PLANTING AND SEEDING OF WOODLOTS 



297 



some localities to gather small seedlings 

 if they have come up naturally in a 

 place where they are not desired, or too 

 thick for a permanent stand. If trans- 

 planted in nursery rows for a year or 

 two, they would develop much better 

 roots and be better adapted for planting 

 in permanent sites. 



The cost of reforesting depends on 

 many factors which go to determine the 

 cost of the planting stock and the work 

 of planting in the field. First of all 

 the cost of stock will depend on where 

 the same has to be purchased. There 

 was a time, not many years back, when 

 reforesting could not be advocated to 

 any extent because trees could not be 

 secured at a price reasonable enough 

 to show results from a business stand- 

 point. No one can expect land owners 

 to undertake reforesting if they have to 

 pay $10 to $30 per thousand for trees 

 at the nursery. Since some of the States 

 have started nurseries in recent years, 

 commercial nurseries have come to 

 realize this fact and they have been led 

 to offer a smaller grade of stock suitable 

 for reforesting at a more reasonable 

 price. 



In the majority of cases the public 

 have not yet come to realize the fact 

 that the best trees can be secured for 

 reforesting at prices ranging from $1.50 

 to $6.00 per thousand. Of course such 

 prices generally are quoted f. o. b. nur- 

 sery so that the final cost of stock will 

 depend upon the proximity of the plant- 

 ing site to the nursery. If you are for- 

 tunate enough to have your land 

 located near a nursery where trees can be 

 shipped by freight or hauled direct from 

 the nursery by teams, the cost of stock 

 will be at a minimum. If, on the other 

 hand, the trees have to be shipped by 

 express and then perhaps hauled twenty 

 miles from express office to planting 

 site, the cost is greatly increased. 



The cost of planting is a still more 

 variable quantity. The condition of 

 land to be planted, the distance at 

 which trees are spaced, the cost of 

 provisions (depending on the season 

 of the year or the distance toted), the 

 amoimt of lost time due to bad weather, 

 the experience of the men, the supply 

 of labor, and the size of operation, are 

 all factors influencing the cost of planting. 



The reports from private plantings 

 show variation of cost per acre from 

 $3.00 for underplanting with 400 trees, 

 to $16.00 for a maximum where trees 

 are spaced six by six feet, requiring 

 about 1,200 per acre. 



Probably an average cost per acre 

 for trees and labor would be about $8 

 to $12. 



|\ 



\ 



Photo by G. L. Barrus. 



Poplar Whipping Top of Red Pine .^nd Retard- 

 ing Its Growth. 



IN CASE of under PLANTING REMOVE POORER SPECIES 

 WHEN THEY INTERFERE WITH THE BEST GROWTH. 



For^planting in the woodlot, the work 

 can often be done at such times as not 

 to interfere with other work and with 

 permanently employed labor, so that 

 the only actual investment is the cost 

 of trees, about $3 to $6 per acre. 



Returns come within a short time. 

 The trees in from three to five years 

 cover the unsightly parcels, thereby 

 increasing the value of the entire tract. 

 Careful studies of gro\\i;h made in 

 plantations show good yields and money 

 returns from reforesting. Planting is 

 not a matter of sentiment, but a sound 

 business investment. 



