260 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



FORESTRY. 



Reforestation, H. H. Chapman {Minnesota Sta. Bui. SI, pp. 347, 248). — In order to 

 investigate tlie cost and practicaljility of restocking with pine land which i^j too iiilly, 

 rocky, or sandy for agricultural purposes, a number of acres were laid off at tlie Grand 

 Rapids Substation and planted in 1900 to white and Norway pine. The trees liad 

 been grown 2 years in nursery rows and were a size too large for succef^sful planting. 

 The cost of j)lanting depended upon the distance between the trees. When set at 

 intervals of 4 ft. the cost was $11.20 per acre. At 6-ft. intervals the cost was $5.60, 

 at 8-ft. intervals $3.14, and at 10-ft. intervals $2.50 per acre. Notwithstanding the 

 prolongetl drought of 1900 nearly 95 per cent of the trees have lived and are now 

 reported to be making rajiid growth. In all 12.5 acres were planted, each acre rep- 

 resenting a different type of planting. Four acres were pure white-j>ine ]>lantation, 

 4 of Norway pine, and other areas of mixed plantings of white, Norway, and jack 

 pine. An acre was also planted to test the relative merits of Norway and Scotch pine 

 for Minnesota conditions. 



Practicability of forest planting- in tlie United States, W. L. Hall ( U. S. 

 Di'jit. Ayr. YcKiiiook 1902, pp. 13S-144, ph. 4)- — According to the author forest plant- 

 ing can not Ije considered practical )le throughout the entire United States, 1)ut there 

 are a number of regions in which it is feasible. The considerations which determine 

 the practicability of planting are the present sujiply of useful timber, the necessity of 

 forests to provide shelter, protect the soil or conserve moisture, the capacity of a 

 forest to produce another crop, the value of the ground for purposes other than forest 

 growth, protection against fire or other serious injuries, and the probabilities of a fair 

 return upon the investment. 



When these factors are considered the author believes that planting is at present 

 impractica])le throughout the greater portion of the hardwood region of the eastern 

 United States and the spruce forests of the Northeast, as well as the heavily timbered 

 portions along the Pacific coast. In the eastern States un<ler jiresent conditions plant- 

 ing is considered desiral;)le as farm wood lots, upon impoverished farm lands, and on 

 cut-over nonagricultural lands. An estimate of costs and returns per acre from land 

 planted to white pine, based upon 60,000 measurements of white pine, shows an 

 average annual return of $2.25 per acre during a 40-year rotation. This estimate for 

 white pine is believed to be applicable to red pine and Norway sjiruce over the 

 greater portion of New England. In the middle AVest planting is recommended for 

 cut-over portions of the white-pine belt, and wood lots throughout the agricultural 

 regions. In the western States it would be confined largely to mountain areas, for 

 the protection of watersheds and other irrigation woi'ks. 



Forest planting- on the plains, E. P. Sandsten {Forestry Quart., 1 {1903), No. 

 4, PI>- 140-144)- — An account is given of some of the earlier experiments in forest 

 planting in the Sand Hill region of Nebraska, begun under the supervision of the 

 Division of Forestry of this Department in 1891. They were carried out in Holt 

 County, Nebr., where a considerable area was planted with bull pine, Scotch pine, 

 and Banks' pine, and a variety of deciduous species, such as black locust, birch, box 

 elder, cherry, and red oak were also planted. The condition of the trees as shown 

 after 12 years is stated. The larger trees of the Banks' pine are from 15 to 20 ft. 

 high, the Scotch pine from 4 to 12 ft., and the bull pine from 3 to 8 ft. The grove 

 at present is dense in growth and fully covers the otherwise almost worthless sand 

 hills. It is said that on the success of this early planting was largely based the 

 recent establishment of the forest reserve in western Nebraska, which is to be 

 planted under the supervision of the Bureau of Forestry. 



Foresting in Nebraska sand hills, C. A. Scott {Forestry and Irriy., 9 (1903), 

 No. 9, pp. 454-457, figs. 5). — Notes are given on the progress of the work of the 



