e. In the West, they afford him a protected
grazing range for his stock; they are the best insurance against flood
damage to his fields, his buildings, his bridges, his roads, and the
fertility of his soil. The national forests cover the higher portions of
the Rocky Mountain ranges, the Cascades, the Pacific Coast ranges, and a
large part of the forested coast and islands of Alaska; some of the
hilly regions in Montana and in the Dakotas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, and
limited areas in Minnesota, Michigan, Florida, and Porto Rico. In
addition, land is now being purchased for national forests in the White
Mountains of New England and in the southern Appalachians. In regions so
widely scattered, agricultural and forest conditions necessarily differ
to a great degree, bringing about corresponding differences in the
effect of the national forests on the agricultural interests of the
various localities. Wherever agriculture can be practiced, however, the
farmer is directly benefited by the existence of national forests and by
their proper management.--U.S. Dept. of Agri.

GARDEN HELPS

Conducted by Minnesota Garden Flower Society

Edited by MRS. E. W. GOULD, 2644 Humboldt Avenue So.
Minneapolis.

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE USE OF COAL ASHES--

This is the time of the year when the unsightly heaps of coal ashes are
likely to appear in one's back yard--eyesores and apparently useless.

Yet there are several ways in which they can be used to advantage about
the garden.

They should first be sifted, using a quarter-inch wire mesh. The rough
or coarser parts are well adapted for use on paths and driveways,
forming a clean, firm surface with use. These paths are especially good
in the garden, for weeds do not grow readily in them, and they dry off
quickly after a rain.

Such parts of the ashes as will pass through an inch mesh will make a
very good summer mulch about fruit trees and bushes that require such
care. This mulch will conserve the moisture at the roots of the tree or
plant at a time when it is very necessary to have it.

About a pyramid of these coarse ashes one may plant anything that
requires much water. The roots of the plants will run under the ashes
and keep moist and cool. Through a drought a little water poured upon
the ashes will be distributed to the roots without loss.

The fine sifted ashes will render the tougher hard soils more friable,
their chief virtue being lightening it. In a very mild d