Arizona republican., 1908-06-23

of csage orarge, for instance, are a
 "nuisance.ss Others cite figures to
 show positive benefit. Mir. Morris
 Thomps, n. Nho lives near Downs, Kansas, gives his yield of corn from
 a field protected on the south by d 1 row Of tall cottonwoods as six bush els per acre more than ain places W;lere tiicrc is no protection. -- Annut fifteen acres are benefited in this way It is highly improbable that the wind break occupies sufficient land to offset this benefit.
 An Illinois farmer sums up his observations upon this matter thus: 'My experience is that now. in cold and stormy winters, wheat protect ed by timberbelts yields full crops. while fields not protected yield only one-third of crop. Twenty-Five or thirty years ago we never had any wheat killed by winter frosts and every year a full crop of peaches, which is now rare. At that time we had plenty of timber around our fields and orchards, now cleared away"
 The forest service proposes to find out. just when and how much wind breaks increase the yield of crops. To carry out the plans, much technical work will be necessary. Instruments will be used to measure heat and cold, moisture and dryness, both above and below ground; to register the force of the wind near the wind breaks and some distance away; to measure light intensity, and take note of the effects of shade; to register frost at different distances from the trees; and to keep account of the effect of the wind-breaks on the snow which covers the ground to lee ward in winter. Many other meas urements and tests will be made, and elaborate data will be collected by experts who will have charge of the study.
 Many disputed questions will thus be settled and the data gathered will be placed at the disposal of the far mers who desire it. Doubtless rows of trees between fields sometimes do more harm than good, by casting shade and abstracting water from the soil. Trees may also increase the danger from frost, since the move ment of the air lessens that danger. The forest service will study all sorts of conditions, including the relative value of wind breaks, consisting of single row of trees, and shelter belts, made up of a number of such rows. A wind-brea is usually plant ed for protection alone, a shelterbelt for both protection and the grow ing of timber.
 Corn will be the crop studied be- hind the wind break this year. Trust worthy conclusions can not be ob- tained by comparing results from different crops. Each crop makes its own demand upon the soil, so that what would destroy one might do little harm to another. Corn is a particularly good crop to experiment with because it is easily injured by hot dry winds, will not stand shad- ing. and is very sensitive to frost.
 The instruments and apparatus for each state will be read weekly by persons assigned to that duty by the agricultural experiment stations in the respective states. The whole work will be in charge of an expert for the forest service at Washington, who will be assisted this summer by three or four persons, also from the forest service, who will study gen eral conditions in the states under investigation, in regard to the eff fects of windbreaks on crops. The