17 



CONIFERS. 



In the past, conifers have not been as generally planted as de- 

 ciduous trees, because they were more expensive, had to be brought 

 from a greater distance, and required greater care in handling. 

 Their admirable qualities for planting upon the prairie are just 

 beginning to be appreciated. 



During this investigation 18 different species of evergreens were 

 found growing upon the upland, generally as individual trees, in 

 small groups, or in several rows of larger plantations. Only occa- 

 sionally do they occur in regular groves. 



Evergreens as a class are naturally social. They usually occur in 

 dense, pure stands where they can assist and protect each other in 

 shading the ground and maintaining forest conditions. Wherever 

 they have been planted close enough and in sufficient quantity to 

 create such conditions they have showed themselves to be rather more 

 desirable than most of the broadleaf trees, not only because of their 

 negative qualities ability to resist drought, heat, cold, storm, and 

 snow pressure but also on account of their thriftiness and usefulness 

 for protective and commercial purposes. 



THEIR COMMERCIAL VALUE. 



Of the many trees occurring naturally in a country only a limited 

 number can be considered economic species. To have economic sig- 

 nificance a tree must be both useful and profitable. Broadleaf species, 

 as a class, are hard and heavy, and often so scattered that their 

 exploitation is difficult and expensive. On the other hand, conifers 

 generally occur in pure stand over large areas, and are thus cheaply 

 converted into lumber. At the same time they possess a combination 

 of qualities that give them preference with the user of wood. The 

 economic significance of the conifers is reflected in the lumber indus- 

 try of the United States, 80 per cent of all the sawed timber being 

 derived from this class of trees. 



Referring to Prussia, a country in which systematic forestry has 

 been carried on for a long time, and where forest finance has been 

 highly developed in conformity with general economic conditions., 

 Doctor Jentsch 6 states that, in consequence of the economic manage- 

 ment of forests, among the numerous indigenous species which for- 

 merly existed, only those have been preserved which possess a high 

 value; that 67.5 per cent of the forested area of the country consists 

 of conifers, and that the broadleaf species oak and beech are de- 



From figures collected by the Forest Service and Bureau of the Census 

 for 1906. 



6 Official catalogue exhibition of the German Empire, Louisiana Purchase 

 Exposition, 1904. 



ICir. 145] 



