ig pea FORESTRY OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 
the government, and standing in the same relation to it that the gradu- 
ates of West Point and Annapolis do, competent, faithful, and fond of 
their work of preserving to the government and people of the United 
States a domain greater in value than all its mines of silver and gold. 
To raise up this class, there should be established such a number of 
national schools of forestry as may be found necessary, care being taken 
that the schools are distributed in the different sections of the Union ae- 
cording to climatic division and the character of their natural forests, 
as, for instance, the white-pine regions, the southern pine and cypress 
country, the regions where the walnut, maple, elm, and deciduous trees 
are the prevalent growth, and the high prairies and treeless plains and 
mountain slopes where, most of all, the forester is to find work. } 
SCHOOLS OF FORESTRY AND EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 
Attached to each of these schools there should be an experimental 
farm, where every tree. known to the United States should be planted, 
and in certain localities, as determined by their natural dryness and 
altitude, the methods of irrigation as applied to forest culture should 
be thoroughly tested. 
With these two questions of reforesting the plains—we use the word 
-reforesting because it seems evident that forests once grew on the 
plains—and also of the possibilities and value of irrigation to be deter- 
mined, the suggestion has been made to the writer that the general 
government should in some manner establish a series of experiments, 
or rather a,ccntinuous test, to scientifically settle the matter. Given a 
treeless region, eight hundred miles long and three hundred wide, to 
be reforested, largely by means of irrigation, there should be, in the 
opinion of thousands of intelligent people, some point selected where on 
an extensive scale trees may be planted, the different systems of irriga- 
tion applied, and results noted, and this through a series of years. This 
would settle, perhaps, that in some districts, generally embraced in the 
arid region trees may be grown without irrigation. This is the opinion 
of Mr. D. 8. Grimes, of Denver, a gentleman of vast experience. Mr. 
Grimes believes that trees planted in ‘“‘dead furrows” and mulched will 
in four years shade the ground sufficiently for their own protection. 
This theory might with others be tested to the great benefit of all con- 
eerned. In the Western country individual scientific interest combined 
with munificence cannot be relied upon to establish and maintain such 
an institution as a school of forestry and experimental farms. The 
land-grant railroad companies may in time plant forests to test the 
capability of their lands or to raise trees for their own use, but they 
have no interest in educating foresters. . The States, with their agricul- 
tural colleges, have no sufficient facilities. It seems, then, that the 
general government should enter upon the work. The Government of 
the United States, acting for the people, has the greatest interest. In 
years past it has expended millionsin the exploration of this vast domain. 
