Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-04-23
Growing Trees in North Dakota
By Jelhn w. Millett =

II uTOWluX lIceo
By Jein
"Give fools their gold and knaves
their power,
Let fortunes bubbles rise and fall.
Who plants a tree or trains flow.
| er,
Or sows a field is more than all.
| John Greenleaf Whittier.
AS spring approaches and the time
for planting is near, I would like to
say few words to the public in
general, and farmers in particular,
on the subject of planting trees.
Most writer's on this subject will
tell you to plant trees, and then
drop the subject like a hot potato.
But 1 propose to tell you how to
plant trees, more especially ever
greens, and care for them so they
will live and flourish on the highest
and driest hilltops. Most persons are
laboring under the erroneous impress
sion that evergreens will not succeed
in North Dakota. This is mistake.
many varieties of evergreens will not
flourish in this section there are sew
eral exceptions. I know from exper-
fence that Black Hills spruce, ponder
osa pine and red cedar can be grown
just as successfully here as. a crop
of corn or potatoes Small trees of
these varieties may be bought for q
few cents each, or If one has the
means and wants quick results, trees
from three to four feet high may
be bought for two to four dollars
each. But perhaps you may not have
the means or cannot spare the money
Then I will tell you how to grow
them without money. Most nursery
men will tell you that growing ever
greens is q trick of the trade and
that they can only be successfully
grown by experienced nurserymen,
who have the facilities for growing
them, and that they require all sorts
of care and attention, and must be
pampered and petted, and kept care
fully shaded from the sun for the
first three or four years. Now so
far as Pinus Ponderosa is concerned
know this to be all bosh and be-
lieve it to be largely so in regard
to many other varieties of evergreens.
In my youthful days many years ago,
l mined, hunted and trapped for sew
eral Years up and down the Rocky
Mountains, and very frequently saw
Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine we called
it then, growing in the clefts and
crevices of the bare rocks on the
mountainsides where it did not seem
possible for any living thing to OBJ
tain q |foothold, and there the little
seedlings sprung up in the crevices
OF the rocks, wherever fine dirt
enough could be found to secure a
foothold, and here exposed to the
full glare of the hot sun in summer
and fierce blasts and cold Of winter.
they lived and flourished.
SO no one need tell me that Pom
derosa Pine needs any petting. To
test the matter, last spring planted
q small quantity of seed of this va
riety obtained from the Black Hills.
first soaked the seed In warm water
for, several days, changing the water
hours to keep seed from souring, be-
Ing careful to keep the water at
about blood heat until the seed SHOW
ed signs of sprouting, then planted
Lit in the hardest and dryest place
could find in the garden. The ground
where / planted it had not been
[plowed tor ten years and apparently
was as hard and dry as brick. I:
never watered the little trees after
they came up, and notwithstanding
the fact that we had one of the
hottest and dryest summers ever ex-
|perienced In Dakota, the little fell
lows lived and kept green and
healthy all summer, and though left
quite unprotected through the winter
came out green and smiling this
spring. 5 essss3ssS: .... i<* f.. II
/ also have trees Of these varieties
from one to four foot In height that
have stood through several winters
and are making good growth. In
planting fine seed, do not plant It
to exceed one inch In depth, for II
you do, you had better bid It q
long and last farewell tor you will
never see It more. Seed does better
planted IN the fa... but will succeed
nearly % well planted In the spring,
IL you observe the precaution to-
soak the seed before planting as Is
have explained. The seed bed must.
be watere6 II necessary ~ often ~
once every day and TO make sure Of
|Sood growth It NOuld ~ better TO-
keep the seed bed covered with hay,
|or newspapers spread over the bed