January 1904.] Trees for Sanded Areas. 143 



must elapse before they can be expected to return even a fair profit, 

 and as the success of trees in similar locations and conditions is a 

 matter of common observation, it seems probable that in many in- 

 stances the growing of trees is the best use for such land. 



The selection of spe'cies for planting is a matter of importance, for 

 though all trees are good, some are much better than others and more 

 valuable, but as a rule the more valuable are slower to reach market- 1 

 able size. Post production may be regarded as giving the quickest 

 returns from forest-tree plantations, and catalpa ( Catalpa speciosa ) 

 and Black locust (Robinia pseudacacia) may be expected to pro- 

 duce good posts in less time than any other trees grown in our climate. 

 These species, however, succeed best in fairly rich soil and would be 

 better adapted to locations where good soil has been covered with 

 sand than to deep deposits of sand. The locust borer, Cyllene rob- 

 inice, works such havoc in Black-locust plantings as to almost exclude 

 Black locust from the list. 



The Osage orange ( Toxylon pGmiferum ) is rather slower in growth, 

 but furnishes posts which in most localities bring the highest price. 

 It seems to be similar to the catalpa in soil requirements. The Rus- 

 sian mulberry (Morus alba) is another post tree, probably ranking 

 next to catalpa in rate of growth, but requiring more care to produce 

 marketable posts. The length of time required to produce marketable 

 posts varies with conditions, season, and soil, a good average probably 

 being catalpa eight years ; mulberry', ten years ; Osage, twelve years. 

 All renew readily from coppice growth, and in each case the second 

 growth furnishes posts in less time than the first. 



Whenever trees planted for posts make but poor growth during the 

 first season or two it is good practice to cut them back to the ground, 

 which nearly always results in a strong growth. On land that is 

 deeply covered with sand it is probable that the more-rapid-growing 

 trees will give better results. The cotton wood (Populus deltoides or 

 P. monolifera) is believed to be the best tree of this class. Young 

 trees are easily secured from cuttings or natural seed-beds along the 

 rivers, and transplant very readily. Many tracts of the flooded land 

 are now thickly covered with young cottonwood trees. The seed was 

 ripe soon after the flood, and the wet sand and soil provided the best 

 of seed-beds. In most cases good growth was made during the sum- 

 mer. Plate XIV shows a tract that seemed to be bare sand when the 

 waters receded early in June. The young trees, mostly cottonwood, 

 with an occasional willow, stand very thickly, and made growth vary- 

 ing from two to seven feet, averaging probably between four and five 

 feet. Plate XV shows a clump of these young trees. Where the land 

 has been planted by natural means, it is questionable if any better 



