22 BULLETIN 153, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



To enable planters to avoid errors made by other planters in the 

 past, some of those observed in the course of the study are described : 



(1) Planting European larch and silver maple in mixture killed the larch, which is 

 the more valuable tree of the two. 



(2) Planting black walnut under green ash killed the walnut, which must have full 

 sunlight in order to succeed. 



(3) Catalpa planted under black locust grew very slowly. Catalpa requires full 

 sunlight for good growth. 



(4) European larch planted under catalpa did not live. Larch requires full sun- 

 light. 



(5) Box elder planted in mixture with green ash at first grew more rapidly than the 

 other species and shaded out much of it, though ash is the more valuable tree. 



(6) Cottonwood planted on a gravel knoll did not live. The situation was too dry 

 for it. 



(7). The roots of cottonwood planted in a "blowout" in sandy soil were exposed by 

 the shifting of the sand; the trees, when observed, were very scrubby and dying. 



(8) Catalpa planted on a gravel knoll was only about 2 feet tall after 7 years. Such 

 soil is not suited to catalpa. 



(9) Catalpa trees planted in soil with a hardpan about 8 inches below the surface 

 were only 3 or 4 feet high after 7 years of growth. Catalpa requires a deeper, well- 

 drained soil. 



(10) Ash planted in a " blowout ' ' in pure sand, while still alive after 5 years, was not 

 much larger than when set out.' A pure sandy soil is not suited to ash. 



(11) Black walnut and green ash planted in low wet ground made a scrubby growth. 

 The soil was not well enough drained for either of them. 



(12) Osage orange planted in pure sand failed to survive. Osage orange requires a 

 fairly good soil. 



(13) Three-year-old ash stock, which cost a good deal in the first place, and had to 

 be set in by the most expensive methods, grew so poorly that it was necessary to cut 

 the trees back to the ground after a couple of years. The stock was too large when 

 planted to succeed well. 



YIELDS AND RETURNS. 



The yields in products and the money returns to be expected from 

 plantations are given in the tables for individual species (pp. 24 to 32) . 



Existing plantations do not, as a rule, afford a good basis for 

 estimating possible yields and returns from plantations started now, 

 for species have often been planted on inhospitable sites, spacing has 

 been too wide or too close, almost no attention has been given to 

 proper thinnings, and live stock has been allowed to run among the 

 trees. Moreover, the cost of planting stock has often been excessive; 

 $20 a thousand for European larch and $20 to $25 a thousand for 

 hardy catalpa is unduly high. It has been practically impossible to 

 obtain wholly reliable cost data for a given plantation or the exact 

 amount of products secured from it prior to the time when it was exam- 

 ined. In many cases the original planters have died or moved away, 

 or have kept no accurate record of costs or returns. 



In reckoning the cost of an income from plantations, interest has 

 been calculated at 3 per cent, compounded annually. The land values 

 and tax rate assumed are undoubtedly lower than those now in effect, 

 but it should be remembered that neither averaged as high during the 



