10 The Colorado Experiment Station. 
evergreens eor windbreaks. 
Evergreens are among the most effective trees for windbreaks. 
They are especially desirable for giving shelter from cold winds in 
winter to sheds and barns and yards for stock. They are also desir¬ 
able to plant around the outside of the deciduous timber plantation 
to check the sweep of winds which carry away the snow and fallen 
leaves. Seedling trees which have been twice transplanted and are 
about one foot high are of a suitable size for this purpose. They 
should be set far enough apart to allow each tree to spread out 
without crowding and eventual loss of the lower limbs. Eight or 
ten feet apart is about as close as such trees as pines and spruces 
should be planted. If more than one row is used the trees should 
alternate in the rows and the rows be at least twelve feet apart. 
Where a low hedge-like effect is desired much closer planting may 
be done, and the trees cut back when at the proper height. 
Thorough cultivation is needed until the trees are well estab¬ 
lished or as long as there is sufficient room between the rows. 
Evergreens can often be established with good results among 
deciduous trees planted for windbreaks. In fact, many species of 
evergreens cannot be readily grown during the seedling stages 
except in partial shade, hence the desirability of shading the young 
plants in the nursery. 
Close shading, however, should not be allowed to continue 
after the trees have reached a height of four or five feet. Other¬ 
wise the trees are apt to lose their lower branches and become 
spindling, thus greatly reducing their effective windbreak character. 
If the surrounding trees become too tall and dense they should 
be thinned out or cut back to give the slower growing evergreens 
a better chance. 
RAISING evergreens EROM SEED. 
This is work which is most successfully undertaken by nursery- 
irien or other persons of experience. For those who have time 
and the necessary patience to wait for several years while the 
seedlings are growing this is-not only a cheap way to secure a 
large amount of stock, but is also very interesting work. Seeds of 
most evergreens can usually be purchased from the large seed 
houses. Where possible, however, it is desirable to save them 
from native or local growing trees which show the best color, 
form and hardiness. Seeds of the pines and spruces are best 
harvested by gathering the cones a little while before they open. 
When dry, in most cases the scales spread apart and allow the seeds 
to be readily threshed out. The cones of the lodge pole pine, 
however, often do not open unless heated to loo to 150 degrees 
