The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-11-13

the ground.
Practically all agree that any OBJ
structlon interposed that breaks the
force OF the wind or tends 10 dis
+ its hugging pull on the surface
or the soil mobiles it's injurious eff
tects. While a single w%indbreak
thirty or forty feet in height might
not protect the Soil from blowing
more than rod from the tree for
every foot Of the windbreaks' height,
yet the mere, hurting of the wind
break by the air currents tends to dis
organize them. And where the air
currents are required to hurdle a
forty or fifty foot high w~indbreak
every mile, n in regions of light soil,
every half mile, the ground currents
must be so broken up and disorganiz-
ed as to very greatly mitigate their
destructive influence. Even if each
shelter belt afforded perfect protection
Tor only a few rods to leeward, they
Would still be worth while. But the
probabilities are in favor of a much
wider and more general protection
where a large area OF country is pro-
N1ded with q complete system of wind
breaks.
If the Great Plains area, extending
practically from east of the Red river
to the Rocky mountains and from
AtS"S LIZ u VI IlSAICO 10 LnS CdIa-
dial boundary, were protected with
shelter belts at regular intervals. never
more than one mile apart, the modi-
lying influence they would exert upon
the winds and other meteorological
Phenomena would unuueStionably
prove of greater economic value to the
nation that the building and e%uuipping
of several additional b~attleships. An
argument might even be supported in
favor of this sort of defense against
lutufe hunger with more weight than
any. probable defense that will ever be
needed in the way of ba%ttleships might
well afford to study this problem with
a view to domesticating the climate
of this vast n fertile region instead
OF spending so much money on ships
or war and leaving this larger problem
to be worked out by the homestead
ers.
Distribution Of Weed Seeds.
AS long as the winds can sweep un-
across vast stretches of
country the paihstaking farmer has
no protection against the weeds his
or even somewhat remote neigh
bors, allow to mature on their farms.
Already n largely for want of eff
tectiVe barriers against wind-dis-
but weed seeds, the country Is
cursed with weeds Of several danger
Gus varieties. Wild oats, French weed,
varieties of mustard Canada
and SOW thistle and quack grass are
thoroughly established in many lacoli-
ties n are rapidly spreading into
others. While good, dense windbreaks
might not entirely prevent the dis
tribution of weed seed, vet thew would
prove sufficiently helpful to make 1t
possible for the painstaking farmer to
maintain his land 50 free from bad
weeds as to render their evil influence
negligible.
The evil effects of weeds cannot be
oVerestimated. Anything that will
prove a barrier to their easy d%istribul
ton, therefore, will prove a godsend
the up-to-date farmer. A compact |
hedge of trees will prove an effectual
barrier against weed plants that tum-
pie and scatter their seeds when driven
BY the wind ana VIII, to a great ex- |
tent. prevent the seeds from drifting |
away from the weed polluted farms to
those that are kept clean. |
In every country 70 over-abound- |
antly supplied with moisture the weed
problem is most serious. Not infre-
Hiien;!y q half crop or lass is realized
nf1d Il Q partial Failure Is convenient
to drought. when, as {. mat
ter of fact, there was plenty of mois-
to mature q full crop with soil
water to spare, had not a thrifty crop
weeds robbed the soil Of the mois-
the grain required. This ever
lasting robbing the soil of water by !
weeds will go on causing an annual loss |
Of millions upon millions of dollars
until, driven by necessity, a wide
spread n systematic effort lis made
looking toward their eradication. This
san scarcely be expected to Occult. un-
the country is divided into narrow
by fairly effective barriers
against the easy and ready distrihu-
ion Of their seeds. Even then, it will |
prove a sufficiently difficult task.
BY a very careful calculation made
years ago by computing the
amount OF dry matter In the form Of
weeds that grew upon average wheat
and, it was found that the weeds com
enough water to produce in the
leighborhood of two bushels Of wheat
ger acre. Little wonder then that the
Dakotas are slandered by being
with drouthy conditions when
blame attaches to weeds, or, rath-
", 10 Il system OF farm management
hat attempts the Impossible, that or
growing profitable crops and weeds at
same time. This is especially true
vi a climate that usually gives down
lust about ~stfTicient moisture every
for a bumper grain crop, proVia
Ia r9ne of it Is wasted.
TO place the annual damage done
81 weeds In Minnesota and the two
Dakotas at less THAN 800, 100000
wanda Al txFtE s,fssI m, ~ 4 IT,. II * 4, % srnE ~ 40 ttJI I1