APPLES 179 
tiveness in checking the velocity of the 
wind, value as timber, longevity, difficulty 
in starting, inclination to harbor orchard 
pests, habits of encroachment upon the 
areas protected, etc. Few trees meet all 
of these requirements. When a single va- 
riety is planted few trees are as effective 
as the poplars, especially the Lombardy 
poplar. They develop rapidly, branch 
from the ground up, and make a very 
efficient windbreak when planted close to- 
gether. A very effective windbreak can 
be made by planting the black locust and 
the Russian artemisia together in the 
same row. The locust should be set about 
eight feet apart in the row. The timber 
of the locust makes valuable fence posts. 
The artemisia is a shrubby plant that 
is started from 7-inch cuttings set 12 to 15 
inches apart. It should attain a height 
of 4 or 5 feet the first year and 8 or 9 
feet the second year, Low windbreaks 
can be made by planting the artemisia 
alone. A good hedge of this plant is grow- 
ing on the experiment farm of the State 
College at Pullman, Wash., from which 
cuttings may be obtained. 
The European larch instead of the black 
locust may be used with the artemisia. It 
will not spread and encroach upon the 
protected area aS much as the locust or 
the poplars. Its timber also makes good 
fence posts. : 
Fig. 2 illustrates how temporary wind- 
breaks may be made from sagebrush. 
soe Hunter, Bureau Plant Industry, Cire. 
60. 
Windbreaks for Mississippi Valley 
In the mountain regions among the 
hills or foothills an orchard site would 
generally be selected with reference to 
protection from the winds by the contour 
of the land. For instance, if the pre- 
vailing winds are from the west an east- 
ern slope would be protected, and from 
this view would be preferable to a west- 
ern slope. If this is not practicable or 
convenient then the trees are often set at 
an angle of about 45 degrees, slanting to- 
ward the wind so that the blowing will 
not cause the trees to lean, but to assume 
an upright position, and so that its center 
of gravity will not be far from the line 
of the tap root. The orchard needs pro- 
tection either by the hills about it or by 
means of windbreaks. 
In the prairie regions such as we find 
in the Mississippi valley there are no 
hills and the orchards are protected by 
rows of trees or groves sometimes planted 
so as to shelter both the house and the 
orchard. 
For such situations the following in- 
structions given by A. T. Erwin of Ames, 
Iowa, are applicable: 
“In prairie regions a~windbreak is of 
Fig. 2. Asparagus Beds on Sandy Soil Near Kennewick, Washington, Protected by Sage- 
brush Windbreaks. 
which a large smooth wire was stretched. 
When the land was cleared low posts were set upon the tops of 
Instead of burning the sagebrush, it 
was hung on the wire to serve as a temporary windbreak. 
