The roots of plants when lifted from the seedbed for planting 

 should be protected from the air by wet cloths, and in addition it is 

 desirable to puddle the roots by dipping them in thick mud. Plant- 

 ing can be most rapidly done by two men, one digging the holes with 

 a mattock and the other following with the seedlings and planting 

 them. The cost of planting should be about $4 a thousand or $4.80 

 an acre for trees spaced 6 by 6 feet. The young seedlings are hardy 

 and reasonably free from disease, but must be carefully protected 

 from fire until the trees are several inches in diameter and the bark 

 thick enough for protection. 



Stands are much benefited by thinnings, which should remove all 

 crooked, defective, dead, and most of the crowded trees. Enough of 

 the crowded trees, however, should be left to insure the development 

 of the larger trees. The first thinning should be made when the stand 

 is between 15 and 20 years old, if the material removed at that time 

 can be used for firewood. Subsequent thinnings should be made at 

 intervals of not more than 10 years, and preferably at intervals of 

 from 3 to 6 years. 



YIELD OF PLANTATIONS. 



The old-field stands of shortleaf pine furnish reliable means of 

 ascertaining the yield of plantations. The rate of growth of short- 

 leaf pine in such stands is somewhat slower than that of loblolly 

 pine, but more rapid than that of longleaf in similar stands. In old- 

 field stands the growth of the larger, or dominant, trees is much 

 faster, especially in diameter, than that of the smaller, suppressed, 

 and crowded trees. On good soils these larger trees will reach a 

 diameter of 12 inches at breast height in forty years. In crowded, 

 unthinned stands the yield will be about 6,000 board feet to the acre 

 at forty years, 13,000 at fifty years, and 17,000 at sixty years. If 

 these stands are thinned by the periodic removal of the smaller trees 

 their yield can be increased to 8,400 board feet at thirty years, 16,000 

 feet at forty years, and 20,000 feet at fifty years. 



Shortleaf pine may be planted in mixture with southern red oak, 

 black locust, or red cedar. In making such plantations it would be 

 necessary to use the more costly seedling plants. Locust and cedar 

 need not be cut until the later thinnings are made, when they can be 

 used for fence posts; the red oak might profitably be left to form a 

 part of the mature stand. 



Approved. 



W. M. HAYS, 



Acting Secretary of Agriculture. 



WASHINGTON, D. C., July 16, 1910. 



[Cir. 182] 



O 



