24 



a little less than 4 by 8 feet. The present stand is 1,028 trees per acre. 

 The loss is mainly due to natural thinning, since little cutting has been 

 done. About 40 per cent of the present stand has become supprest, 

 and many of these trees are dying. There should be an improvement 

 cutting made, which would remove the deteriorating trees. The grove 

 has been used as a hog pasture for many years. 



COST (ESTIMATED). 



Preparation of the ground ...... $2. 50 



Plants, 1,400, at $3 per thousand. 4. 20 



Planting ...................... 3.00 



Cultivation, three years ___ ..... 5. 00 



Total ................... 14.70 



Interest on $14.70 for twenty- 

 nine years, at 5 per cent com- 

 pounded .................... 45. 80 



Total cost at end of twenty- 

 nine years ............. 60.50 



RETURNS. 



First-class posts, 1,314, at 10 



cents $131.40 



Second-class posts, *827, at *l\ 

 cents.. 62.03 



Value at end of twenty- 

 nine years 193. 43 



Deducting the cost, $60.50, from the gross returns, $193.43, leaves 

 $132.93 as the net income at the end of twenty -nine years, which is 

 equivalent to an annual net income with 5 per cent compound interest 

 of $2.13 per acre, disregarding the thinnings. To this there should 

 be added the rental value of the land for pasture, since it has been 

 used for this purpose. Furthermore, the plantation forms part of an 

 extensive shelterbelt, which completely surrounds the farm buildings 

 and thus assumes a value as a protection, tho it is impossible to express 

 this in dollars and cents. 



OSAGE ORANGE. 



When the State was first settled, Osage orange was planted exten- 

 sively for hedge fences, especially in the southeastern counties, tho 

 but few such fences have been planted in recent years. This species 

 has never been widely planted in groves. Only two or three planta- 

 tions were noted in the course of the study. Osage orange is one of 

 the valuable trees for forest planting, and should be more extensively 

 used for this purpose. It is hardy south of the Platte River, but should 

 be planted sparingly north of it, since it is likely to winterkill. 



To succeed commercially, Osage orange requires a moderately rich 

 soil. It is fairly drought resistant, but unless moisture conditions are 

 favorable its growth is slow. Planting will be most profitable in the 

 river valleys, where the soil is fertile and moist. On uplands, espe- 

 cially in poor soils, it fails. A notable example of such failure is a 

 IT-acre plantation in Pawnee County established in 1889. The site is 

 typical prairie upland, and the soil was old and worn when planted. 



[Cir. 45] 



