FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION 389 



that will meet the special need of the owner. Elsewhere other less 

 valuable species may be preferable because of their hardiness. Thus, 

 in the semiarid region where other species would not thrive, green 

 ash and honey locust have been grown with good results. These 

 woods are fairly durable if well seasoned. White willow also has been 

 extensively grown for fence posts over a broad region in the Middle 

 West. It has the advantage of unusually rapid growth, and the sea- 

 soned wood lasts several years. But the use of any of these species is 

 unwise where more durable trees can be grown. The advisable plant- 

 ing range of the species recommended above is as follows: 



European Larch. Well-drained sites in New England, New 

 York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wis- 

 consin, Minnesota, and the eastern parts of the Dakotas and Nebraska. 

 Hardy Catalpa. Deep, fertile soils with sufficient moisture and good 

 drainage in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, eastern Nebraska, 

 eastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma. Osage Orange. A variety of 

 soils in the central and southern portions of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 

 Iowa and eastern Nebraska ; favorable situations in western Nebraska, 

 Kansas, and Oklahoma, eastern Colorado, and New Mexico. Black 

 Locust. Well-drained soils from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlan- 

 tic coast; but in the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, 

 Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania planting is wholly or partially pre- 

 vented by injuries caused by the locust borer. West of the Rockies 

 the black locust has been planted to a limited extent with marked 

 success and with entire immunity from the attacks of insect pests. 

 Russian Mulberry. Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Indian Territory. 

 Useful in those localities where better species can not be grown. 



Planting. When the proper species has been selected, the sec- 

 ond essential is the careful performance of every detail of the planting 

 operations. In the prairie States it is usually necessary to prepare 

 the site as for a field crop. Hardy catalpa needs thorough soil prep- 

 aration, regardless of the region. Care and promptness must be exer- 

 cised in setting the trees. The stock should be planted as soon as 

 possible after it is on the ground. The roots of all the young trees 

 must be kept moist and the planting done carefully and thoroughly, 

 with special attention to packing the dirt firmly around the roots. 

 Even after a wise choice of trees, failures frequently result from im- 

 proper handling and careless planting. If post production is the 

 primary object, any of the species mentioned may be planted pure; 

 if it is secondary, mixtures, such as chestnut with oaks, or larch with 

 pines, oak, or chestnut, may be used. The best spacing distance de- 

 pends largely upon the species and upon the local conditions of soil, 

 topography, and annual rainfall. Generally speaking, the trees 

 should be spaced from 4 to 6 feet apart each way, but in the prairie 

 States of the Middle West, where cultivation is necessary, a spacing 

 of 3 or 4 feet in rows 6 or 8 feet apart is often wise. 



Cultivation and Care. After the planting has been done, plan- 

 tations in the prairie States should receive careful cultivation several 

 times each season for two or three years. Loosening the ground and 

 forming a dust mulch retards evaporation and protects the trees 



