Opportunity from Garden City, Kansas • 3

3 OPPORTUNITY Entered as second class matter August 20, 1929, at the postoffice at Garden City, under Act of March 3, 1879. Published by The Great Plains Publishing Company Busenbark Stewell nnnu if THE GREAT PLAINS MAGAZINE Published Monthly at Garden City, Kansas The only illustrated monthly magaxine published lor, and in the interests of western farmers and stockmen. Subscription Price 1 Tear 50 Cents 5 Cents per Copy irrn Nurserymen estimate that more trees have been planted in Western Kansas a nd Eastern Colorado in tbe past two years than before in twenty years. Irrigation is Urged for Every Farm in Southwest Kansas them who have resided in the county for a period of forty years will be placed in the cornerstone of the new building. The earliest settlement of the county was only about forty-five years ago.

The names of all the school children in the county and their teachers will also be placed in the cornerstone. The Masonic lodge of Goodland will preform the cornerstone laying ceremony. The double blossoms which come out later are of various colors, ranging all the way from pure white to a shade of red. The different varieties furnish a succession of bloom lasting almost a month. Most of the double blossoms are in what is known as East Potomac Park.

In Japan these beautiful trees are regarded with a feeling little short of reverence and cherry blossom time is a festival period. During the time when the trees are blooming in Washington, the Japanese Ambassador and members of his family are frequently seen walking beneath the trees admiring their beauty. Many people inquire as to whether these trees are grown commercially in this country and if they can be purchased. I understand that there are two of three nurseries in the east which are now growing these trees but so far they have not produced any great quantity for sale. Certainly there is no flowering tree which is more beautiful and the time will perhaps come when they will be seen in many parts of the country.

Train Service in May rpRAIN service on both the Boise City-Am-X arillo line and the Spearman-Morse line will be inaugurated in May, according to W. H. Rochester, construction engineer for the Santa Fe. The original plans called for operation of trains by May 1, but completion of the Canadian River bridge will cause a short delay. All grading work on the Boise City line south has been completed from both ends of the line to the Canadian river.

It is expected that the Canadian river bridge will be completed sometime between May 1 and May 15. The speed of the completion of this structural steel depends upon weather conditions. The development of the gas fields in the southwest and expansion of farming areas in the past few years makes it imperative that this road be completed at as early a date as possible, and no unnecessary time is being lost. THAT the state of Kansas offers a monetary return, in addition to the satisfaction of more beautiful farm homes, to western Kansas farmers who will cooperate in water conservation; that the western part of the -state, for all its scant rainfall, knows nothing of water problems, and that there is an actual loss in this part of the state from lack of taking care of surface waters, were the high points in a message brought to Western Kansas recently by George S. Knapp, state water conservation commissioner in an address delivered to the Lions club of Dodge City.

There is a state law reducing the taxes of farms on which draws and ravines have been dammed for water storage, depending upon the amount of water stored. There is another law that permits townships and counties to build dams in connection with highways. There is sufficient water available under all of western Kansas to provide at least an acre of orchard, garden and lawn on each farm and there is sufficient wind to bring the water to the surface for that type of irrigation, Mr. Knapp said. The use of water in western Kansas can be made to pay in fruits and garden crops and in trees.

He said he went to the experiment station at Garden City when he came to Kansas 17 years ago. There was a barren half section of land and one small office building there. In 1915 he set out the first trees at the station. He called attention to the fine place the station is now and said the trees he set out now tower above the buildings. Governor to Lay Cornerstone GOV.

HARRY WOODRING will be the speaker at the laying of the cornerstone of the new Sherman county courthouse in Goodland, Kansas, May 9. The governor has accepted the invitation of the board of county commissioners. Construction is well under way on the new structure, which will be the finest courthouse in northwest, Kansas. It is of concrete, steel and brick construction, with ornamental stone trimming. The names of all persons about 200 of Trees Attract Many Visitors By CONGRESSMAN CLIFFORD R.

HOPE AN attractive feature of Washington in the early spring is the Japanese Cherry Blossoms. Every year many thousands of visitors come to Washington just for the purpose of seeing them. It is no unusual thing for there to be from 50,000 to 100,000 visitors in Washington the first Sunday after the cherry blossoms are out. They come from almost every state in the Union, although the majority, of course, are from the states nearby. There are said to be more than forty varieties of these cherries in Japan, but so far only, twelve kinds have been introduced into this country.

All of these twelve ae to be found in Washington. The name "cherry" is a misnomer as these trees really belong to a branch of the plum family. The first Japanese cherry trees were brought to Washington in 1921 and were a present from the mayor of Tokyo to Mrs. Taft. The shipment was of the variety known as Yoshino and they were planted around the Tidal Basin in Potomac Park in Washington.

It is these trees which one usually sees in the pictures of Washington at this time of the year. The Yoshino tree has a single blossom which is a rather delicate pink in color and the blossom itself is not as striking as that of some of the double varieties. However, the beauty and symmetry of the trees together with the setting around the Tidal Basin has caused the Yoshino to be considered the most beautiful of the varieties which have been planted in Washington. They are also the first to bloom..