so well suited because 

 the stubble tends to hold up the dirt and cause spaces in the soil. If care 

 is not taken to fill these, the roots of the trees will dry out causing injury 

 to the trees, at least, if it does not kill them. 



The spring in which the planting is to be done, the soil should be 

 kept in condition by harrowing or discing. Manure may be added to the 

 land the year before the trees are planted, if conditions are such that it 

 is needed. However, trees rarely need any added fertility, and in many 

 cases it is an actual injury to them. 



Summer fallowing leaves the ground in good condition. This is 

 advisable when the ground is stony, hard, or when foul with weeds, or 

 where the soil has been injured by plowing or discing when too wet. If 

 the land has been well farmed there is no need of summer fallowing. 



Where the land is very heavy, as gumbo, the physical texture of the 

 soil may be very much improved by spreading straw over it and having 

 it tramped in by stock. This will make the soil more porous and will suit 

 trees much better. 



Prairie sod needs careful preparation for at least one year before 

 trees are planted in it. Early in the spring break to a depth of about two 

 inches. Turn the sod completely over and roll if necessary. In six or 

 eight weeks the sod will be sufficiently rotted to backset. In back-setting 

 plow at least five inches deep. Immediately disc or harrow the ground 

 as often as is necessary, to bring the soil into very fine particles. In the 

 fall plow to a depth of eighteen or twenty inches. The next spring if the 

 above treatment, which in most cases will be sufficient, has not put the 

 ground in a good friable condition, plant it to some root crop which will 

 insure constant cultivation and wait until the following spring to plant the 

 trees. Nothing will be gained by planting trees in poorly prepared soil. 



