Evening star., 1939-04-10
j. ). Tree PLANTING
Hailed by Farmers
Once 5kepticaI
Cutting Down Of Winds
And Saving Of Crops
Changes Their Tune

(n0n9eS Inelr Iune
By the Associated Press. l.
CORDELL, Okla, April 10.-Five
years ago, the Federal Government
made the startling announcement it
was going to plant shelterbelt OF
trees to protect the Great Plains
from crop-killing winds.
The Government was going to
plant mile-long strips of trees all
the way from the cotton fields Of
Texas to the North Dakota wheat
country. 1t was going to plant trees
where there never had been any
trees.
The announcement stirred up a
breeze OF comment as strong as the
blizzard winds that were blasting
apart some of the Nations richest
crop lands.
'It's the craziest thing the Gov
ernment has DONE" many farmers
agreed. 1T just won't work
If God Almighty wanted trees to
grow on these plains" others cried,
He'd have planted them there in
tne UrSt place.
Skeptical Farmers Relent.
But the Government turned deaf
ear to the storm Of criticism and
began to plant the trees. One by
one. skeptical farmers agreed to CO.
operate by permitting establishment
of shelterbelts on their land.
The Government set up the nurse
ries, planted the trees, and kept close
watch on each strip to replace the
twigs that couldn't stand up against
q Western duster. After the first
furry of comment, little was heard
about the shelterbelt for three years.
Then DR.. A. H. Bungardt. Cordell
landowner, yelled for the Forest
Service to help him thin out his
trees. 1t was the first indication
the shelterbelt had come of age.
What have been the results OF
this gigantic experiment?
well, I'll tell you," said Farmer E.
A. Kirk of Mangum, Okla, Il didn't
think much of this tree business
when they first started it, but I'm
convinced now that if we had
shelterbelt across every section of
land in Western Oklahoma our
troubles from wind erosion and crop
blowing would be over"
Production Shows Increase.
Mr. Kirk was one of the first to ac-
cept shelterbelt He says the trees
actually have stopped blowing on
his farm and his crop production
has shown visible increase.
On DR.. Bungardts farm, cotton
woods and Chinese elms tower IS
feet high, providing cool shade for
livestock and nesting places for birds
that feed on insect pests Trunks of
trees taken out in the thinning proc
ess are big enough for fence posts.
MY crops were never BETTER" DR..
Bungardt declared. MY land has
shown steady improvement since
the trees began to grow"
On the Earl Lewis farm in Pierce
County, Nebraska, a good rye crop
was produced last year in the lee
Of a shelterbelt. In the portios of
fields not protected by the trees,
winds blew seeds and young plants
out of the ground.
c. P. Barker of Sweetwater, Okla,
had shelterbelt planted in 1885.
Two years later, land in the lee of
this belt produced three-fourths
bale of cotton an acre. A neighbor
who had no trees lost practically
all of his crop to the winds.
Early in 1885, Ed Casey of
Mitchell, S. OAK, was ready to
admit defeat in his battle with the
winds and abandon his seriously
eroded farm. He tried a shelter
belt and two years later he declared
the benefits were so great he would
"stick around"
The effect of a shelterbelt is to
check the velocity of air move
ment and create a protected zone
extending approximately 20 times
as wide as the trees are high.
Since the beginning of the shelter
belt program, the Government has
planted 84,662 1886 trees on 1880
farms. The strips extend total of
$500 miles, including 1000 miles in
Nebraska, 900 in Kansas, 300 in
South Dakota, TOO in Oklahoma,
600 in Texas and 500 in North
Dakota.