380 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



Another tree may be drought resistant, but may grow too slowly 

 upon dry ground to make it profitable. The time element is always 

 a foremost consideration. If a tree crop is an investment then the 

 sooner it matures the better. The different trees native to this region 

 have usually been divided into two classes: The rapid-growing soft- 

 wood species, and the more slowly growing hardwood species. The 

 former flourish only in the moist, porous soils of the river valleys, 

 and under such conditions produce a large amount of material in a 

 short time. While the market recognizes a slight difference in price 

 between the two classes of woods, this difference does not seem to 

 equal the difference in the amount of production. Thus an acre of 

 cotton wood might produce 3.5 cords a year, while one of ash would 

 produce 1.5. At $3 a cord the first acre would bring $10.50; at $5 

 a cord the other would bring $7.50, or a difference of $3 in favor of 

 the fast-growing cottonwood. Quantity rather than high quality is 

 the present demand. Fuel wood need not be durable. The life of 

 non-durable wood can often be lengthened by proper preservative 

 treatment, or by using it in places where the conditions are unfavor- 

 able for decay. 



Trees Recommended. Measurements show that the native spe- 

 cies studied do not grow fast enough upon the upland to justify their 

 planting for profit alone ; yet two introduced species, European larch 

 and Scotch pine, produce respectively an annual net return per acre 

 of $11.93 and $13.35 and can be planted as a commercial venture. 

 They are both hardy and profitable upon upland and would show 

 even better results when planted in the river valley. The pine can be 

 grown in pure stand, but both can be grown to better advantage 

 when mixed with white spruce. 



CONIFERS. 



Their Commercial Value. Of the many trees occurring natu- 

 rally in a country only a limited number can be considered economic 

 species. To have economic significance a tree must be both useful 

 and profitable. Broadleaf species, as a class, are hard and heavy, and 

 often so scattered that their exploitation is difficult and expensive. 

 On the other hand, conifers generally occur in pure stand over large 

 areas, and are thus cheaply converted into lumber. At the same time 

 they possess a combination of qualities that give them preference 

 with the user of wood. The economic significance of the conifers is 

 reflected in the lumber industry of the united States, 80 per cent of 

 all the sawed timber being derived from this class of trees. 



Referring to Prussia, a country in which systematic forestry 

 has been earned on for a long time, and where forest finance has 

 been highly developed in conformity with general economic condi- 

 tions, an authority states that, in consequence of the economic man- 

 agement of forests, among the numerous indigenous species which 

 formerly existed, only those have been preserved which possess a 

 high value; that 67.5 per cent of the forested area of the country 

 consists of conifers, and that the broadleaf species oak and beech 

 are declining in use, while the conifers are increasing. (Scotch pine 

 alone covers a larger area than all the broadleaf species together.) 



