19 



semiarid. It is probable that this success is due to the deep plowing 

 given the ground before it was planted, and the subsequent cultivation 

 given the plantation until the trees were large enough to take posses- 

 sion of the soil. 



The cost of establishing and maintaining this plantation is given in 

 the owner's record. The prices assigned the posts are considerably 

 lower than those which the owner savs he can obtain. 



COST (ACTUAL). 



Preparation of the ground $3. 50 



Plants, 908, at $2 per M 1. 81 



Planting 75 



Cultivation, seven years 5. 00 



Pruning 2.00 



Fencing 1.00 



Total 14.06 



Interest on $14. 06 for twenty-one 

 years, at 5 per cent, compound 

 interest . . . 25. 11 



RETURNS. 



First-class posts, 702, at 10 cents. . $70. 20 

 Second-class posts, 504, at 7} 



cents ........................ 37.80 



Posts, poles, and fuel cut in the 



past ......................... 40.00 



Total cost at the end of Value at the end of twenty-one 

 twenty-one years 39. 17 years 148. 00 



Deducting the cost, $39.17 from the value, $148, leaves $108.83 

 as the net income at the end of twenty -one years, which is equiva- 

 lent to a net annual income, at 5 per cent compound interest, of $3.05 

 per acre. Anyone who knows the conditions that have prevailed in 

 this part of the State and the reverses that farming has suffered for 

 the period included in the life of the plantation knows that this would 

 be a splendid showing for any sort of crop. Adding to the returns 

 the value of the plantation as a windbreak to the farmstead, it has 

 yielded the owner handsome profit on his investment, besides enhanc- 

 ing the value of the farm of which it forms a part. With the same 

 careful management green ash would give better returns farther east 

 in the State. Several other plantations included in the yield table for 

 this species show a yield in fence posts per year not far behind this 

 one, and for No. 11 the returns are considerably better. 



In view of the showing made by green ash, particularly in the 

 more unfavorable western counties, it is obvious that it should have a 

 prominent place in future planting. 



BLACK WALNUT. 



Black walnut requires a rich soil for its best development. It is 

 especially adapted to the river valleys, where the soil is fertile, moist, 

 and well drained. It will succeed fairly well on the upland in the 

 eastern counties, but it should be planted commercially only on the 



[Cir. 45] 



