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Show New Year Resolution to Plant Trees Hard to Beat, Thinks U. S. Forester Cites Duchesne Planter Experie nee in Beautifying His Place Each Year as Showing That Vow To Put Out Various Varieties Is Easy to Keep. By CHARLES M. GKN'AUX Extension Forester, U. 8. A. C. Happy iNew Year! The words sound tbe tocsin for the generation of old ideals. It Is the season of new resolutions. resolu-tions. That a new year resolution to plant trees is hard to beat and easy to keep Is shown by the experience of A. W. demons of Duchesne. Mr. Clemons Is a Uintah basin apiarist who has one of the most beautiful homes to be found anywhere In that section of the state, simply because he hns kept a resolution, made several sev-eral years ago, to plont trees arouud Uis place each year. When Mr. demons first moved to this place there were no trees except a few native cottonwoods and some willow brush. Ten or 3Iore Species of Trees AH Growing Vigorously. Now there are ten or more species of trees, all growing vigorously. Among the hardwoods there are Russian OHe, honey locust, black locust, lo-cust, horse chestnut and mountain ash. There are also sceplmeas of the following conifers: Western yellow pine, Black Hills spruce and Scotch pine, all of which are perfectly shaped and are growing from one and rn- half to two feet In height each year. Most people would be very proud to have any single one of these trees in their yards. But the two trees that Mr. demons prizes above all the rest are splendid specimens of Colorado blue spruce, which stand tall, straight, and spirelike, on opposite sides of the house. "It was several years after I first mnde the resolution to plant some trees each year," said Mr. Clemons, "when I determined to start at least -one native blue spruce tree on my place. "Accordingly, early in the spring, before the snow was off the higher slopes, I offered two neighbors ?40 or $10 apiece, for the trees if they would go out on the mountain and dig me four oien-grown blue spruces according ac-cording to my instructions. Ball of Earth Around Roots Wrapped With Moist Burlap. "The boys went out and selected Ave beautiful trees. These they carefully dug, first making a circular trench arouud each one about 18 Inches from the stem. The ball of; earth, around the roots of each tree was then carefully care-fully wrapped with moist burlap and tied securely so that it would not be shaken off iu coming down the moun. tain. The trees were all dug and brought down the same day, so that the earth around the roots would not have time to dry before the trees were planted, "When they delivered the trees to me that night, I had the holes already dug. Each' hole was somewhat larger i than might seem necessary, because I wanted room to pact plenty of good top soil down around the roots. "The trees were then about 5 or feet tii 11, I planted one tree in each hole, watering the soil as I packed it around the balled roots of the trees. Each tree was planted at the same depth at which it had stood in its first location. "The trees have been irrigated carefully care-fully each j ear. You notice that only two of them are still growing. The other three apparently had not developed de-veloped large enough root systems to enable them to staud the change, and they never recovered from the shock of being transplanted. "Of course, it is much easier to get these trees started now when nursery grown planting stock can always be secured. I'robably it is also less expensive. ex-pensive. Those two trees represent a cost of $50 in money to me. A man offered me $50 for one of them last summer, I told him that I would not take less than $100 for either one of them. It is worth that much to me to have them growing here. I cannot Buggest a better New Year's resolution than to plant trees." |
