Evergreens for South Dakota

The numerous letters received by this department concerning the cultivation and management of evergreens, indicate that considerable interest is being taken by planters in the subject. This bulletin is a summary of the experiments with evergreens at this Station the past nineteen years, together with the experience of planters in other parts of the state. The object of this is to enable beginners to profit by the experience of others who have made an effort to beautify their home surroundings by planting evergreens on the lawn for ornament, or to .secure protection from surface winds weep by plan ting wind breaks. The word evergreen is somewhat misleading as some members of the evergreen family drop their leaves in winter, while some plants that retain their leaves during the winter are not members of the great evergreen family. The word conifer, which means cone-bearer, is a better term. The conifer or cone-bearers are by far the most important family of forest trees. For example, what would our lumbermen in the west have done· without the White Pine? The lumbermen of Europe have done without the Scotch. Pine? The great majority of conifers are native of the temperate zone, only a few being tropical or sub-tropical. The conifers number about three hundred species divided into nearly forty genera. The North American flora contain not less than one hundred species and sub-species, the largest variety being found on the Pacific coast. In addition there are at least four hundred nurserymen\u27s varieties selected mainly for their ornamental value