FORESTRY OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 21 
a vate, protect, and maintain 16 acres of timber across either the entire north or South 
Nae side of said- quarter section, The planting I would require to be done.in the follow- 
b ing manner, viz: Previous to the first day of June next succeeding said homestead 
entry, he should break across the entire north or south side of each quarter section 
~ not less than four acres. And previous to the first day of each succeeding June, for 
_ three consecutive years thereafter, 4 acres more, or until 16 acres are broken. The 
first 4 acres should be planted within two years, or the second spring after he land 
is broken, and 4 acres more planted annually thereafter until the 16 acres are all 
planted. The land should be thoroughly cultivated the year previous to planting, 
and each succeeding year, till the trees are at least six years old. I would make the 
cultivation of the land thus granted, other than the 16 acres above specified, entirely 
optional with the grantee, but would require an actual residenceon the land, which 
the timber-culture act does not. ; 
S. M. Emery, of Lake City, Minn., says: 
My personal observation in tree-planting has, in the main, been confined tothe portion 
of the West containedin Western Minnesota, Northern Jowa,aud Eastern Dakota, where 
many farms have been taken under the timber-culture act. These apparently have 
not always been successful in the production of timber, not from any constitutional 
difficulty in the soil but from force of circumstances, and these mostly arise from the 
_ inability of the pioneer settler to obtain snitable stock for planting, the lack of 
_ knowledge as to culture, and lack of means to give the land suitable cultivation. I 
have seen some very fine groves of artificial timber, mainly white willow and cotton- 
_ wood. Thereis nothing inthe working of the law that prevents the growth of tim- 
ber. Land well broken and backset the first season, cropped to flax the second season, 
this cut, and the land plowed and harrowed thoroughly in the fall, immediately after 
harvest and then planted to either box elder seed or hardy seedlings; and then the 
a same care given the crop that a good crop of corn should receive, will surely produce 
_ a magnificent growth of trees. This I know for a personal fact, having had the 
Management of five timber claims aside from my own. The number of claimants 
who have proved up is small beyond doubt, as it is nok a law of long standing. 
_. That there are frauds under the law we do not doubt, but it is fashionable now- 
_ adaystodothis. If millions of acres of valuable pine timber can be stolen under the 
_ pre-emption act, it would not be strange if fraudulent proofs may be made on timber 
“claims. I have thought much over the best way for government to manage the tim- 
ber claim filings. It does not seem right-for a man to cover 160 acres for three years, 
: then relinquish to some other party who can do the same thing, and thus indefinitely 
- cover and hold apiece of land. Again, the law is much abused in the pianting of 
seed. It would seem advisable to me that a claimant in case of contest for non-com- 
£ pliance with the law, who should base his defense on having planted seed which did 
_ not germinate, should be made to show by at least four witnesses of unimpeachable 
veracity, that the seeds were actually planted and that a series of as formidable ques- 
tions and answers as are needed for proof paper should be used to prove his. defense. 
¥ _ This would work no injury to innocent parties, and would certainly have the ettect 
- of making men careful. I think the law should plainly state that 27,000 trees should 
- be planted on 10 acres in rows eight feet apart, trees two feet apart in the rows: This 
will admit of crop cultivation in half the soil and will leave trees in better shape for 
trimming. I think an annual cultivation should be required, for at least six years of 
the eight. It might be worthy of consideration, the idea of allowing a man to com- 
mute at the end of the fourth year from filing, provided he can prove the existence 
of 625 good trees on each of 10 acres by payment of $1.25 per acre. The effect of all 
this would be to open up that much more land. Of course no purchaser would de- 
_stroy so valuable a property as 10 acres of growing timber. * * * Iam sanguine 
_ that we will yet see our bleak prairies dotted with noble clumps of timber, the result 
of the act. 
‘ 
Pa 
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