322 Division of Forestry. [Bull. 165 



reached an average diameter of two inches at the ground and 

 an average height of twelve feet. Some careful thinning would 

 make this a very handsome grove in a few years' time. 



The value of this planting of the seeds where the trees are 

 to stand has been noted in Bulletin 120 of the Kansas Experi- 

 ment Station, and for the more trying conditions of western 

 Kansas it is especially recommended. All the nut trees form 

 very strong tap roots. In the forest tree nursery work of the 

 Kansas Experiment Station seedlings of hickory have been 

 noted as making during the first season's growth a height of 

 six inches, while the root reached a depth of thirty-six inches. 

 With such habits of growth it is small wonder that the trans- 

 planting of these trees when they have attained a height of 

 four or five feet usually results in failure and disappoint- 

 ment. Unless the tap root is cut and the formation of lateral 

 roots induced while the tree is very young, it is useless to at- 

 tempt to transplant a nut tree by ordinary methods. 



A few miles north of Plainville, in Rooks county, is a plant- 

 ing of bur oak which is making an admirable fight against 

 the encroachment of the prairie. Their vigor is doubtless due 

 to the fact that their tap roots have reached deep down into 

 the soil and are able to supply the tops with sufficient moisture 

 to endure any degree of drought. 



HACKBERRY. 



The hackberry has not been very extensively planted, but the 

 few trees at Ogallah sustain the reputation of the species for 

 hardiness and vigor. These trees show a wide variation in 

 form, some showing the symmetry and vigor of the eastern 

 form, while others have the dwarfed appearance often noted 

 in the hackberry trees in canyons of southwestern Kansas and 

 northwestern Oklahoma. The eastern form seems not less suc- 

 cessful than the western, the best trees measuring sixteen feet 

 high and four inches in diameter, while the best of the western 

 form are but twelve feet high and three and a half inches in 

 diameter. The success of this species has been so general that 

 it is quite certain that its planting will prove satisfactory and 

 profitable. 



ELM. 



The white or American elm is generally hardy and its suc- 

 cess has been very general. Its rate of growth is not rapid, 

 but regular, and the adaptability of the species to conditions is 



