38 ADVICE FOR FOREST PLANTERS IN OKLAHOMA. 



The cottonwood will thrive in this region only where a constant 

 supply of ground water is within reach of its roots. 



It is generally believed that no kind of forest trees can be grown 

 successfully on the high table-lands of this region without irrigation. 

 There is no doubt that irrigation is necessary to grow trees from seed 

 in a forest nursery, but in plantation- good tillage will usually suffice. 

 It is recommended that, where possible, the young trees be irrigated 

 for several years until they have had time to develop full root systems, 

 after which the water should be gradually withdrawn and the trees 

 left to seek their own moisture. This method must be used with skill, 

 a- too much irrigation will cause the roots to grow near the surface 

 of the ground, and will render the trees less able to endure drought 

 than those grown without irrigation. 



Each of the plan- shown in tig. 7 make- an allowance for lawn. 

 garden, orchard, and forest plantation- of Prom 23 to 27 acres, which 

 area is designated a- the " farmstead.' 1 The areas devoted to forestry 

 vary from 8 to LO acres. Farmers when planning their residence 

 lots arc apt to grudge the land for garden-, lawns, and forest planta- 

 tions, forgetting that the site i- to be the home of the family, perhaps 

 for several generations, and that a large part of the comfort and 

 enjovment of life i- dependent upon the attractiveness of the farm- 

 stead. 



The woodlot- provided for each quarter section are separated from 

 the windbreak belt- by open -parr- :. rod- wide, which are intended 

 to he utilized for the growth of potatoes, melons, or similar crops. 

 The tree- adjacent to these strips will benefit by the cultivation and 

 hv the full expo-ure to light, which will cause them to grow more 

 vigorously than trees in the interior of the forest plantations, and 

 their fuller development will insure a more effective windbreak than 

 would be obtained by planting in -olid block-. 



The woodlot- may be planted with pure black locust set I by 8 feet, 

 hut i n order to secure a denser forest cover than the locust alone will 

 afford it will be better to plant a mixture of black' locust and Russian 

 mulberry or Osage orange in equal proportions, according to dia- 

 gram L2. 



Diagram 12. — Mixtun for <i woodlot on st miarid plains. 

 (Spacing V by 8'.) 



L X L X 



X L X L 



L X L X 



X L X L 

 L=Black locust. X=Russian mulberry or Osage orange. 



