The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1907-01-04
SCHOOL OPEN
State School of Forestry Opens
Next Monday.
STUDY OF FORESTRY
What the School Will Teach and Why
It Was Established in this
State.

State.
In 1878 the United States
government passed an act
entitled In acts to encourage
the growth of timber on the
western prairies.
In 1891 this act was repealed
as being unsatisfactory.
The Legislature of our own
state made a law in the last
session giving a three dollar
bounty per acre for land plant
ed to trees and two dollars per
eighty rods to land planted to
hedges. The result of this law
is yet to be determined. These
measures how that t. h e
government has fully realized
the great Importance of forestry
in these treeless regions and
tried to give it an artificial
stimulus. The e pronounced
failure of the first attempt was
due to the fact that a settler, is
never a forester. Tree produc-
ton is not pioneer occupation
and always follows long after
agriculture has established it.
self. Once the farm becomes
a permanent home and the
hasty careless handling of the
land gives way to intelligent
careful methods, tree planting
becomes an important factor in
in farm management. This is
the, history ,lof forest develop
ment of our country both in
the east and west and especial
ly in the latter where the
greater need Of trees has
fastened it's progress. ..:
Our sister states to the south
comparatively older than our
own, have made wonderful
advancement. Trees and groves
surround the farnstead and
village, and the state aids it's
citizens by the establishment
of experimental stations, forest
nurseries, forest surveys and
the planting of areas too great
for the Individual. Our north
ern neighbors are likewise
turning their attention t o
forestry and it is time North
Dakota fell in line. .:.
While our state government
should report control the
large areas of land which are
unfit for agriculture or are the
strategic locations for the pro-
lection and maintenance of
rivers and water systems, the
most important work of forest
ing the state is still left to the
individual. To him remains
the task of beautifying the
home by setting out trees and
shrubs, of protecting his fields
against wind drouth and ex-
tremes of temperature by plant
ing wind breaks and maintain
ing a supply of fuel and posts
by growing a grove or wood
lot. The beneficial influence
of this scattering trees and
groves profusely over IN e
prairie would not be confined
to an economic value, but
would be a great civilizing
influence. While the ideal
condition of devoting from
fifteen to twenty per cent of
the land to forest purposes will
not be reached for many years
it is sincerity to be wished for
and quite attainable. I h e
present day planter has nothing
to fear from the fact that his
predecessor failed, for to him
tree planting was but an
incident in the obtaining Of
land. Besides, the old varieties
of trees are becoming better
acclimated, and new ones of
hardy character have been
introduced. Today Manitoba
grows in her prairie regions
nine varieties of deciduous
trees and five varieties of ever
green's. The great cause Of
failure has been the fact that
the first settlers on the praires
knew 50 little how" to plant
trees and how to make them
grow. It is not the intention
of this article to. supply this
knowledge through a Short
News paper article, but to call
attention tn the fact Of q state