Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-08-25

and sheltered it with trees. Within thi:
limit the rainfall is reasonably sure and
agriculture may be prosecuted with q
certain hope of success. That this result
has followed largely as the natural Sc
quence of the growth of forests and
orchards cannot be doubted by any one
who has ever given any attention to the
subject of trees and the influence which
they exert upon climatic conditions.
The western half of Kansas Is, com
paratively speaking. destitute of trees,
and as result agriculture in that Sec
der it an exceedingly precarious pursuit.
of the hot winds which too often sweep
over them and blight in day the hopes
of the husbandman and the fruits of his
toll. The soil is so productive that with
the needed measure of moisture the
crops of a single season are not uncom-
| monty so abundant as to offset the losses
| incident to several successive failures 1t
| is believed that much could be done to
make the crops more certain by the cul-
tivation of trees, and this opinion is
based upon scientific grounds. The diff
Guilty of growing trees IN a sec
eAOh WHICH, Is SuDJcCG " uioueh Aas
be urged, but there are varie-
ties of trees which may be successfully
cultivated in Kansas with proper care
and attention, notably among which Is
the ubiquitous cottonwood, which seems
to flourish under the most hostile condi-
tons, and which is just as available for
shade and shelter as trees which are of
much greater value for timber.
The subject, in the judgment of the
Star, is of sufficient importance to de-
serve the attention of the legislature,
and as the regular biennial session of
that body is to be held this coming win
ter it would be well for the press of
Kansas to give the matter prominence by
way of newspaper discussion. Every
public highway in Kansas should be
lined with trees, and this could be done
at public expense without great outlay
Of money. 1t is estimated that $1,000
would plant 1 200 miles of trees, and if
each county in Kansas should devote
this amount of money to that pur-
pose the returns in the aggregate would
vastly overbalance the expenditure. The
planting and care of the trees could be
made a part of the duty Of the road over
seer, and thus they would receive the
attention necessary to keep them alive
until they were fully rooted and
grounded.
In the light of all that is known relat-
ing to the influence of tree in promoting
rain it is not too much to say that the
future of large section of Kansas
depends upon their cultivation. 1t is
susceptible of proof that many produc
tive regions on the American continent
and in other parts of the world have
been rendered arid wastes by tree-fell-
ing. and it is also a matter of record that
many districts have been made fruitful
by the culture of trees. 1.-The theory
Of this process" says scientific
authority upon this subject, els not per-
fectly understood. but the facts them
selves are matters of experience" 1t is
also known that trees tend to equalize
the rainfall. In treeless districts the
rain comes in violent rushes with long
intervals of drouth between while in
wooded countries it is more uniformly
distributed and damaging extremes are
thus avoided. There is no doubt but
that the people of Kansas by proper eff
fort in this direction can do much to
overcome the hindrances under which
the state is laboring, and if the legisla-
ture will address itself to this work in a
manner beneftting its importance, the
benefits will be more than commensu-
rate with the means and labor expended.