468 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



FOREST PLANTING IN MICHIGAN 



Special Bulletin 103 



By A. K. OIIITTIBNDEN — FOREBiTRY IS'BCTION 



In establishing a forest plantation the landowner should Ijuow what 

 trees are best suited to the locality and soil and which of these trees 

 will best serve the objects he has in mind. Trees grow slowly as com- 

 pared with other crops and it takes many years for them to reach ma- 

 turity or sufficient size for utilization. Mistakes made in planting may 

 become apparent only after many years, and owing to such mistakes 

 the objects for which the plantation was established may not be at- 

 tained. It is with the purpose of helping landowners to select and prop- 

 erly plant trees suited to their purpose that this bulletin has been 

 written. 



Forest plantations are established for one or more of several reasons. 

 The commonest are to produce fence posts, timber or lumber, to act as 

 a windbreak or shelter, to hold shifting sand, to prevent erosion or gully- 

 ing, and to beautify the landscape. 



In general it does not pay to raise trees for timber purposes on good 

 agricultural soil. Such land will produce more money from farm crops. 

 A woodlot is, however, a valuable adjunct to a farm, and many farm 

 woodlots which are on agricultural soil are valuable assets. Forest 

 plantations are usually advisable on parts of farms which are rough or 

 rocky, or where the soil is so poor as to be unsuited for farm crops. 

 Forest planting is often advisable in already existing woodlots where 

 openings have occurred which are not restocking naturally or where it 

 is desired to introduce new species of trees. The planting of trees for 

 windbreaks or screens is advisable on many farms. Forest planting is 

 also advisable on very large areas of cut-over lands and on more or 

 less barren lands, such as the jack pine plains where, in many places, 

 trees are the only crop that can be successfully grown. 



TIME TO PliANT 



Trees should be planted while they are dormant. They may be planted 

 in the spring as soon as the frost is out of the ground until the trees 

 start growth or, in the case of hardwoods, and rarely of conifers, in 

 the fall. Trees should not be planted in the late spring or after growth 

 starts. In general broadleaf trees should be transplanted only when 

 the leaves are off. They may be transplanted in the fall more safely than 

 conifers which mostly retain their foliage all winter. If evergreens are 

 transplanted in the late fall, unless they are mulched or covered with 

 snow during the winter months, they are likely to evaporate moisture 

 from their foilage while the roots, which have not yet become established 

 in the soil, are unable to supply more moisture. As a result they may dry 

 out and die. The same thing may take place in the case of late spring 

 planting after vegetation has started, resulting in the death of the trees. 



