Page:Oklahoma Arbor and Bird Day, Friday, March Twelfth, 1909.pdf/15

Rh which each honorable man in all the world may humbly strive for and become the better for the striving; it is one which every faithful disciple of horticulture, of forestry, will deserve from his friends, his family and his country: vast orchards which he has planted and the great arms of towering elms, spreading their soothing shade like a benediction over the weary wayfarer who rests at her feet, and all the fluttering foliage whispering to the wanton winds shall tell the story of his benediction to humanity, arborphoning that epitaph with perennial fidelity—'Si quaeris monumentum, circumspice.—If you seek my monument, look around you."—John Nordhouse, Nebraska City, Neb.

 

By Prof. O. M. Morris, Horticulturalist and Botanist, at the A. & M. College, Stillwater, Oklahoma:

The varieties of trees that are in greatest demand are those that are desired for general planting. The first purpose of the planter is the formation of a windbreak or shelter belt, and next, the production of shade and other comforts that may be derived from the presence of a grove of trees. The growing of posts and fuel timber is also attracting a great deal of attention and the farmers desire to plant their windbreaks and woodlots of such varieties of trees as will produce all the desirable features of a windbreak and produce timber of suitable size and character for posts and fuel. To be suitable for general planting, the trees should make a rapid growth, be extremely hardy, and of such a character that they will require a minimum of care, cultivation, and attention during the formative period of the grove. This confines the list of trees for general planting to a very select number, including black locust, white elm, soft maple, Russian mulberry, catalpa, hackberry, sycamore, honey locust, and Osage orange. There are many other trees that are very hardy and make a rapid growth, but do not possess all of the characteristics desired. The following description of the trees named is here given in order to assist those who desire to make up a very select list of a few trees for general planting. The selection of the variety is very important, as it may mean the difference between profit and loss, or a good grove and no grove.

For planting about school grounds and in public places where a good shade tree is desired, there is nothing better known than the American or white elm. This is a native tree, and when full grown, attains a height of 100 feet and a trunk diameter of 5 or 6 feet. It forms a round, broad, sweeping top. It grows rapidly and adapts itself well to all kinds of soil. The wood is hard, heavy, strong, difficult to split, and durable when placed in contact with the soil. It makes good fuel, but the principal value of the tree lies in its use as a shape tree, and for that purpose it ranks first among all the trees grown in Oklahoma. It does not grow as rapidly for the first few years 