278 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



large part of this timber is in the Black Hills and Turtle Mountain 

 regions, yet by no means all of it. There are strips of woodlands 

 fringing many of our streams and bordering nearly all our lakes. 

 Along the streams are found elm, ash, box elder, wild plum, wild 

 thorn apple, willow, hackberry, besides many shrubs. Many seem to 

 think that since trees do not grow naturally on the prairies, that they 

 cannot be made to grow there. With as much logic we might argue 

 that since potatoes did not grow naturally in Ireland, that potatoes 

 cannot be made to grow there, and yet potatoes grow nowhere better, 

 unless it be in Dakota. We often hear it said that the Dakota climate is 

 too dry for tree culture, but any one who will for a moment consider 

 the many vegetables grown here, will readily see that this objection 

 fails. Corn, potatoes, wheat, flax, cabbage, celery, and many other 

 vegetables grow here luxuriantly. Where there is sufficient moisture 

 for these plants to grow, there is certainly enough for the moisture of 

 forest trees. 



DAKOTA WINTERS. 



Are the winters of Dakota so severe as to kill trees? The ther- 

 mometer does not fall so low in Dakota, as it does in many places 

 where there are dense forests. It is true that many species of trees 

 will not survive our winters. It is equally true that many species of 

 both forest and fruit trees are perfectly hardy here. Trials of from 

 eight to fifteen years have proven that cottonwood, several of the 

 poplars, box elder, ash, elm, black wild cherry, pine, spruce, wild 

 plum, crab and several varieties of the Russian apple and many other 

 trees are perfectly hardy here, and, no doubt, many trees that are now 

 considered unsuited to our climate will be found to thrive here when 

 their peculiar conditions of growth are better understood. The people 

 of Dakota have great faith in forestry. Nearly every one who owns 

 land plants trees. It is now a common thing to see on farms, other 

 than tree claims, five acres of trees; and very few homesteads are en- 

 tirely destitute of them. These groves are usually composed of 

 several species, principally cottonwood, box elder, ash, and elm. 



FOREST VS. PRAIRIE SOIL. 



That many attempts at tree culture have failed cannot be denied, 

 but most, if not all the failures are due to ignorance or neglect. In 

 the forests the ground is mellow, loose, porous, and moist. As we 



