TREE TOPICS. 155 



TEEE TOPICS. 



FEOM THE NESS CITY (KAS.) TIMES. 



Being a brief account of the forestry meeting held at Ness City, Kansas, February 

 13, 1890, conducted by Hon. Martin Allen, state forester, Hays City, Kansas. 



As previously announced Martin Allen met our people here on the 

 13th inst. to discuss the question of tree growing. He was greeted 

 by a good sized audience, many being present from distant parts of 

 the country, but for the benefit of those unable to attend we publish a 

 part of the proceedings. 



On motion, R. B. Linville was elected chairman and Frank Morey 

 secretary. 



Mr. Allen is one of the u old timers " and began his address by 

 quoting several early reminiscences. He was at Fort Hays in its in- 

 fancy when a dispatch was received announcing the murder of the 

 Jordan family on the Walnut. Xess county was unknown at that 

 time. He said we often complained of drouth but even the eastern 

 part of the state had known a worse drouth than we had ever had. 

 In 1859 he had seen eastern Kansas for one and one-half years so dry 

 that the ground was not wet one-half inch in depth. 



An interesting paper, entitled " Firewood for the Plains," was next 

 read, in which the lecturer stated that by the "Plains" he meant that 

 scope of country between Fort Hays on the east (where there were 

 still 100 acres of natural [forest standing) and the Pocky mountains 

 on the west, and extending north to the British possessions, and to the 

 Gulf of Mexico on the south. About 24,000 square miles of this 

 country were situated in western Kansas. If all the timber in this 

 area was cut and equally distributed among each family there would 

 not be enough fuel to last three days in winter time. The question 

 then, what shall we do for firewood? was a very serious one. The 

 economical methods of the Russians of Ellis county in burning straw 

 in clay ovens was described and the merits of cornstalks, willows, and 

 surface coal was discussed, not forgetting the fact that the best natural 

 kindling that we have is the fine limbs of the peach tree which have 



