The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-01-03
GOVERNMENT TREE PLANTING
Efforts of the Forestry DivisiOn to
Encourage the Work In
Treeless Regions.

planting appear to be gong hand IN
hand, and in both there has been
aroused in all sections of the country
an immense amount of interest. In
New York city powerful and
wealthy organization known as the
Tree Planting association has been
formed to rehabilitate the great as
phalt wastes of the metropolis;
prominent university has established
college of forestry; in more than a
score of states countless village i'm
provement associations are devoting
especial attention to the fostering of
the shade tree; and finally the United
States government has taken up the
subject of practical tree planting in
manner that promises some surpris-
ing results, says the Saturday Evening
Post.
1t was just year ago that the di
vision of forestry of the department
of agriculture issued circulars describ-
ing a plan of cooperation by which
practical assistance was offered to
persons DESTROYS of establishing wood
lots. shelter belts, wind belts and
other plantations of forest trees. The
response to the proposition exceeded
all expectations, and the division has
been more than busy ever since, exam
lining the land owned by persons who
requested its cooperation.
The greater part of last year was
devoted to what might be termed ex-
perimental or preliminary work, and
a large number of applicants were
visited in Minnesota, North Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Tex
as. AS a result of the examinations
made by the experts during this in
terval 33 working plans have been pre-
pared and are being put into eXecu-
ton in various parts of the country.
Each of these working plans is based
upon the special needs of particu
lar class of farm. So great is the
magnitude of this work that notices
are now being sent out admonishing
persons who desire the assistance of
the division to make their applications
some months in advance of the time
when they desire to plant in order
that opportunity may be afforded for
an agent to visit the land and cam
plete the plans under which the work
is to be carried out.
As soon as the officials of the divi-
sion of forestry ascertain when an eX-
pert tree planter will be able to reach
the land owned by an applicant, the
latter is notified, and in places where
suitable arrangements can be made
a public meeting is called in order
that all the persons in the neighbor-
hood interested in tree planting may
attend and confer with the agent.
Afterward the agent goes over the
ground of each of the proposed plan
tations. and obtains all available data
This personal examination is deemed
necessary in all cases, because of the
effect of local conditions on tree
growth.
Later. the agent works up the data
obtained and sends to the farmer COM
plete planting plans. These include
carefully prepared map of the farm,
with the proposed plantations planted,
and there are embodied instructions
which state specifically the way to
plant and the number of each species
required to complete the plantation
The department of agriculture does all
this absolutely without cost to the
farmer.
Applications for assistance in estab-
fishing plantations of forest trees
have been received from every state in
the union, but more than nine-tenths
of them have come from the treeless
regions of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas,
Nebraska and the Dakotas; regions
where trees are most strongly needed
for protection to stock, orchards and
buildings, and for fuel. Naturally the
experts have found it far more difficult
to attain success in this wholesale tree
planting in the open prairie than in
regions originally wooded. The gov
eminent tree planters have, however,
gone on the theory that there is not
single inhabited region in the United
States where some kind of trees may
not be made to grow when given ade-
quate assistance in the way of cultiva-
ton and irrigation, and they are max
ing it the chief object of the cooperative
system of tree planting to assist the
farmers in overcoming adverse condi-
tions.
The attention given to scientific tree
planting seems to indicate that there
assuredly will be a sphere of usefulness
for future graduates of the New York
State College of Forestry branch of
Cornell university, which graduated its
first class this year. The Cornell stu
dents, during the past year, with the
assistance of planting crew of 20 men,
partially cleared 100 acres of burned
land and planted it in pine, spruce and
red fir. The United States division of
forestry has already secured the serv-
ices of several 10th ese young men, who
are the first professional foresters to
receive degrees from an American in
stitution.
Boon for Thirsty WeIshmen,
The principal inn in the village of
Llanymynech, on the borders of