136 YEAKBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



private owner. On land of this character the first four considerations 

 mentioned at the beginning are removed. The region has not now a 

 large surplus of timber, and the land in question is without a natural 

 reproductive tendency and without value for other purposes. The 

 practicability of planting, therefore, depends upon the possibility of 

 protecting the land and the return to be expected. The question of 

 protection must be answered with respect to the individual case. 

 Injurious insects and trespassing live stock frequently have to be dealt 

 with, and are sometimes sources of grave danger. Fire is even a more 

 serious menace. In some places protection from fire is easy, in others 

 it is very difficult. Abandoned farm lands of the character described 

 are not usually much grown up to brush, and by the cutting and plow- 

 ing of fire lines they may without much cost be made quite secure 

 from damage by fire. Where cut-over lands occur in large tracts it 

 is usually possible to devise systems of control whereby they may be 

 protected from fire, but where they consist of small scattered tracts in 

 localities where fires are frequent and not controlled, it is almost use- 

 less to attempt to keep fire out, and, therefore, to plant. 



For the land which can be protected there remain to be considered 

 the cost of planting, the rate of growth, and the probable returns. 



ESTIMATES OF COST AND RETURNS PER ACRE FOR PLANTED WHITE PINE. 



The estimate following is intended to cover the cost and returns for 

 1 acre of planted White Pine in New England. The estimate is gen- 

 eral and applies fairly to a very large section, where an area of 100 or 

 more acres is to be planted. 



The seedlings are to be grown by the planter near the tract which 

 it is proposed to plant, and are to be once transplanted while in the seed 

 bed. At the end of forty } 7 ears from the making of the seed bed the 

 entire product of the plantation is to be sold on the stump for box 

 boards. The land is classed as worth $6 per acre, and the assessed 

 value per acre is reckoned as increasing at the rate of 75 cents per 

 year up to the time of cutting. Taxes, which are estimated at $1.80 

 per $100, are reckoned by decades for the sake of convenience. It 

 will require 1,210 trees to plant the acre at a distance of 6 by 6 feet. 

 The first cost of 1,210 seedlings in seed bed, including cost of con- 

 struction of the latter and supervision, is estimated at $2. After the 

 land is cleared, at the end of fort} r } r ears, the value doubtless will be 

 as great as at the beginning, but the value of the land is not taken 

 into consideration. Should $6 be added to the $140 which it is esti- 

 mated could be secured for the timber product, it would simply increase 

 by that amount the profits of the transaction. Likewise, if the value 

 of the land at the beginning were less than $6, the profits would be 

 greater by the difference plus accumulated interest. The statement 

 following shows the items and amount of the investment for 1 acre. 



