191 WINDBREAKS AND SHELTERBELTS

JOSEPH H. STOECKELER, ROSS A. WILLIAMS

In an effort to determine the value The tree-protected animals gained of adequate windbreaks on American 34.9 more pounds each during a mild farms, 508 farmers in South Dakota winter, and lost 10.6 pounds less dur- and Nebraska were asked for their ing a severe winter, than the unpro- opinions. They placed the annual sav- tected herd. ings in their fuel bill alone at $15.85. Another experiment conducted by In another measure of the value, the V. I. Clark, superintendent of the ex- Lake States Forest Experiment Station periment station at Ardmore, S. Dak., conducted an experiment at Holdrege, involved the weighing of two herds of Nebr. Exact fuel requirements were cattle in different pastures—one pro- recorded in identical test houses. One tected by the natural tree and shrub was protected from winds; the other growth along a stream, the other with- was exposed to the full sweep of the out protection. They w^ere reweighed wind. From the experimental data it after a 3-day blizzard. The animals was possible to calculate the savings to that had some protection each lost an be expected under various prevailing average of 30 pounds less than those conditions, if a constant house tem- in the exposed pasture. perature of 70° F. were maintained. Farm families depend upon gardens The amount of fuel used was reduced for much of their subsistence, and most by 22.9 percent. of them are aware of the influence of a Also the average of the savings for windbreak in increasing the quality houses protected on the north in Hol- and quantity of vegetables and fruit drege and three other localities in the from gardens and orchards. In the Great Plains—Huron, S. Dak., Dodge opinions of farmers interviewed, the City, Kans., and Fargo, N. Dak.—was increase was $67.15 on 323 farms in 20.2 percent. Assuming a 10-ton an- Nebraska and $84.43 on 260 farms in nual consumption of coal, this repre- South Dakota. A few farmers believed sents a saving of 2 tons of coal a year. the windbreaks did not increase the Under good protection, on three sides production of their gardens. of a house, the fuel saving may run as W. P. Baird, horticulturist in charge high as 30 percent. of fruit and vegetable investigations at Dairymen, livestock feeders, and the Northern Great Plains Field Sta- breeders have rather positive ideas of tion at Mandan, N. Dak., says that "a how the protection afforded by trees windbreak is on duty protecting the reduces their feed bills and increases fruit gardens at all seasons of the year, their calf crops. Eighty-six livestock and it is almost useless to consider feeders in Nebraska and South Dakota growing fruit on the Plains without placed this average annual saving at such protection." m.ore than $800 ; 62 livestock breeders So far we have discussed windbreaks, reported that their savings amounted which are the shorter and more blocky to more than $500 annually; 53 dairy- plantings about farmsteads. Much like men placed their savings at $600. them, but more extensive, are the shel- Further study of the subject was terbelts, a term used to denote com- made at the Montana Agricultural paratively narrow strip plantings— Experiment Station at Havre. Two sometimes single rows of trees—that herds of cattle were wintered on the are designed to protect fields. same rations—one in the protection of trees and shrubs, the other in an open EXPERIENCE with systematic plant- lot with some protection from a shed. ings of shcltcrbclts to protect fields goes 192 Yearboo\ of Agriculture 1949 back to 1789. when a group of German the time the act was in force can be Mennonites, who emigrated to the attributed directly to it. Russian Steppes, began the shelterbclts It has been the history of tree plant- that since have been extended to thou- ing throughout the world that the sands of miles. The term "sheherbelt" establishment of windbreaks and shel- was used as early as 1833, so it is appar- terbclts has not progressed fast enough ent that some thought for controlling to keep pace with the needs without wind erosion by use of trees was in some assistance by the Government. existence over a century ago. Since the The thousands of miles of shelterbclts days of the shelterbelt project, initiated that now protect millions of acres of in the Great Plains some 14 years ago, farm lands in Russia; the mile after the term has become part of the every- mile of tree strips in Jutland, without day language of farmers on the Plains. which farming would be impossible; Few tree planters were among the similar planting in Hungary; the 18,- earliest settlers of the United States. 510 miles of tree belts planted in the They camci when the westward migra- Great Plains shelterbelt from North tion started to the prairies of Illinois Dakota to Texas; and the 211 million and the Great Plains; those pioneers trees planted to shelterbclts and wind- realized that it was going to take more breaks in the Prairie Provinces of Can- than a sod house to give them the pro- ada—all owe their success to sound tection to which they had been accus- Government policies put into effect tomed in the wooded East. It was not through wxll-administered and Gov- surprising, therefore, that a plantation ernment-assisted projects. of trees often shared with the garden There was a period in the United the first patch of sod that was bro- States after the repeal of the Timber ken. Wildings collected along nearby Culture Act in 1891 when little public streams comprised their planting stock. encouragement was given to tree plant- We have records of some of these plant- ers. A renewal of interest w^as shown in ings in Nebraska Territory as early as 1904 with the passage of the Kincaid 1854; many are still alive, monuments Act and later, in 1916, by the inclusion to the courage of the pioneers and evi- of the demonstrational tree planting dence of the desirability of using hardy, in the program of the Northern Great native planting stock. Later immi- Plains Field Station near Mandan, grants from Europe often brought tree N. Dak. seeds with them from their old homes. The available records through Jan- The passage of the Homestead Law uary 1, 1948, indicate that some in 1862 brought more sí^ttlers to the 123,191 miles of windbreaks and shel- Great Plains and the need for more terbclts have been planted since the tree planting. Kansas was the first, in middle of the past century. Of 96,596 1865, to provide a tree-bounty law in miles planted through private initia- efiforts to encourage more planting. tive, 39,400 arc accounted for by sin- This w^as followtid in 1869 by Nebraska gle row Osage-orange hedges planted and the Dakota Territory which passed between 1865 and 1939 by farmcTs of tax-exemption laws that favored tree Kansas, encouraged by a State bounty. planting. J. Sterling Morton, third The shelterbelt project, sometimes Secretary of Agriculture, founded Ar- referred to as the Prairie States For- bor Day and saw its first official cele- estry Project, was establish(^d in 1934, bration in his home State of Nebraska a time of serious drought, dust storms, in 1872. It was primarily through his and depression. Its purpose was to encouragement that the Timber Cul- plant badly needed shelterbclts and at ture Act was passed by Congress in the same time provide work for people 1873. Although it helped to stimulate in the drought-stricken Great Plains. tree planting, probably fewer than one- In the Great Plains between 1935 third of the trees established during and 1942, 18,510 miles of field shelter- Windbreaks and Shelterbelts ^93 belts, not counting those on farmsteads, the same damages, but the greatest were planted by the Forest Service, benefits are realized from protecting The Soil Conservation Service of the the trees during the pollination stage Department of Agriculture (to which and preventing wind damage to the the work was transferred in 1942) ripening fruit. planted 8,363 miles between 1934 and Besides, properly located and ar- 1949 in its program on soil conserva- ranged shelterbelts can do much to tion districts. The Wisconsin State beautify the landscape and act as snow Conservation Department furnished fences in winter, thus helping to keep stock and, with the Extension Service, open highways and rural roads. was responsible for establishing 5,942 Thomas T. Wilson, of the Manitoba miles of shelterbelts. In California, the Department of Public Works, said that fruit-tree growers planted 2,000 miles planted snow traps can be consider- of belts to protect citrus orchards and ably cheaper than the usual slat-wire vineyards. In Indiana, truck garden- snow fence. His data, based on 201.6 ers have planted 100 miles on muck miles of caragana hedge, indicates a land. Many more miles of shelterbelts prorated cost per mile for a year of for which no published records are about $100, assuming an average effec- available probably have been planted tive life of 25 years for the planting. in other States. Prorated costs of slat-wire snow fences were about $225 per mile for a year, THE FARM PLANTINGS before 1935 assuming an average life of 20 years did not include the large numbers that for this type of fence. Hence, the cost could also be classified as shelterbelts, of the planted hedges is less than half but landowners who were fortunate that of slat-wire snow fence. The com- enough to have them in the droughty parison, of course, does not consider 1930's had proof of their benefits. the possible rental cost of the land the Pioneer planters of shelterbelts and caragana hedge may occupy, but in windbreaks in the Great Plains had places where a 200-foot right-of-way is little knowledge of how to make trees owned, this question is resolved. live and only a meager knowledge of the growth habits of the trees they had THE EFFECTS ON FIELD CROPS are to use. It is surprising, in view of those less distinct. A survey among Nebraska handicaps, that even moderate success farmers showed that 29 farmers rated was attained. high the value of field shelterbelts, Progressive farmers and orchardists although 18 had been unable to ob- plant shelterbelts for two primary pur- serve benefits. The average estimated poses—to control soil blowing and to gain in production amounted to $43 a protect crops. Some southern Great year. In South Dakota, 27 farmers said Plains cotton planters find it neces- the crop gain was $60 a year per farm. sary to replant two and three times A mistake made by some observers on the unprotected fields. Sugar-beet is to note only that corn or small grains farmers on sandy, irrigated fields in growing at the edge of a field protected the West frequently have a crop cut by the belt is usually inferior to that off by drifting sand as it emerges from growing a few rods out in the field, the ground. The small-grain and corn where, in fact, the greatest benefit farmers have had similar experiences. nearly always occurs. A fair compari- From the time that crops are well estab- son can be made only between both lished until they are ready for harvest, of these zones and the distant part of they are constantly subjected to dam- the field that has no protection. But age or to destruction by soil drifting, a large number of systematic measure- blow-down, firing by hot winds, loss ments throughout entire fields has of soil moisture, or damage from frost shown that sound comparison could and sleet. Orchards are subjected to easily lead to differences of opinion, 802002°—49 14 194 Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 because the ground near the belt may not to the drier portions of those States be substantially better or poorer than or to better-watered regions. Except for that far out in the field. A farmer with 1936, when only a few measurements a shelterbelt 40 years old may not re- were made, the period docs not include member how the different parts of the any years of serious drought. field varied in productivity before there was a shelterbelt there. OTHER CROPS besides wheat and This variability of production within corn show good response to shelterbelt fields has made so difficult the determi- protection. An investigation of eight nation of average shelterbelt gains in cottonfields in western Oklahoma and the fields measured from 1935 to 1941 northern Texas showed an increase of by the Lake States Forest Experiment 17.4 percent above normal between 0 Station that the entire mass of data is and 5PI, and 7.9 percent increase be- being restudied. Predictions as to what tween 5H and lOIÎ (with H represent- will be shown by analyses not pre- ing a horizontal distance of one tree viously tried may be erroneous. height from the edge of the belt). The In general^ however, it appears that normal yield of cotton grown beyond a field protected by a single-row shel- the zone of tree protection was 288.6 terbelt, equivalent to the Osage-orange pounds of lint to the acre. hedge so common in Nebraska and In California, one- and two-row Kansas, will show a net gain in yield eucalyptus windbreaks are said to be equivalent to the crop on an area as effective in protecting citrus fruits from long as the belt and as wide as its bruising and dropping for a total dis- height, after allowance for shading and tance of 5 to 7 times the average height sapping. Any belt of greater width will of the trees. The trees easily attain be profitable for protective purposes heights of 60 to 80 feet within 10 to alone, then, provided its width between 20 years after planting. the outside stems does not exceed its H. E. Wahlberg, of Orange County, height. Calif., reports returns from 20 citrus While it seems apparent that wider groves grown under windbreak pro- belts add somewhat to the benefits, it tection as averaging $445.48 an acre. is probable that the narrow belt yields On 20 unprotected citrus groves, the the greatest return on the land oc- return was only $271.34 an acre. Ac- cupied, if the value of the timber cording to those figures, a grower could products is low. Benefits arise from use 1 acre of trees on a 10-acre plot several different causes, and in con- for windbreak purposes and still get sequence are unlikely to be the same $1,295.92 more return on the remain- in all directions from north-south and ing 9 acres than on the unprotected 10. east-west belts. Areas west of belts pos- Dale Bumstead, an orchardist near sibly benefit less than those in other Phoenix, Ariz., reported that shelter- directions; in northern parts of the belts of eucalyptus are important in Plains, where the snowfall is heavier, reducing cullage in his citrus fruit. His greater benefits apparently are pro- 1946 crop had a cullage of 18.5 per- duced than in the central or southern cent, and cullage averaged 19 percent areas. for a 3-year period. The citrus industry Winter grains and other early crops reports that the average cullage is may benefit more from the snow held about 50 percent. on the field, near the belt, than from Dr. Arvil L. Stark, secretary of the other causes, while corn possibly bene- Utah Horticultural Society, is author- fits most by protection from hot, drying ity for the statement that fruit will not winds. The final results may be some- set on the windward side of trees when what different from these predictions, windy conditions prevail, because bees and in any case they apply only in the will not work in the wind. Shelterbelts, area from the Dakotas to Kansas, and by reducing winds, thus can create Windbreaks and Shelterbelts

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•■■) !■; :o . ÎS. :3ISIANCt LEtVvARD iN TRtE-HElGHT.-WIB''

Wind velocity at instrument stations 16 inches above the ground in 15-mile-per-hour wind blowing at right angles to three types of windbreaks: (1) A 16-foot high board fence of 33 percent density; (2) a dense belt of green ash, 290 feet wide; (3) a thin, rather open cottonwood belt, 165 feet wide. The velocities are given in percentages of wind velocities in an open field nearby.

more favorable conditions in orchards venient comparison of zones of influ- for pollination by bees. ence for the tree belts of different Another benefit of windbreaks was heights; for instance, the term 3H cited by F. L. Overly, superintendent refers to a horizontal distance equal of the Tree Fruit Branch Experiment to three times the height of a tree belt. Station near Wenatchee, Wash. He It is seen that the wind velocity near pointed out that spraying for insect a dense wide belt of ash may be re- control results in more even and com- duced to as low as 30 percent of that plete coverage in protected areas be- in the open; for a thin cottonwood cause of lower wind velocities. More- belt, it is about 66 percent of normal over, protected orchard trees do not velocity; for a board barrier, it is about develop as much lean or become as lop- 58 percent. All three windbreaks show sided as those in exposed areas. some effect out to about 30 times their height, but the effect beyond 20H is ANYONE who has stood in the pro- rather minor. tection of a belt of trees on a windy The results are substantiated by day has observed that the wind was studies made in other parts of the considerably reduced near the trees. United States. How much is this reduction in wind Pioneer tree planters, especially in velocity, and how far does it extend? Nebraska, planted east-west shelter- The zone of influence is most easily belts for protection of fields against shown graphically. The chart shows south winds. It has often been reported what this effect is for a 15-mile-an- that such protection may reduce the hour wind for several different types drying power of winds, and may at of barriers. In this study, distances times prevent the firing of crops when were expressed in terms of windbreak the temperature of southwesterly winds heights, in order to provide a con- is excessive. 196 Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 Observation by Alba Briggs in July tices, such as leaving tall stubble over 1939, in York County and adjoining winter, standing strips of cornstalks, or areas in Nebraska, showed a markedly unmowcd sweetclovcT, can also retain benefieial effect in reducing the firing much of the snow on the land. A com- of corn—the drying up of foliage in bination of sheltcrbelt planting and hot, windy weather. Benefits were strip cropping is undoubtedly the bt;st. greatest on the north side of belts and In a number of soil-moisture sam- to some extent on the east side. Ob- plings made in the spring of 1936, servations on 8 fields show^ed no dam- there was about 4 percent more avail- age out to 11 to 40 tree heights^ with able moisture (or 2.5 inches of w^ater) an average of 23 times the height of the in the top 4 feet of soil between the trees. Tree heights ranged from 18 to tree belts and a point four times the 50 feet and averaged about 35 feet. On average tree height to leeward. This the south side of Osage-orangc hedges additional moisture, largely accumu- of 18- to 20-foot height, accentuated lated from snowdrifts trapped by the damage to the corn was observed out belts, may at times be the difference to 5 tree heights. On the west side, the between a fair crop and a complete adverse effect extended from 30 to 40 crop failure. feet due to firing and sapping. These observations were not carried through IN DEVELOPING A SIIELTERBELT, the to assess values in terms of actual final present-day tree planter can progress crop yields, but they show a similarity with a great deal of assurance, especi- to many of the yield measurements. ally if he w^ill seek the assistance of his An 8-year-old sheltcrbelt near Nor- local State or Federal forester, county folk, Ncbr., played an important part agent, or district conservationist. in helping its owner, Ernest Fuhram, to Although many details involved in win the 1947 corn-yield contest for his the successful establishment of a wind- county. His lO-acre test plot made 106 break or sheltcrbelt must be worked bushels of corn an acre. Mr. Fuhram out to meet local needs, a number of said, " I had 90 acres of corn north of fundamental principles contribute to the sheltcrbelt, including the 10-acre success, irrespective of the locality or test plot, and it w^as quite evident that conditions under which windbreaks or the protection the trees gave the field shelterbelts may be planted. made a lot of difference last year. The Careful preparation of the site, good best corn was near the sheltcrbelt and planting with hardy stock, and thor- the yield tapered off as the distance ough cultivation are three factors that from the trees was increased." go hand in hand. When all thrive are In irrigated areas, shelterbelts can be well done, the results arc sometimes of considerable value in reducing water spectacular, but one cannot slight one loss from evaporation. From Scotts of them and hope to make up for it Bluff County, Nebr., it is reported that by intensive application of the others. in growing alfalfa an irrigated field Good site preparation means thor- protected by shelterbelts required one ough tillage and, if the soil is weedy or less irrigation a season than unpro- dry, summer fallowing for a season. tected fields on nearby farms. Some sites call for subsoiling, others Tree belts trap snow and hold it on terracing, contour planting, or, in the agricultural land, especially in the drier regions, diking and building of northern and central Great Plains. water-diversion structures. Hence, some measure of moisture con- It is extremely important that the servation is attained, because in un- planting stock be grown from seed pro- protected areas much of the snow is duced in the general locality in which blown into gulches, low spots, and road the trees are to be planted. This is ditches, where it is of no direct benefit one of the principal contributing fac- to the crop. Good agronomic prac- tors to the unusual success of the shel- Windbreaks and Shelterbelts 197 terbclt planted in the Great Plains to hold the tree in place. Then another during one of the Nation's most severe furrow is plowed against the trees and droughts. the soil packed in with the foot or by Although hand planting is still com- running the tractor tires over the sec- mon and will probably continue to be ond furrow-slice and very close to the used for small and rough areas, most tixes. A crew of one with a tractor, as- windbreaks and shelterbelts will be sisted by two helpers, can plant about planted with machines in the future. 350 to 500 trees an hour. One type of mechanical tree planter Planting by machine saves labor and may be constructed by the farmer or time. The planting machines consist his local blacksmith for as little as of a tractor-drawn trenching device $173. Others, capable of planting as which is mounted on a unicarrier or many as 1,000 trees an hour, are avail- chassis and which opc^ns a narrow V- able through purchase from manufac- shaped trench about 12 inches deep, 4 turers, or loan by the soil conservation inches wide on top, and about 1/2 districts or other agencies. inches wide at the bottom. Two men If hand planting is done, we recom- usually ride the machine and place the mend a long-handled, straight-shanked trees in the open trench, which is then shovel, such as is common on farms in mechanically closed and firmed by irrigated areas. The planting job is packing wheels—all in the same oper- best if done on well-prepared, reason- ation. A production of 1,000 to 1,200 ably moist ground. On sandy loam or tiTcs an hour is generally attained by heavy soils, a subsoiler run down the such machines. row before planting will loosen the soil There is a wide range of climate, and speed up planting. Trees are car- elevation, and soils in various parts of ried in a metal or wood carrying tray the United States where windbreaks or in a large bucket, and kept covered and shelterbelts are desirable. These with wet burlap and some shingle tow factors govern the choice of trees and or moss. shrubs selected for planting. Some of In using the shovel, the loose, dry the better species mentioned here are soil is scraped ofl-, and the shovel blade used in areas where this type of tree is sunk vertically to full depth wdth the planting is desirable. concave side toward the planter; the The most promising species for the handle is pushed forward to break out Great Plains include the Chinese elm, the soil and the shovel pulled toward green ash, hackberry, honeylocust, cot- the planter with the handle inclined tonwood, white and golden willow, the slightly toward the planter; the back- American elm, boxclder, chokecherry, wall, away from the planter, is made Tatarian honeysuckle, caragana, east- vertical by a second cut and the shovel ern and Rocky Mountain rcdcedar, again drawn back and held to keep the and ponderosa pine. I'he adaptability soil from rolling into the hole; a tree of thi^se and other species in the vari- is inserted with roots dangling down- ous Prairie and Plains States is set forth ward, the hole is then half filled and in tables in the last section of this book. tamped with the heel, then completely For northwestern United States, in- filled and tamped again. One man can cluding Idaho and the dry-farming plant from 50 to 120 trees an hour by areas of eastern Washington and Ore- this method, depending on the condi- gon, the species that have given best tion of the soil. results in farm windbreaks and shelter- In moist soil, planting can also be belts are green ash, black locust, honey- done in deep, freshly opened furrows. locust, the Chinese elm, caragana, the In this method, the tree is held against boxclder, ponderosa pine, Austrian the vertical side of the furrow without pine, and Colorado blue spruce. On the curling the roots and enough soil is sites with better moisture conditions, as scraped with the foot against the roots in low spots or irrigated areas, the 198 Yearboo\ of Agriculture 1949 golden willow, silver poplar, and the native cottonwoods do well. In the Corn Belt region of north- central United States, the trees that have proved adaptable are green ash, American elm, black locust, honey- locust, hardy catalpa, black walnut, the Russian-olive, rcdbud, honeysuckle, Norway spruce, white spruce, Black Hills spruce, red pine, and white pine. In areas with considerable moisture, s¿ 4 the golden willow, green willow, and native cottonwoods are recommended. In southwestern United States, the citrus-growing sections of Arizona, New^ Mexico, and California, eucalyp- tus (sometimes known as bluegum) has been used most satisfactorily to pro- tect citrus groves. In California, Mon- terey cypress has been used to some The protection afforded by the prin- extent, while in Arizona and New cipal shelterbelt may be carried entirely Mexico, the Arizona cypress is planted across the farm with one-, two-, and occasionally with success. three-row supplemental belts at in- In the New England States, New tervals of 10 rods to 20 rods or more, York, and Pennsylvania, the planting depending upon the protection that is is usually confined to the farmstead needed. windbreaks, and conifers are favored, In the citrus-growing sections of including Norway and white spruce, California and the Southwest, one- or white pine, and red pine. tw^o-row plantings of eucalyptus or In the southeastern part of the cedar give good results. In areas of United States from Georgia westward better rainfall or where experience has to eastern Texas, there is occasionally shown that narrow^ belts will survive an area of sandy soil that requires pro- (for example, on muck soils of In- tection from wind erosion. Under such diana) single-row plantings of willow conditions the native pine species, are satisfactory. especially loblolly pine, makes a satis- On the sandy soils of central Wis- factory quick-growing shelterbelt. consin, three-row belts, preferably of Good composition in a shelterbelt, red and jack pine, are recommended. like good structural engineering in a bridge or barn, improves its appear- THOROUGI-I CULTIVATION is necessary ance and increases its effectiveness. during the first 3 to 5 years of the life For an all-purpose principal shelter- of the plantation. No amount of care- belt in the drier parts of the United ful site preparation and good planting States, one of the most important re- will compensate for neglect. In most quirements for good composition is a cases, the regular farm equipment can tight row of shrubs on the windward be used in caring for the belts. If the side. equipment is too wide, some modifica- Shrubs should be combined with tion can be made by the farmer or his conifers, low, medium, and tall trees local blacksmith. Usually a spacing of to produce a compact barrier. Five 12 feet between rows will require a rows represent the minimum that cultivation period of 5 years or more, should be used when maximum pro- depending on how fast the trees grow. tection is needed; seven rows are A closer spacing will considerably better. shorten this period. As soon as the Windbreaks and Shelterbelts 199 crowns of the trees come together dead or diseased trees or broken limbs. enough to shade out grass and weeds, Some thinning may be desirable in cultivation can be discontinued, except thickly planted stands or other special in dry areas where rainfall is so scant circumstances. that continued cultivation is necessary. After a planting has reached ma- turity and small openings begin to ap- Two GREAT ENEMIES of trces are fire pear in the crowns, underplanting is and livestock. When fire occurs, it is important and will fill in the gaps. usually sudden and its destruction is Usually only very tolerant trees, such complete ; it brings to naught the years as redcedar, will succeed among the of care. The damage caused by live- older trees. stock is as sure as fire in destroying eventually the windbreak or shelter- JOSEPH H. STOECKELER is in charge belt. Browsing of shrubs and the lower of the Northern Lakes Forest Research branches of trees and young reproduc- Center at Rhinelander, Wis., a branch tion opens up the stand to the drying of the Lake States Forest Experiment effect of the winds, allows the snow to Station. He has been engaged in re- blow through, and generally reduces search in the Forest Service since 1931. the effectiveness of the planting. Con- From 1935 to 1942, when the Prairie stant trampling by stock so compacts States Forestry Project was pushing the soil that it puddles and seals the extensive shelterbelt planting in the surface, and a smaller portion of the Great Plains, he participated in the in- precipitation reaches the tree roots; vestigations that provided the tech- moreover, the trampling may injure nical standards for that project. the roots or result in breakage or other Ross A. WILLIAMS has been chief damage to the stem of the tree. of the Division of Forestry for the Tree plantings, if adequately pro- Northern Great Plains Region of the tected, do not demand frequent atten- Soil Conservation Service at Lincoln, tion, but the comparatively simple Nebr., since 1935. Previously he served measures that are needed do require with the Forest Service and taught at timely application. the Ranger School of the New York Pruning of shelterbelts should ordi- State College of Forestry and at Mon- narily be confined to the removal of tana State University.

HEELING IN CARRYING PLANTING STOCK

• . U ilVJ • Dig V-sfiaped trench Open bundles and in moist shady place spread out evenly

Keep roots covered with water, removing one plant at o time Cover roots with loose Complete filling in soil as planting progresses moist soil and water and firm with feet well