The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 5, 1916, Page 9

o Dakota, an “old ‘gentleman ' of R greatwenlthhnsstartedafann This farm is engaged in' dealing the death blow to a lot of lies that have been : told ‘ahout North Dakata and Montana, o especially ahout the climate, the soil and the resources and productive ability of the “great plains” section, lying between the,Big‘_ Muddy and' the Rocky mountains, = S ad &1 4 UT on the lnlls ~above the st—' O Bouri ' west of “Mandan, North™ “Corn and cattle will be the blg' money-makers in Western North Dakota in the future,” says one of the government scientists at the Mandan | station. The station is growmg corn the equal of any that can be raised in any state. All "other grams and grasses are being produced in ; > bundance. : " beén-said-about e “in a way to-attract: public:attention. . 5 I in- Unele -Sam’s:. h;hlt,to eondense : for the partlcular purpose of answermg the falsehoods : ahou t\ western. North’ Dakota by actual accomphshment The farm'is only in its third season but it has . ‘ done enough. already to make :ts crea- ~-tion worth while,: The! old gentleman: who. started’;this - farm must be something of a philan- thropist, don’t you think? He is, but that is part of his business; for the old gentl_eman’s name" is’ Uncle Sam—or in : & other wozds the Umted States of Amenca. The farm of whxch we haye spoken is the Northern Great Plains:Field Station, ; operated by the Office of Dry Land Agri- “culture of the Bureau of-Plant Industry- of “'the 'United “States Department “of - Agriculture. That’s more than 8 mouth- - ful. In common language it’s Wh as the govemment experlment station” a\f-' Manda an. Uncle Sam is modest ‘cuss. The station “was -established by an act’ of - congress passed a little aver three years ago -and since ‘then ' it-has héen gomng: ahead’ under the most competent scien-: - : tific management ' carrying on practical - - farming operations,.yet: .very:little -has - - e 'work of: the statxon _SHOWING FARMERS HOW TO' . GROW. SHELTER TREES No ' results from the Mandan field ‘station have ever been put into: print. “The * station “is" too.- young- yet, 4 explained W. L. Sweet, Who is in:charge’ “of the station records.. “It will ‘perhaps be two years more before the records we are compiling cover a sufficient period to be included in one of the bulletins.” One of the most important features of - the work -being done at the station is :'the culture of shade trees for shelter .belts and their distribution to farmers in the great plains area of North and | : :South’ Dakota, Montana: and Wyoming. In fact, the primary purpose for the establishment of the station by act of congress in 1913 was to help the farmers of this section in finding trees suitable for planting as storm breaks about the farm homes on the prairies and hills of the .great plains region. But one distribution and planting .of " trees has been made, but the results so far show that the station .is going to knock in the head the idea that shade trees will not flourish in the western part of North Dakota.. “Only-a very small percentage of fml- ures has been mported to us,” that a'large’ proportion of the trees-we sent out were unrooted ’cuttings. In many cases where it ‘was reported that 'a large proportion of the trees died’our ..inspectors have found that the conditions lald down by the department were not,, : said Mr. . Sweet, “and this is in spite of ‘the fact Experlment Statlon at Mandan Is Dlsprovmg a Lot of Old Libels; 4 Berrles, Melons, Trees and Grains in Abundance Grown comphed Wlth in other words, that the ' trees were neglected.” The government reqmres that apphcaa ' tions be made a full year before the ° plants are distributed.: In the meantime a government inspector visits the farm - of the applicant and decides whether the plot .of ground selected is suitable and nges full instructions regarding prepar- ing the ground for the planting. FREE TREE DISTRIBUTION £ REALLY HELPS' NURSERY ‘MEN It was explained that in its distribu« tion of tfees the government was not in competition with private nursery mens On the contrary th: government’s dis- tribution is creating an immense market for trees which the station is ot attempt- ing to supply. A.E. Thorberg, a pioneer merchant of Mandan, who. accompamed the Leader represeiitative to the experi« ment station, commented on this fea’cure.- “The nurserymen ought to be grateful to the station.for the work it is doing,” he said. ““The shelter belts planted and -grown successfully under the direction of the station experts are scattered all ofer. this state and three others and in every case they cause other farmers to’ go into the market and buy trees.” . On the station farm there are thickly *° Be planted groves of well-developed shade =~ ° strees growing, demonstratmg conclusive« ly the success of shade-tree culture in the vicinity of Mandan, at’ least. Yet . the station is ngt. located: in’: e of the naturally wooded ravines' of: ric