118 THE CANADIAN FOBESTER's , 



nately, there are very few spots fit for re-planting which 

 are utterly deprived of vegetable mould. 



Prairie soils. — The great difficulty to be overcome in 

 planting prairie-land is the want of moisture ; the soil is 

 dry and little rain falls. As a remedy, it is proposed to 

 cultivate the soil to be planted to its full depth, as I 

 have already described elsewhere. The more the land 

 is worked, the greater its power of retaining the subter- 

 ranean moisture, and the greater the ease with which it 

 seizes the moisture in the atmosphere. Spring must be 

 chosen for planting, immediately after the ground is 

 thawed, that the moistest season of the year may nourish 

 the tender plants. If, in addition to these precautions, 

 the most suitable trees are chosen for planting, success 

 may be expected. 



Experts in the States proceed as follows in making 

 plantations in the prairies of the West, and a like plan 

 is perfectly applicable to Manitoba. Eound each lot of 

 two hundred acres of land, a border, eight rods wide, is 

 planted on the north and west sides of the lot, these 

 sides being the most exposed to the predominant winds. 

 This border is, of "bourse, intended to serve as a shelter, 

 and once well- wooded, greatly aids in the cultivation of 

 the lot, at the same time affording fuel to its occupants, 

 and wood for the use of the farm, such as rails, posts, 

 etc. The species recommended for the purpose are the 

 ash, the negundo, and the indigenous conifers, which, 

 with the negundo, are probably the trees best suited to 

 this region. Poplars and willows, too, are of great service 

 in that province. 



