2l6 



Pine seedlings from State nurseries 

 in the South cost $2 to $3.50 a thou- 

 sand; hardwoods cost $3 to $10. Else- 

 where seedlings may sell for as much 

 as $25 or more, depending on the cost 

 of production. 



Costs for planting in the field like- 

 wise vary with wage scales and the ease 

 or difficulty of planting. Planting pine 

 seedlings on average abandoned fields 

 or on cut-over forests with reasonably 

 loose soil should require approximately 

 1 1 /2 man-days an acre. This estimate is 

 based on planting 908 trees on a 

 6- by 8-foot spacing and assumes plant- 

 ing at the rate of 600 seedlings per 

 man-day, which is not difficult for ex- 

 perienced planters. 



Planting with the recently developed 

 planting machines is much faster. Two 

 men with a track-type tractor and a 

 planting machine can plant, in clay 

 soils and light oak stands, 12,000 to 

 15,000 trees in an 8-hour day. In sandy 

 soils, a farm-type wheel tractor and 

 machine can do as well. The same 

 number of seedlings an acre can be 

 planted by machine at one-third to 

 one-half the cost of hand planting. 



Although planting by hand will con- 

 tinue to be more practical for most 

 small owners for some time to come, 

 custom-machine planting is already 

 available. In some localities public- 

 spirited citizens or institutions will lend 

 planting machines free to planters. 

 Machines offer important possibilities 

 for an expanded program of planting. 



SATISFACTORY SURVIVAL and growth 

 in planted stands are relatively easy to 

 obtain if good judgment is used in the 

 selection of species and areas to be 

 planted and if proper care is given in 

 planting and protecting the plantation. 



Thousands of farmers who had never 

 planted trees before have obtained a 

 satisfactory survival. Donald Brewster, 

 a consulting forester, reported success- 

 ful survival of 91 percent of 1.4 million 

 slash pine trees from the Florida State 

 Nursery that farmers planted during a 

 10-year period. General observations 

 over the South indicate that this is not 



Yearboo^ of Agriculture 1949 



too high to expect for slash, loblolly, 

 and the shortleaf pines if due care is 

 exercised. 



But planting as a business venture is 

 not without its hazards. An extended 

 period of dry weather in the first year 

 of planting may kill the seedlings be- 

 fore they become established. Such 

 losses are not uncommon, particularly 

 west of the Mississippi River. It may be 

 repeated that little can be done about 

 the weather, but the woodland owner 

 with many acres to plant can arrange 

 to spread the job over several years. 

 The loss for a dry year will thus not be 

 so great as if he had planted the entire 

 area in that one year. 



A more serious threat to plantations 

 is fire. Most planted trees are easily 

 killed by fire in their early years. Even 

 longleaf pine may be killed by repeated 

 severe fires. Many owners burn over 

 the planting site before planting. This 

 eliminates the accumulated fuel and 

 the chances for a serious fire at least 

 until the following fall. The careful 

 owner will plow firebreaks 6 feet or 

 wider, cleared of all inflammable ma- 

 terial down into the bare soil, around 

 the plantation. If the plantation is 

 large, it should be broken up into 

 blocks of 20 or 40 acres with additional 

 firebreaks. Some owners burn their 

 southern pine plantations as an insur- 

 ance against disastrous losses. Burning 

 must be done under carefully con- 

 trolled conditions or the fire set by the 

 owner may be as disastrous as wildfire. 



If trees are killed by fire before they 

 reach merchantable size, there is, of 

 course, nothing to salvage. However, 

 Mrs. Hugh Mayes, of Leon County, 

 Fla., had a severe fire in a 53-acre field 

 of 10-year-old slash pine. About one- 

 half the trees were killed. She sold the 

 fire-killed pine trees as pulpwood for 

 enough to pay all planting and carry- 

 ing costs. The remaining trees, though 

 temporarily slowed down in growth, 

 recovered in 3 or 4 years and are now 

 growing nicely. 



Grazing by domestic stock provides 

 a definite hazard to planted trees. Cat- 

 tle graze closely such hardwood trees 



