EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 383 



The best time for planting is in the spring as soon as the snow is 

 gone and the frost is ont of the ground. A regular spacing should be 

 used as it makes cultivation easier and the trees will have uniform grow- 

 ing space and will be more shapely. In planting, two men work to- 

 gether to best advantage, one man to dig the holes and the other to 

 carry the trees and plant them. The holes should be slightly deeper 

 than is necessary to take the roots when spread in a natural position. 

 Fine moist earth should be sprinkled over the roots and the coarser soil 

 drawn in next and packed firmly with the foot. A layer of loose soil 

 should be scraped around the tree in order to retain the moisture. Great 

 care must be taken in handling the stock in the field to see that the roots 

 do not dry out. They should not be exposed to the sun or wind. It is 

 a good plan to keep a piece of wet burlap over the roots when moving 

 the plants. The roots should be thoroughly puddled just before plant- 

 ing, that is, dipped in a thick mud of such consistency as will stick to 

 the roots." 



The plantation should be cultivated occasionally for the first two 

 years, to keep down the weeds and prevent early surface rooting and 

 evaporation. Such cultivation will pay for itself in increased growth. 

 After the first year the trees should grow about one foot a year. "When 

 the trees are about four feet high, which, if four-year transplants are 

 used, will be in four years, they may be thinned out in order to prevent 

 their crowding each other. By thinning them out the remaining trees 

 will have more room to develop side branches and intermediate returns 

 may be obtained from the trees taken out. This thinning is not neces- 

 sary, however, as the trees will not crowd badly for some years. The 

 degree of thinning should depend on the market for small sized trees. If 

 it is good every other tree may be taken out. In making these thin- 

 nings the larger trees should be taken out, so as to give the remaining 

 trees more growing room, and because the larger trees can be disposed 

 of at a better price. 



Four to five year old transplants can be obtained for about !i>15.00 per 

 thousand. Planting 5,584 to the acre, the cost for the stock would be 

 §84.00 per acre and the cost of planting the trees should not be over 

 Jii!40.00 per acre, or a total cost for stock and planting of $124.00 per acre. 

 Cultivation is not a large item and can be done in spare time, being 

 required only occasionally. Figuring the loss in the plantation at 5 

 per cent, 5,305 trees will reach salable size. At the end of four years a 

 considerable number of the trees will be large enough to put on the 

 market, probably sufficient to pay for the investment if desired. In an 

 operation of this kind the money invested should be figured at the local 

 rate of interest which could be obtained, say G per cent. The following 

 statements show the returns that may be expected, using tlie above data 

 for a basis, and neglecting interest charges on the value of the laud. 



Assuming an average price of 15 cents per tjce with a 5-year rota- 

 tion 



5,305 trees at 15 cents $795.75 



Stock and planting, $124 at 6% for 5 years 105.94 



Balance ...,.,, $629.81 



