140 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



WHITE PINE. 



White pine succeeds fairly well on the hard soils in the eastern coun- 

 ties, where it has been planted sparingly. Its range for planting is not 

 determined. It will thrive for a number of years in any part of the 

 territory, with the possible exception of the sand hills. 



Plantation No. 1. — This plantation is situated on upland. The soil 

 is a fertile prairie loam with a clay subsoil. The ground was thoroughly 

 prepared, and the young trees were planted in pure sand, 4 feet by 4 

 feet. Two or three open spots were left to give the grove a natural 

 appearance. The trees were cultivated until they became large enough 

 to form a ground cover. Later they were pruned, and still more re- 

 cently two-thirds of the stand were thinned out, so that there are at 

 present 916 trees per acre. No other attention has been given them. 

 Further thinning will soon be requii'ed, however, since the stand is 

 becoming crowded. 



Excellent forest conditions for so young a grove have already been 

 formed. The surface layer of humus is about one inch deep, and 

 this is overlaid by a layer of litter two inches in depth, formed from 

 the pine needles, twigs, and cones. There is no ground cover or under- 

 brush within the body of the plantation. 



The trees have grown remarkably, both in height and diameter. The 

 sample dominant tree was 23.5 feet high, and the diameter, breast high, 

 4.6 inches. There are 68 trees per acre 6 inches in diameter, two 7 

 inches, and two 8 inches, and some are nearly 30 feet high. A height 

 growth of three feet in a year is not uncommon. 



AUSTRIAN PINE. 

 Austrian pine has been planted only to a limited extent in eastern 

 Nebraska, though probably as much as any other conifer except red cedar. 

 Its use has been almost entirely as a lawn tree, and its success makes 

 it safe to recommend it for this purpose. 



JACK PINE. 



Jack pine is adapted especially to planting in the sand hills. It is 

 being successfully grown on the Dismal River Forest Reserve and by a 

 number of ranchmen in widely scattered localities in the hills. 



Experience shows that planting on north slopes gives the best results. 

 South and southwest slopes are hotter, and the moisture conditions are 

 not so good. Very dense sod should also be avoided. The different 

 exposures that may be planted are, in order of suitability, the north, 

 northeast, northwest, east, west, and southeast exposures, and, finally, 

 the more level situations, such as valleys and crests of hills. The plan 

 should be to plant blocks or belts of trees as windbreaks around the 

 ranch house, barns, and yards. 



WESTERN YELLOW PINE. 

 Western yellow (bull) pine and its variety, rock pine, are also being 

 extensively planted on the Dismal River Reserve. They doubtless will 



