Duty on Seedlings. 153 



For the expense of raising similar trees in the United States 

 the figures have been taken from a bulletin in course of prepara- 

 tion by the Division of Forestry, and they are corroborated by 

 information which I have obtained from independent sources. 



The species of trees which I have selected for this table are 

 the ones which are most used in this work in almost every part 

 of the country. 



From the above table it will be seen that the cost of re-foresting 

 one acre of land with white pine seedlings imported from Ger- 

 many and planted at the rate of 1500 per acre, will amount to 

 $3.90, and if three-year transplanted trees are used, the cost will 

 be increased to very nearly $7.00 per acre. 



For the spring of 1908 white pines could be obtained in Ger- 

 many for $1.51 per thousand, and could be delivered in New 

 York at a cost not exceeding $3.50 per thousand, which reduced 

 the cost of plants per acre to $5.25, at which price the work can 

 be satisfactorily done. It is very doubtful whether the ordinary 

 farmer or land owner can be induced to re-forest his waste land 

 where the cost of material is over $5.50 per acre, for the labor 

 cost will increase this to a total per acre cost of $7.75 which is 

 often considerably more than the land is worth. 



A point particularly to be noticed about the above table is, 

 however, that even with a duty of from 68 to 265% on German 

 seedlings, they can yet be sold in this country at a less price than 

 American-raised seedlings, and a specific duty of $2.00 per thou- 

 sand would not change this result. 



It should further be noticed, and this is the most important 

 fact to which I desire to draw attention, that transplanted trees 

 upon which the ordinary land owner or farmer without forestry 

 experience must place his chief reliance, can practically not be 

 bought in this country at any reasonable price. It is impossible 

 to use White Pine, the most important lumber tree in this coun- 

 try for re-foresting land, when the transplanted trees cost $18 

 per thousand, the lowest price at which they were offered by any 

 nurseryman in this country in the spring of 1908. The nursery- 

 men mentioned above are among the best in the United States, 

 and the prices which I have given are all from their printed cata- 

 logues sent me in the spring of 1908 in reply to my request for 

 quotations on stock for forest planting. 



I desire further to call attention to the fact that the raising 

 of trees for forest planting is a comparatively new industry ; that 



