21 



may be grown during these two years to pay for the rent of the land 

 and for the cultivation. 



A very good example of this method of starting a catalpa grove is 

 the 10-acre grove of George S. Waller, 2 miles south of Pioneer, Hum- 

 boldt County. Twenty years ago Mr. Waller obtained hardy catalpa 

 seed from Tennessee and raised seedlings which, when they were 

 one year old, he put out with corn. The rows are about 8 feet apart 

 each way and the cultivation, while the corn remained on the ground, 

 gave the trees an exceptional start. Measurements show that the 

 growth has been above the average throughout the twenty years. 

 The trees are now from 25 to 32 feet high and from 4 to 10 inches in 

 diameter, and will average at least 3 good posts per tree. In 1903, 

 400 posts were cut out of the grove as a thinning, and a careful esti- 

 mate in 1905 showed that there remained on the 10 acres 6,146 trees. 

 With 3 posts to a tree, the plantation now contains 18,438 posts. 

 Besides this a large quantity of cordwood will be obtained when the 

 final cut is made. If these posts are worth 15 cents each, the grove 

 represents a value of $2,765.70. Add to this amount the returns 

 from the 400 posts cut in 1903, at 15 cents each, and there is a total 

 of $2,825.70, a good return from 10 acres in 20 years. During this 

 period the grove has served as a windbreak for the home and farm 

 buildings, and produced nearly all the fuel and repair material 

 needed on the farm. 



The usual method of planting seedlings is to have two or five men 

 work together. When there are two, one digs the holes with a spade 

 or mattock and the second follows with the seedlings in a basket or 

 pail. As explained before, the roots must be covered with wet moss 

 or a sack and the trees should be set somewhat deeper than they 

 stood in the nursery row. Where five work in a gang, two men dig 

 the holes and three plant. On ordinary ground five men can plant 

 about an acre and a half per day, if the seedlings are set 6 by 6 feet. 



GROWTH AND PROBABLE RETURNS. The probable rate of growth 

 of any species and the returns under the most favorable conditions 

 for growth can be stated only indefinitely. The data obtained 

 during the investigation of the State's timber represents growth 

 under unfavorable conditions. The groves studied had been, as a 

 rule, pastured constantly, had not been thinned, and fires had run 

 through most of them. Even under these conditions the returns 

 have fully repaid the owners for their financial outlay and the occu- 

 pation of the ground. 



The hardy catalpa, which has been planted extensively through- 

 out Iowa, grows rapidly and produces a good grade of posts, repair 

 material, and fuel. Fence posts reach a diameter of 4 or 5 inches in 

 from six to nine years, according to the care and cultivation which 



[Cir. 154] 



