The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1913-06-27
(By NORMAN N. ROss.)

Wy ANO1S&A2 -. ASONo0s)
The box elder ID q tree of very wide
range, being found native from West
ern Ontario to Medicine Hat, in hast
ern Alberta. It seems hardy through
out the pSairie districts Of Saskatche-
wan and Alberta, although In the
southwest portion OF Alberta It 10
claimed by some that 1t cannot b 70
lied upon. Probably the warm Chinook
winds occurring In the. winter AFFECT
It adversely In certain season. How.
ever. good healthy Specimens growing
1t Calgary, LethbridgA. Macleod.
Cardston and elsewhere In this district
would indicate that the tree u sum
ciently hardy to sntttls IL to . place in
the hst Of those varieties suitable for
planting In that region.
From the results OF the plantations
sst out from 1901 to 1905 It would
seem hat after all the box elder, al
though D~aoeesstul In certain eases,
DOES not On the whole sssm u suit
able for general planting west Of Swift
Current ~ other varieties. such ~ the
ash, elm, Russian poplar.
In it, native state 1t II generally
found growing in river or creek bot.
toms, or on rich moist soil. In Mani
toba it attains . height Of from forty
to. nifty feet, and reaches q diameter
Of from sixteen to twenty inches. It 10
naturally Of a very branchy, irregular
habit Of growth, the main trunk divid-
ing into two or more stems either at
or q few feet above the ground.
Uses.-The present value Of this
tree has in the west Is for windbreaks,
rs it grows rapidly and branches pro
fusely. It is exceptionally easy to
propagate and transplant, and will
adapt itself to q great variety Of con-
ditions. It will stand considerable
drought on the high prairies, but on
very wet or very dry soil growth is
much slower. and consequently, this
tree should never he planted in such
places, except perhaps to I'LL up .
plantation composed Of more suitable
varieties.
Owing to its extreme hardness and
wide range, the box elder will prove
one Of the most valuable trees in for
est plantation throughout the west
in the capacity Of q nurse to other
more tender and desirable kinds. It
is . moderate shade bearer, and would
help to form . good soil cover, planted
in mixture with such trees al ash.
cottonwood and other matchmaking
varieties. From the fact that 1t 10
easy to propagate and obtain young
Seeding Of this box elder, It has been
very widely used through the west for
avenue and street planting. It IL not,
however. especially adapted for this
purpose, az It requires q great amount
Of pruning and care to bring into q
proper form and keep the top from be-
coming straggly and heavy. Az an
avenue tree It suffers considerably
fromsheavy Winds and sarly snowfallgss
ana the trunk ii frequently damaged'
b.. sun scald. which causes the bark
to crack on the south or southwest
side, making IN unsightly sea and
laying the inner wood open to the 1t
lacks Of fungi, which so0ne or later
will cause tho decay Of the stem.
It leafs ont way early in the spring.
which II one point In it, favor, but
with the exception Of the ash. It II the
FIRST tree to loss u foliage In the fall.
The wood q tie box elder II hard
aud close-graino4. It makes excellent
fuel, and Il peopsGfy paslsd and 80
soned should ~ ven - : fence post
A-.--.Aa>- Rn 49, a>~a~l~