34 
mill pump to admit of flooding it occasionally during dry weather, there 
would seem to be no reason why the trees would not grow well. The 
arrival of the stock in good condition, and care in planting to protect 
the roots from drying and to set the plants firmly at the same depth 
they stood before is of great importance, for no amount of after care can 
compensate for neglect in handling. 
There are occasional years in the plains when the season is altogether 
favorable for tree culture—years of unusual rainfall and a consequently 
plentiful supply of moisture. If such seasons could be foretold no 
especial difficulty would be experienced in securing a stand of conifers. 
It was in such a season that the South Dakota planting of 1889 was 
made, of which details are given on pages 65-7. 
In dry years the difficulty of securing a good stand is greatly 
increased, and it is for this reason that a good water supply will be 
found of particular value. Having established the young seedlings in 
nursery, they can be transplanted to their permanent places from time 
to time, taking advantage of favorable conditions of weather and soil 
moisture. It will be possible for the farmer to take up the plants with 
balls of earth attached, and thus more thoroughly protect the roots 
from exposure than can be done where the trees are received from com- 
mercial growers, The method here suggested demands a great deal 
more labor than is involved in handling the common deciduous trees, 
but once a stand of evergreens is secured the grove of which they form 
a part is so much enhanced in value that the additional labor will 
prove the best possible investment. The evergreens form the ideal 
wind-break. In the margin of the plantation they carry their branches 
to the ground, thus turning the strongest winds, while everywhere 
they present a compact mass of foliage which makes them many times 
as efficient as broad-leafed trees in breaking the force of winds, espe- 
clally in winter, when there is the greatest need of protection. 
Taking no account of the labor involved, at $3 per thousand, the cost 
of stock established in the plantation, if only 25 per cent of the trees 
were saved, would be $12 per thousand. I question if the farmer lives 
in the treeless region who would not consider his farm increased many 
times $12 by the presence of a 10-acre grove in which there were 1,000 
thrifty evergreens. In point of fact, a 10-acre grove should, at the age 
of 10 years, contain at least 3,000 evergreens, and with such a stand 
there is a large margin for expense and loss between the original cost 
of the conifer stock and the actual value of the plantation. 
EXPERIMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 
Experimental tree planting in the West first received the attention 
of the Department in 1891, when an arrangement was made with Mr. 
Edgar G. Bruner by which he was furnished stock for planting three 
acres, according to plans furnished, in the Sand Hills of Holt County, 
