PLANTATION FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES. 21 



row line, marked so as to show where the trees are to stand. If care 

 be taken to establish the line correctly in each row and to plant by the 

 mark, the cross alignment will be very accurate. 



The trees should be set a little deeper than they grew in the nursery 

 and should have the fine surface soil made firm about the roots. They 

 should have thorougli surface cultivation, especially during the early 

 part of the season. In most sections of the West cultivation should 

 continue all summer, but in the North, where the seedlings are likely to 

 winterkill if the wood is not well matured, cultivation should cease in 

 late summer. 



Cultivation carried on in this way should be the unfailing rule in 

 almost all Western planting. It must be continued until the shade oi 

 the trees becomes so dense that weeds will not grow and the leaves, 

 gathering on the ground, form a mulch between the trees sufficient to 

 retain the moisture in the soil. 



On account of more rapid growth in plantations made along streams, 

 frequent cultivation can not, in all instances, be followed. In such 

 cases the natural moisture of the soil and the adaptability of the loca- 

 tion to tree growth may be sufficient to equalize the loss which the tree 

 sustains from lack of tilth. 



A PLANTATION FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES IN CENTRAL KANSAS. 



The Catalpa plantation of Mr. L. W. Yaggy, located 4 miles west of 

 Hutchinsou, Kans., in the sandy valley of the Arkansas River, is a most 

 interesting example of the growing of forest trees as a financial invest- 

 ment. The plantation consists of 440 acres planted entirely to Hardy 

 Catalpa at the uniform distance of 3 J by 6 feet apart. The first plant- 

 ing, consisting of 120 acres, was done in 1890; 80 acres were planted 

 in 1891, and 240 acres in 1892. On account of the expense and diffi- 

 culty of obtaining trees from commercial nurseries for the planting 

 of so large a tract, Mr. Yaggy grew his own stock, thereby greatly 

 reducing its cost. The trees were set in the permanent plantation 

 when 1 year old. They were planted in furrows laid off 6 feet apart. 

 A line was stretched in the furrows, marked at spaces of 3J feet, and 

 stationed each time so that the rows should begin evenly. The trees 

 were set at the points marked on the line, and a fair alignment was 

 secured in all directions. 



Almost a perfect stand was obtained, and, except in a very few spots 

 of hardpan, the trees made a rapid growth from the first. The soil upon 

 which the plantation is located is a sandy loam several feet in thick- 

 ness, underlaid by a soft clay subsoil, which also contains a large 

 admixture of sand. Both soil and subsoil are permeable to water and 

 are well adapted to tree growth. The water table is about 8 or 10 feet 

 below the surface. The subsoil and soil are thus subirrigated, so that 

 the trees do not suffer from lack of moisture. 



When the trees were 2 years old they had formed tops by branching 



