PLANTING WASTE PLACES. 283 



retained in the lower strata of the soil and then pass to the adjoining lands and are brought 

 within reach, of the growing plants. 



It is not to be supposed that limited plantations, confined to the waste places of the farm, 

 would liave an appreciable effect on the general climate of a region, for the influences must be 

 great that can affect atmospheric conditions over a wide area. Locally, however, the planting of 

 hilltops and the consequent heightening of elevations will often result in the creation of air 

 currents that will prevent cold air from settling in the lowlands between, thus obviating late 

 spring and early autumn frosts, and this protection can be made more efficient if the configuration 

 of the neighboring lands be studied with a view to creating the strongest possible draft. 



In regions where tender vegetables and fruits are largely cultivated such protection may 

 be of primary importance, and the clearing of adjoining hill crests and slopes will often result m 

 serious disturbance of the local climate. 



In general, the climatic conditions of the forested area of the country are less extreme than 

 those of the plains, but with, the record of the three recent drought years the need of moisture 

 conservation is apparent alike in the East and West. 



While in the West the thin-soiled ridges are best devoted to tree growth for wind-breaks and 

 snow catches, throughout the Eastern and Southern States such localities should be kept in trees 

 for the prevention of erosion or gullying, one of the most troublesome results of tillage. 



The general action of the elements in uneven or rolling surfaces invariably tends to carry the 

 more fertile top mold of the higher ground, or at least the decaying vegetation on the surface, to 

 the lower levels, which thus relatively increase in fertility at the expense of the elevations above 

 them. In addition to this general tendency there have been deposited throughout the North- 

 western States, by glacial and water action, drift soils containing a great quantity of bowlders, 

 which are especially thick on the high ridges, making their cultivation very expensive. In many 

 localities throughout the Mississippi Valley the trend of the underlying strata of rocks is upward, 

 often coming so close to the surface in the riclge lands as to render them worthless for cultivation. 

 Along many river and creek valleys the hills which confine the lowlands rise so abruptly as to 

 make cultivation impracticable. These and many other special cases which might be mentioned 

 constitute the waste highlands of farms, all of which should be devoted to forest-tree culture. 



Trees, as has been seen, can exist and make a profitable growth on lands too poor to support 

 farm crops, if the leaves, twigs, and fruit be permitted to lie on the ground and decay. When 

 planted in the thin soil of a limestone hill crest, they may make very slow growth during the first few 

 years; but as the soil becomes shaded by the tree tops the growth becomes more rapid, and when 

 the trees have attained a strong foothold, their roots penetrating the crevices of the rocks to the 

 water below, they grow with additional vigor. Yet, it is not to be expected that as vigorous 

 growth can be secured in these high waste places as in the lower, moist, and deep soils. One has 

 only to recall the general character of the waste places of the farm to realize how little can be 

 gained from cropping them. The ridge soils are too thin to support a growth of cereal crops; the 

 swamp soils are too wet for tillage; the cultivation of irregular plats of small extent becomes too 

 expensive, by reason of the difficulties of plowing, seeding, and harvesting. Once in trees, these 

 difficulties are reduced to a minimum. The thin soils of the ridges are protected from the weather 

 by the tree crowns, and their decaying foliage gradually increases the fertility of the soil. 



The odd corners and fence rows of American farms represent in the aggregate a great quantity 

 of unproductive land, w T hich might be planted to trees. Such limited areas, often composed of 

 but a few square rods or very narrow strips, can not be treated as forests, but trees must be grown 

 on them for special purposes, in which timber production will hardly be considered. 



The highways throughout the farming districts of the United States may be bordered with 

 trees, which, while giving shade, may be used as living fence posts, or may become valuable nut 

 orchards, but in any event will afford protection, in winter and summer alike, to the traveler and 

 to the adjacent fields. In Minnesota, Wyoming, and other Western States the highways are at 

 least 66 feet wide, and often a hundred. These tracts, separated only by wire fences from the 

 cultivated fields, are not merely waste lands, but for the most part veritable propigating beds for 

 noxious weeds, which cause much loss to the farmer. Try as he may, he can not protect his 

 lands from Eussian thistle, mustard, and the numerous other weed pests so long as these broad 

 highways exist as a seeding ground for them. If they were planted to trees, with a vigorous 



