FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION 391 



This profit represents an annual net return, with 5 per cent 

 compound interest, of $0.16 per year. Five years' additional growth 

 would show a much greater proportionate return. (F. S. Cir. 69.) 



The original cost of preparing and establishing a planta- 

 tion ranges, according to local conditions, from $8 to $15 per acre. 

 This does not include the expense of any subsequent treatment, such 

 as cultivation or pruning. The conditions of the site, the method of 

 planting, and the care which has been given the plantation all ma- 

 terially affect the yield. Larch, hardy catalpa, and Osage orange 

 should in fifteen years yield from 500 to 1,500 posts per acre. Plan- 

 tations growing under excellent conditions have at this age yielded 

 as high as 2,000 posts per acre. If the site and species have been 

 wisely selected and proper care has been exercised in planting and 

 culture, profitable returns may be expected from forest plantations 

 for post production. In addition, the convenience of a home supply 

 of posts and stakes, and the protection afforded by the trees, 

 enhances the value of the plantation. The exact amount of profit 

 must depend, however, on the yield of posts per acre and the prices 

 obtainable, which vary greatly in different localities. Examinations 

 of larch plantations in Illinois, Iowa, and eastern Dakota showed 

 that the annual financial returns per acre were approximately as 

 great as from field crops properly managed, and the plantations 

 required less care. In Illinois, also, hardy catalpa plantations on 

 suitable soils gave returns equal to or somewhat greater than the 

 usual farm crops. 



ECONOMIC LUMBERING FOR THE SMALL LANDOWNER. 



The following is intended chiefly to apply to small bodies of 

 mixed hard woods. Usually it is desirable to have some definite 

 idea as to the quantity of timber standing on the particular tract of 

 land. In most cases, especially if the timber is of large size, it is 

 best to make a complete inventory, excluding, of course, all young 

 and useless trees. For this purpose the trees are counted, the differ- 

 ent kinds of oak, ash, etc., being kept separate, and for each tree 

 the following dimensions noted: Diameter (inches) breast high, 

 measured ; diameter at top of saw-size timber, estimated ; total height 

 of tree (in feet) , estimated ; length of saw timber, estimated. 



From the figures thus ascertained, the volume of the saw 

 timber is obtained by taking one-half the sum of the upper and 

 lower diameters, squaring, multiplying by the length of the timber 

 (taken in feet), and dividing by 16, the result being the amount of 

 lumber wood in board feet. Of this about one-half must be deducted 

 in ordinary hard woods for bark, slab, saw waste, crooks, and other 

 defects. The approximate total volume of each tree may be esti- 

 mated by multiplying the area of the cross section (breast high, 

 taken in inches), with half the total height of the tree taken in feet, 

 and dividing by 144, the result being in cubic feet. Converted into 

 cord wood, it requires 75 to 100 cubic feet of this solid measure to 

 make a cord, or 128 cubic feet in the pile. In thickets of pole wood 

 the amount of cord wood is often best estimated by counting the 

 trees on a given area and noting how many 4-foot pieces an average 



