10 PLANTING OF WHITE PINE IN NEW ENGLAND. 



forester grow them in his own nursery. The value of such a woodlot 

 for the farm is not restricted to the actual amount of posts, fuel, or 

 timber which it may produce. Frequently in New England the cause 

 of failure in orchards and various other perennial crops is the lack of 

 snow protection about the roots during winter. A combined woodlot 

 and windbreak from one to several rods in width, extending about 

 the orchard or garden, will gather snow evenly over the inclosure. 

 Thus protection is afforded where otherwise the wind would sweep the 

 land, piling the snow in heaps about the fences, roads, and buildings. 



EARLY METHODS. 



Between the years 1820 and 1880 was a period of enthusiastic white 

 pine planting in New England. Men were then able to foresee the 

 time when the marketable native white pine would be gone and the 

 rise in prices would make the planted timber of economic importance. 

 Those owning lands covered by shifting sand began to realize that 

 their property might be put to profitable use in forest production. 

 Large plantations were made by private owners, and some few by 

 corporations. At the end of this period there were said to be in Mas- 

 sachusetts alone forest plantations of white pine to the extent of over 

 10,000 acres. About 1880 the interest began to decline, largely 

 because it was found possible to bring lumber from the immense sup- 

 ply in the region of the Great Lakes at a lower transportation rate 

 than had been expected, and until the past few years little other 

 planting was done. 



In the early planting it was almost always the hope of the planter 

 to reap eventually a crop of lumber from his forest plot, but usually 

 this was a secondary consideration. The main object in establishing 

 the grove was to beautify grounds, protect them from the winds, and 

 eventually to secure posts, fuel, or other timber. 



The methods used during the first period varied greatly in different 

 places, for little was known in this country about practical forest 

 planting. The initial outlay was frequently so great that when the 

 interest on the investment is considered the planting proved to be very 

 unprofitable. In most cases it was done by men of considerable 

 wealth, who desired to establish a forest as quickly as possible. They 

 therefore bought trees which had been several times transplanted and 

 which were 8 to 20 inches high. Such trees usually cost not less than 

 $10 per 1,000. Counting about 2,000 trees to the acre, which was the 

 average number used, the outlay for seedlings alone is $20 per acre. 

 Compound interest at 5 per cent during the period of growth brings 

 this single item of expense to not less than $80 per acre for mature 

 trees. Adding to this taxes and other expenses, the commercial 

 impracticability of such planting is readily seen. 



In some instances the first outlay was small, and it is these plantations 



