THE TIMBER CULTURE LAW. 151 



A grove of ash, catalpa, and black locust makes as valuable one as 

 we could possibly plant. 



For wind-breaks there is nothing better than red cedar and Scotcli 

 pine, and most farmers can aiford money enough to plant a good ev- 

 ergreen wind-break. The Russian mulberry make a good wind-break, 

 too, and if properly trimmed can be trained into a fine ornamental 

 hedge. 



The elm is a good tree, but ash covers all the elm's good qualities. 



There has been much ado made over the black walnut, but I don't 

 think many of us will get much good from the ones we set out. A 

 man should be very young to reap much benefit from black walnut 

 of his own planting, especially if grown on upland. It is a gross 

 feeder, requires much moisture, and is a slow grower away from the 

 bottom land. 



DISCUSSION. 



President — I have an anonymous article here purporting to have 

 been clipped from the Baraboo (Wis.) Republic, and which has been 

 sent to nearly every person in this state who is interested in forestry. 

 It claims that the present timber culture laws work a hardship on the 

 settler by compelling him to raise ten acres of trees in order to obtain 

 title to 160 acres of land, and this in regions where it is impossible 

 to do so. And the western congressmen are asked to use every pos- 

 sible means to have the present law repealed and a substitute passed, 

 allowing the present timber claimants to pay for their land in the 

 same way that homesteads are now commuted. Mr. Stephens has 

 prepared an article defending the present law, and will now read it 

 to you. 



THE TIMBER CULTURE LAW. 



G. J. Carpenter, Secretary of the Nebraska Horticultural Society : 

 Dear Sir — Replying to yours of January suggesting that I write 

 something in answer to an article which appeared in the Baraboo 

 (Wis.) Republic of December 18, urging the repeal of the timber cult- 

 ure law, on the ground that over a very considerable area of the 

 Dakotas and other states and territories it was practically impossible 

 to raise trees, and that those who had entered timber claims were 

 obliged to perform the impossible; it seems to me that for some years 



