292 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



southern half of the region and still continues so, though conifers are 

 more widely used now than at any time previous. This is due to the 

 greater protection which conifers give, especially in seasons when de- 

 ciduous trees do not have a full leaf cover. Cottonwood is still im- 

 portant as a grove tree, but has been succeeded by hardy catalpa as 

 the most desirable grove tree and by others somewhat secondary to 

 the catalpa. Throughout the Middle West, hardy catalpa, honey locust, 

 osage orange, black locust and Russian mulberry are now the favorite 

 trees, and it is well to consider the results that may be obtained. 



In Pawnee county, Nebraska, a sixteen-year-old catalpa plantation 

 gave a net return of $152.17 per acre at the time the plantation was 

 cut. This meant an annual profit of $6.24 per acre. A ten-year-old planta- 

 tion of the same species in eastern Kansas showed a net value of 

 $197.55 per acre. Still another plantation in Nebraska gave a net in- 

 come of $170.50 when fourteen years old, which amounts to an annual 

 income of $8.69 per acre. All of these groves were planted as an 

 experimental investment. The results show what can be accomplished 

 when proper care is taken to select a suitable species for a definite site 

 and when subsequent proper management is given to the grove. Several 

 equally striking cases could be cited throughout the Middle West, and 

 it is known that where the catalpa will succeed no other tree will pay 

 so well. Good soil and good moisture conditions are essential for suc- 

 cess with this tree. 



Osage orange twenty-two years old has been known to produce as 

 high as 2,640 first-class posts and 2,272 second-class posts, worth, re- 

 spectively, 12.5 and 7 cents each, with a total acreage value of $524.04. 

 TwQ Illinois groves on rich agricultural soil were grown for a supply 

 of posts, stakes, and fuel, and made a profit which compares favorably 

 with farm crops. One of the groves was twenty-seven years old and 

 covered four acres. A careful estimate showed that the yield per acre 

 would be 536 second-class posts, 1,200 third-class posts and four cords 

 of firewood. Portions of Illinois are gridironed with osage orange, 

 planted about the field borders, giving the appearance of an immense 

 checkerboard. These fences and windbreaks supply a large number of 

 posts and still serve an excellent purpose as barriers. It is well under- 

 stood that when properly seasoned no posts are better than those of 

 the osage orange. Land producing such a stand of trees as noted above 

 could hardly be put to a better use, since timber is the easiest of all 

 crops to raise and from now on v/ill never go begging for a market. 



Red cedar should not be planted about apple orchards, since the cedar 

 rust which affects this species also affects the apple. The cedar is, 

 however, well adapted to dry soils and exposed situations in general 

 and gives us one of the most durable woods on the market. An Iowa 

 plantation of this species reached a value of $200.54 in twenty-five years 

 and, judging from the native growth which once occurred throughout 

 Nebraska, this tree will have some usage on poor sites. 



