47 
THE NATURAL OBSTACLES. 
The man who removes froffi any of the Eastern States or Canada to the treeless 
plains of Dakota and imagines that it is an easy matter to raise trees will be very 
much disappointedand perhaps disheartened before he cuts his own firewood or fences 
his fields with posts grown under his own eye. Nothing turns out as he anticipates. 
His experience in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin goes for naught. There is some- 
thing in the soil or in the climate or in both combined that seems adverse to 
tree culture, and his earlier efforts only convince him that there is ‘‘no excellence 
without great labor.” The same care and industry that produce a grove of trees in 
Illinois or Iowa 20 feet high in 10 years will often do very little towards that result 
in Dakota. One old squatter once said to the writer that ‘‘ tryin’ to raise trees on 
these prairies is agin natur,” and added that ‘“‘if natur intended trees to grow here 
they would have been here before the country was settled.” The answer was made 
that the same might be said with equal truth as to the growing of wheat. 
My first attempt at tree-raising was on a piece of ground that had produced two 
crops of wheat, and it was prepared by a thorough plowing 8 inches deep. Then it 
was marked out 4 feet apart each way with a corn-marker and planted with box 
elder tree seeds, the work being done about the middle of October, I had no expe- 
rience in the business, neither had my neighbors, so I struck out by guess and planted 
the seeds 2 inches deep, or about the depth that corn is usually planted. This was 
my first mistake, and it is sufficient to say that I never saw the sign of a tree on the 
3 acres thus planted. I suspect that poor seed had something to do with it, but sub- 
sequent experiments convinced me that very few tree seeds of any kind will germi- 
nate if buried at a depth of 2 inches. In the woods, of the very few seeds that sprout 
of the millions that fall to the ground each season, they get but a very slight cover- 
ing, consisting of a few wet leaves or a little dust blown over them by the wind. My 
only success has been with the slightest covering that it was possible to make. One 
planting that I made I instructed the men to use no hoes, but simply cover the seeds 
with a little dirt drawn over them with the foot. They were instructed to cover as 
shallow as possible, and on the ground thus planted I had the best stand of trees. 
So far as seeds are concerned their use is undoubtedly the cheapest for the farmer on 
the start in helping him to keep within the requirements of the law, but with the 
general average of people I incline most decidedly to the opinion that cuttings or 
small trees are the best and most economical in the long run. ' 
Tt is still a dispute concerning the length of time that tree seeds will retain their 
vitality, but I would not plant seeds that were more than a year old. By far the 
safest way is to gather the seeds as soon as ripe and plant them at once, or at least 
before the ground freezes. Large amounts of box elder and white ash seeds, the two 
most common varieties that are used on tree claims in the two Dakotas, have been 
sold to planters after having been kicked about the nurseries and seed stores for 
years; and to this cause alone many failures may fairly be attributed. 
Here, for example, is a man who has put off planting until the last moment; he 
must plant at once or his claim is liable to be contested on account of his failing to 
comply with the law, so he buys the first seeds he can lay his hands on, summons his 
neighbors, and plants his 5 acres of trees. He may know or suspect that the seeds 
are worthless and that he is throwing away his work, but he is complying with the 
law (apparently), and his neighbors who help him do the planting are all ready to 
swear that they are witnesses of the fact and aided in doing the work. He may 
never see a tree, but his claim is safe from the grasp of those who are land hungry, 
and he can get the time extended ‘on account of the drought,” or any other alleged 
misfortune. 
If the planter will take proper care of his young trees and cultivate them as he 
ought the use of seeds is undoubtedly the best plan, as the loss of about 1 year in 
their growth from transplanting is obviated; but the ordinary farmer usually has 
his hands so full of other work which can not be postponed that the trees are neg- 
