30 



plantation, with correspondingly small diameters for the same age. 

 Cultivation likewise ranges from the best of care to total neglect. 

 Nevertheless the best basis of classification is relative situation. In 

 general, growth is more rapid in the valleys than on the uplands. 

 This rule, it is true, is not without its exception. Good cultivation 

 on the upland will often cause trees to grow as rapidly for a few 

 years as those in the valleys which have received less care. Some 

 kinds of trees also show very little increase in rate of growth in the 

 more favorable situations, while others respond strongly. The red 

 cedar measurements, for instance, are so nearly identical on upland 

 and in the valleys that all are put in one table. On the other hand, 

 the rate of growth of the upland Osage orange is but little more than 

 60 per cent of that in the valleys. 



Since the superiority of valley over upland situations consists in 

 the better supply of water, upland plantations which are irrigated 

 conform closely to the valley type. The measurements for each 

 species are therefore arranged (except in the case of red cedar) under 

 the two heads of " upland " and " valley or watered." In selecting 

 trees for measurement, -examples have been sought which grew under 

 something like average conditions of care and density, thus avoiding 

 cases of exceptionally rapid or slow growth due to special circum- 

 stances. 



The age of a tree in the natural forest can be determined by cut- 

 ting it down and counting its annual rings. This liberty can seldom 

 be taken with trees planted in yards, hedges, and shelterbelts. The 

 owner's recollection of the date of planting is generally the sole 

 source of information available. This is frequently inaccurate, and 

 the investigator must make allowance accordingly. 



In the tables, the place where the measurements were made, or the 

 nearest town, if in the country, is given in each case. The height, 

 diameter breasthigh, and time required to grow 1 inch in diameter 

 are obtained by averaging together trees of the same age and grow- 

 ing under similar conditions. For example, the first entry under 

 honey locust is Smith Center, Kans. The trees selected for measure- 

 ment there were all planted at the same time, in the court-house 

 yard, and had made about even growth. 



HONEY LOCUST. 



The honey locust, which grows naturally in the valleys of eastern 

 Kansas and Nebraska, has proved to be one of the hardiest trees for 

 planting on the uplands in the western part of both States, even where 

 the precipitation is not more than half that of its native habitat. It 

 is equaled in drought-resisting power by the Russian mulberry and 



[Cir. 161.] 



