SILVICULTURAL PROBLEMS IN PENNSYLVANIA 50T 



know that the establishment of the trees in some cases is very satisfac- 

 tory, for as high as 91 per cent of certain species are still living. One 

 of the plantations on Snowy Mountain on the Mont Alto Forest, located 

 at an elevation of approximately 2,000 feet, shows the following: 



Per cent of trees 



Species living (Dec. 1919) 



White pine 91 



Red pine 76 



Jack pine 72 



Norway spruce 82 



European larch 72 



White ash 91 



If the fall planting experiments will finally show, as the preliminary 

 results now indicate, that some species of forest trees may be planted 

 successfully in autumn on specific sites, it will lighten considerably 

 spring planting by extending the work over a longer period each year, 

 and in addition place a crew of men in the forest during the fall fire 

 season. 



CAN PLANTATIONS BE ESTABLISHED ECONOMICALLY .i^ 



Each of the 1,131 plantations established on the State forests is 

 regarded as an investigative project. A report is prepared for each 

 plantation immediately after the completion of the planting operations, 

 which sets forth all important information and data, including an item- 

 ized statement of costs. 



A summarization of these reports shows that the Department of 

 Forestry has expended to date (January 1, 1920) for forest tree plant- 

 ing $204,425.93. The total cost of planting may appear high, but a 

 careful examination of the total expenditures of the department from 

 the time of its establishment until December 31, 1919, will show that 

 approximately six million dollars (excluding the purchase of land) 

 has been expended, and that forest tree planting averaged only 3J/2 per 

 cent of this expenditure, and during only one year (1918) did it reach 

 10 per cent of the expenditures of that year. Among the latest norlftal 

 pre-war statistics of European States are those of Bavaria covering the 

 years 1910 and 1911 which show that the expenditure for planting 

 comprised 9.9 and 9.7 per cent of the total expense. If such an allot- 

 ment is recommendable in case of normally stocked, and probably over- 

 stocked forests, and average annual expenditure of 3J-^ per cent is not 

 excessive for reforestation of forest land which is sub-normally stocked 

 and in some cases entirely devoid of any important woody growth. 



