INVESTIGATIONS AT ARDMOEE, S. DAK. 43 



In general it may be stated that many species of trees are hardy so 

 long as available moisture is present in the soil. Going into the 

 winter dry is the most severe test for a tree. Trees that can survive 

 this condition are in a position to form part of a permanent shelter- 

 belt. Moisture is so much of a factor in hardiness, that a shelter- 

 belt holding snow has a great advantage over one not catching snow. 

 The amount of moisture above the average precipitation obtained 

 through retaining snow is a vital factor in the growth of shelterbelts. 



The losses of less hardy species sustained in the shelterbelts at 

 Ardmore might lead one to believe that shelterbelts are not a success. 

 This is not true. The trees remaining in the shelterbelts at Ardmore 

 serve their purpose in holding snow away from the buildings. The 

 shelterbelt as a whole greatly improves the appearance of the farm 

 and makes it a more pleasant place to live. For the sole purpose 

 of catching snow, a shelterbelt pays for its upkeep. In adding to the 

 appearance of a farm and as an aid in making a farm a real home, 

 the shelterbelt has a value that cannot be measured. Results from 

 experiments with shelterbelt plantings should enable farmers to avoid 

 costly mistakes in establishing them. 



FARM ORCHARD INVESTIGATIONS 



Plantings of fruit trees were made at different times following 

 the establishment of the shelterbelt. Severe rabbit injury caused the 

 loss of many trees, and in the spring of 1927 not over a 15-percent 

 stand of trees remained in the orchard. Replacements of all dead 

 trees were made in the spring of 1927, and the orchard and shelter- 

 belt were surrounded with a rabbit-proof fence. There was no fur- 

 ther rabbit injury, as the few rabbits that made their way into the 

 enclosure were easily removed. Some of the less hardy varieties of 

 trees died each year, and replacements with hardier varieties were 

 made each year until 1931. By 1931 the roots of the older trees occu- 

 pied the soil so completely that newly planted trees had little chance 

 of surviving. 



The trees have not reached a condition where moisture shortage 

 plays a part in determining hardiness. The wide spacing and clean 

 cultivation practiced in the orchard should indefinitely postpone the 

 reaching of such a condition. Fruit trees need moisture for the pro- 

 duction of fruit, and ample room, combined with freedom from weed 

 competition, appears to be essential to successful fruit growing. 



The greater proportion of the fruit trees in the station orchard 

 was procured from the United States Northern Great Plains Field 

 Station, Mandan, N. Dak. Selection of varieties for Ardmore was 

 based largely on results at Mandan. Detailed reports on the hardi- 

 ness and quality of different species of fruit trees for the section are 

 contained in Farmers' Bulletin 1522. 3 This bulletin also gives in- 

 formation on selection of site, care of trees, planting, spacing, and 

 pruning. 



No extensive variety test of fruit trees was made at Ardmore, but 

 the varieties that are still growing well in the orchard appear to 

 have the hardiness necessary in this section. The less adapted varie- 



3 Baird, W. P. the home fruit garden on the northern great plains. U. S. 

 Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bull. 1522, 49 pp., illus. 1927. 



