192 



must be made of such a chnractor that the kin(lo\\iicr may secure the 

 Keeded supply of seedlings, true to species and at a reasonaljle price. Under 

 present conditions this is practically impossilile. Nurseries as at present 

 oi'ganized deal in forest trees mainly to supply the demand for street and 

 ornamental planting. The placing of an order for a given species running 

 up into tile tliousands or nerljaps tens of thousands of seedlings is practi- 

 cally impossil)le except perliaps in the case of hlack locust and catalpa. In- 

 deed it is not probable tliat nurserymen would care to undertake to meet 

 such demands. Tlie cost of collecting tlie seed, tlie additional area and 

 labor involved, taken in connection with tlie fact tliat such orders could 

 only be expected occasionally and that there would be no possible method 

 of estimating tlie average annual demand for each of the species, would 

 make such an enterprise one of very doubtful profit under tavorable con- 

 ditions and of very certain and large loss under unfavorable conditions. 

 This means the establishment of a state nursery or nurseries, by the State 

 Board of Forestry under expert direction, from which needed material for 

 future plantings may be secured. 



The experimental work at the reserve has gone far enough to intlicate 

 what .species should be encouraged in reenforcemeut and new plantings, to 

 demonstrate the best time tor planting a^ well as the best metliod of iilaiit- 

 ing, to show clearly enough the proper care and treatment after planting 

 and. to furnish a fair estimate of the expense involved in a correct prac- 

 tice. It is well within the law under which the board was created, tliat it 

 should now t.ake the next logii-al step, namely, the furnishing o!' suitable 

 material for such plantings at practically the cost of production. Under 

 the very best conditions from 3 to G per cent, is the best (li\i(leii(l that can 

 l)e e.xpected in forestal enterprises, so that any mai'ked increase in the 

 iiiititil cost i»i"(H'ludes all possibility of pi'ofit. The (list riluilion of this ma- 

 terial slioiili] lie carefully controlled. It should be supplied only i'l'i" affor- 

 estation or the reenforcemeut of existing wooiMcts and never loi' sti-eet 

 or ornamental purposes. Tlie exjiei-ience of th(> state nurseries in Con- 

 necticut, Massachusetts, and other states shows that this control offei-s no 

 difficulty and that a demand is met which the nurs(>rynien cannot meet and 

 do not care to meet. Indeed it lias been shown that since the estalilishment 

 of state nurseries the sale of forest ti'ce stock ]>y ntirsei-y lirnis Ins largely 

 increased, although it may he (luc^tioned wliethei- the relation is :\ causal 

 one. It is certain that tlie Hoard of {"orestiy by establishing such nnrseries 

 \vo\dd accomplish nnich in the \\a\ of iniin-oN ini;' existing wdod-lots ;ind in 



