36 







feet in height. If cut, these 200 trees would make 142 posts worth 

 15 cents each, and 151 stakes worth 10 cents each, or a total of $36.40. 

 A well-cared-for plantation at this place would evidently be a profit- 

 able investment. The situation at Ashland is no more favorable 

 than in many places on the upland, for, although in the shallow valley 

 of Bear Creek, water is 40 feet below the surface and consequently 

 beyond the reach of tree roots. 



A commercial plantation should be thickly set in order to diminish 

 the lateral branches as much as possible. With good care the rate of 



FIG. 5. Pruning an Osage orange hedge to produce fence posts. 



growth is sufficient to produce post timber almost anywhere in west- 

 ern Kansas in ten years or less. Since most people have let their 

 mulberries branch at will, satisfactory measurements are difficult to 

 obtain. The average rate of diameter inc'rease on 400 trees in various 

 places was found to be practically an inch in three years, ranging 

 from 1.4 to 4.6 years. 



Mulberry has been used considerably for a street tree, but its habit 

 of growth is not suitable for this purpose. It is an added objection 

 that the berries fall upon the walks. 



[Cir. 161.] 



