FORESTRY IN DAKOTA. 279 



walk among the trees the soil yields beneath our feet like a cushion. 

 The seed as it drops to the earth finds a most congenial bed. There 

 is moisture, warmth, and protection from the sun. As the root be- 

 gins to develop it finds but little resistance to its downward progress, 

 and it goes deep down into the soil beyond the reach of frost and 

 drought. On the prairies of Dakota all these conditions are reversed, 

 the soil, though deep and rich, is hard and dry, very much resembling 

 a road bed on compactable soil. When the prairies are broken, the 

 plow is run very shallow, not deeper than three inches, and the aver- 

 age Dakota farmer seldom plows much deeper than the original break- 

 ing. The young tree, whether from seed, from cuttings, or from the 

 nursery, finds the downward progress of its roots soon stopped by the 

 hard, compact soil. The roots spread out beneath the surface, ex- 

 posed to the heat from the sun, to drouth, and to the frosts of win- 

 ter. Trees planted in the soil thus poorly prepared die or make a 

 feeble growth. If they survive the first summer and winter they are 

 often left entirely to themselves the next season ; quack grass takes 

 possession of the soil, completing their destruction ; and the ignorant 

 or lazy farmer says trees will not grow in Dakota. On his way to 

 market he may drive past half a dozen groves of thrifty trees, but 

 does not trouble himself to learn the secret of his neighbor's success. 

 To secure the best results from timber culture on prairies, the ground 

 should be tilled for several years before trees are planted, — each time 

 running the plow deeper until the soil is thoroughly pulverized to the 

 depth of twelve inches. I would not convey the idea that a set- 

 tler should plant no trees until he had worked his ground two or three 

 years. Plant a few trees as soon as possible. A hoed crop should 

 precede tree planting, leaving the ground free from weeds. Great care 

 should be taken that no quack grasses (Agropyrum repens) be in the 

 soil. Fall plowing is much better than spring plowing for trees, be- 

 cause it leaves the surface uneven to catch the drifting snow, and the 

 ground in the best possible condition to absorb the water from melting 

 snow and spring rains. Our subsoil is of such a nature that it holds 

 water almost like a reservoir. On ground that has been plowed 

 deep in fall, and was well cultivated the following summer, there is 

 little clanger of drought, provided there be sufficient snow in winter 

 and spring to thoroughly saturate the subsoil. 



