The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1900-10-05
Our Wooded Area.

The former official estimate of the
wooded area of the United States,
placed at 26 per cent, has been raised
to 81 per cent by the latest computa-
tons of the Division Of Geography and
Forestry Of the United States Geolog-
ical Survey. That Office has issued a
bulletin containing new figures on
American forests, some Of which tend
to prove the national timber resources
greater than is supposed. The two
latest states to be examined are Ore
i gonY and Washington. The former is
estimated to contain 234,653 million
feet, B. M, in standing timber; the
latter 114,77S million feet. Destruction
by fire has been exceedingly serious in
Washington. On the assumption that
the burned areas contained on an aver
age as much timber as the untouched
portion. 10000 million feet have been
destroyed since numbering began. This
amount would supply all the sawmills
of the United States for two years, and
at value of only Is cents a thousand,
means dead loss to the state Of $780,
100000. The amount actually logged
in the same period has been $4,000 mil
lion feet, making the estimate by the
same comparison Of areas. Oregon
has suffered less from both fire and
numbering, owing to the smaller facili.
ties for marketing the product.
Forage Crops.
Cur pastures and meadows should b.
conserved in every possible manner,
and one of the best ways of doing this
Is to have a number Of forage crops
that may be used at time of year when
the grass supply fails. In early spring,
midsummer and late autumn there is
generally a shortage of feed, and these
are the times when of all others the
cattle should not need to wan
der over the pastures and
meadows tramping them down
and lessening their productive pow
er. The shortage of verdure makes
it necessary for the cattle to do an
unusual amount of walking, with COM
sequent hardening Of the surface soil.
In the wet times, spring and fall, espe-
cially. the injury is great, as the
tramping breaks up the ground and
drives the grass roots into the mud
where they are destroyed. Forage crops
may be put in from early spring to
early autumn. Among the kinds to be
grown might be suggested fodder corn.
vetches and rape. When crops for for
age are sown in late summer or early
autumn of course only the quick ma.
turing varieties should be used.
Il. Treatment for Seq Jose Scale.
!. I had pear orchard winter before
last affected with San Jose scale. There
were fifteen hundred trees in this lot.
We cut the trees back pretty severely
and treated them with the whale oil
soap. A good; many people came
while we were cutting them back and
told me that might as well cut them
on at the top Of the ground because
they would die any way. l didn't lose
q tree from the effect Of cutting back
or the spraying. We did this in the
winter, i think in February. The fol-
lowing summer the foliage on the or
chard waSs mnch better than anything
in the country had two other or
chards and comp It with them and
noticed that the foliage on the orchard
that had been sprayed was very much
healthier than the Others. * noticed
also that there was scarcely any blight
what ever IN that orchard 81 dft4eng
hundred trees, hut III thS & other No Or
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