136 PLANTING 



(15) Pure Douglas Fir. 2 year seedlings ; on waste 

 land ; planted with a planting spike ; 3 by 3 feet apart : 



Burning and turning a furrow . ~ . . .^056 

 Planting 4840 plants, at 6s. per 1000 . . 190 

 4900 plants, at los. per 1000 .-'*'. . 290 



Planting only . .^436 



Fencing ^i 10 o 



Cutting-out, etc. 1 . . . .0100 



200 



Total cost per acre (say) .^630 



With reference to the above, the cost of planting Spruce 

 will be a trifle under that of planting Scots Pine ; whilst 

 that of Larch will be very slightly in excess of the cost of 

 planting the Scots Pine. 



The great increase in the cost when trees are planted 

 close together should be noted ; so also, should the saving in 

 cost, which can be effected when planting land that is 

 perfectly clean. 



And, as a general rule, it may be stated that even on 

 foul land, it is cheaper and better to clean the land and to 

 plant a large number of seedlings, and to keep them clean, 

 than to plant a small number of larger trees, which may be 

 big enough to escape injury from any rank grass. 



THE ARTIFICIAL SOWING OF CROPS OF TREES. 



Woods may sometimes be formed by direct sowing. 

 But it will seldom be satisfactory to try and thus establish 

 a wood on maiden land, as, owing to the rank growth of 

 grass and weeds, the young crop will get choked. However, 

 there are exceptions, which will be noted. Furthermore, 

 sowing is uncertain, and in many cases, if the seed be 

 expensive, it is considerably more expensive than planting 

 seedlings, and should not be attempted. 



1 This item may be much more, or perhaps even less, according to 

 the soil covering. 



