The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-09-20
EyERGREENs FOR SHELTER AND
ORNAMENT.
Are Not Expensive. and Are Easily
Grown on the Farm.


A paper read at the summer meeting,
1895, of the Wisconsin State Horticultu-
raj society by W. ID. Boynton.
AS a practical people living in a Sc
verely practical age, let us first consider
this subject from the point of utility.
Looked at from this standpoint, we have
several good reasons for advocating the
general planting of evergreen shelter
belts, among them the following:
First-For protection against the cold
winds and driving storms of our severe
northern winters, and securing a more
even distribution of snow.
Second-As a retainer and conservator
of moisture during the long dry spells,
which seem year by Year, to become more
severe and trying in this section of the
country.
Third-For the protection of our stock
yards and grounds, that the life of both
man and beast may be made more COM
Portable and profitable.
To serve the first named purpose, we
should partially enclose our orchards.
west and northwest. with an almost
solid body of sturdy evergreenS. If
planted thickly, say five or six feet apart,
this belt, or screen, will not attain great
height, which is not necessary or desr-
able. Fifteen 10 twenty feet i'll height
answers the purpose admirably. BY leav-
ing this enclosure open on the south and
a portion of the east and north, a free
trying winds ana storms of winter COM
ing as they do from the west southwest
and northwest, would be much modified
by this protecting belt of evergreens
Nc doubt, you have all observed the eff
feet of such a shelter belt. 1t is lot at all
Ike high board fence or wall, which
the wind sweeps over and drops down,
and on again, and il It chances to be a
diving snow storm leaves a huge drift
to mark it's impeded course; but when this
driving snow storm enters the living wall
of green, it seems to be chopped up fine
by the millions OF needles of the conifers,
and the snow sits down on the inside
gently and evenly as though there were
no driving storm outside. In this way
an even distribution of natures great
protecting blanket, snow, is secured for
our plants and shrubs within.
The second reason for the general
planting of eyersreens for shelter in point
of moisture. This has been made very
plain to me in the last two or three
years in my evergreen nursery and | can
best illustrate my point by giving some
Among my blocks of evergreens from
which we dig and ship each season, tracts
of land are annually vacated which. IN
order of rotation observed, we plant to
ordinary farm crops or to small fruits
which we wish for plants or fruit. What
ever I have planted in these narrow va
Gated plats has thriven remarkably we'll
and has formed full, heavy crops not
withstanding the severity of the drouths
of the last two seasons. Last season.
for instance, our crops of Strawberries on
these small plats We're the largest we
have ever had; while other patches on
land quite similar in character, where
the evergreens were lacking, were badly
dried up and produced little, If any
thing. I can only account for it by the
presence of protecting bodies of ever
green's I would say here that we have
no large evergraeus in these fields, moth
ing as rule over four or five feet high,
,,,1 Of cr1oo n
the growth is solid and close to the
ground, those drying winds could not lick
up the moisture and carry it away.
Now, a single row of large, widespread
ing evergreens will do much TO retain
moisture and protect lands to leeward
from the sweep of the drying winds.
firmly believe that it would pay the fruit
| grower to plant rows of evergreenS north
and south at distances of say, thirty
rods apart, with the trees six feet apart
III the row. They are not gross feeders
| and do not exhaust the adjacent lands as
| do the Lombardys, for instance
The third point naned in way of utii-
/ ity is the protection afforded to our stock
! evergreenS 1t would be idle for me to
| press this point for every owner of a
| horse or COW is we'll aware of its truth.
! All animals need exercise i'll the yard
| and it is good economy to protect them
| from the fierce winds while they are get
! ting it. Here again I say that it would
| pay the farmers well to plant a shelter
| ing belt of evergreens.
What and How to Plant.
i For the shelter belts before mentioned,