Lumbering Cottonwood in Nebraska 35 



LUMBERING COTTONWOOD IN NEBRASKA 



W. E. S. HALLETT 



The most important commercial tree in Nebraska is the 

 cottonwood. It is planted extensively and occurs naturally 

 along the streams. Many good stands are found in the lower 

 Platte valley. One of the best natural stands in the state, now 

 being cut, is on an island in the Platte River three miles south- 

 west of Fremont. The island contains about one thousand 

 acres, one-fourth of whichjis covered with a scattered growth of 

 trees. Mr. J. J. Hawthorne owns about five hundred acres on 

 the island and it is upon his land that the best stand of timber 

 is found, occupying an area of fifty to sixty acres on the south 

 side of the island. 



Besides the cottonwood which composed about 90% of this 

 stand, there is a scattered growth of red, white and cork elm, 

 hackberry, red mulberry, green ash, willow, burr oak and red 

 cedar. All the latter are small non-merchantable trees. The 

 crowns of the trees shade the ground completely, eliminating 

 all ground cover except a few bushes. It has been estimated 

 that the stand will cut 15,000 B. M. or better to the acre. An 

 area of a little more than two acres that has been cut yielded 

 31,500 B. M. The trees have an average height of ninety feet 

 with a log length of about thirty-five to forty feet. The average 

 diameter is about eighteen inches. The soil is a loamy sand and 

 very loose in texture. It is from two to four feet deep over a 

 subsoil of sand. For the most part the ground is covered with a 

 thick layer of leaves which decay very rapidly because of soil 

 moisture and form a good, rich layer of humus. 



As the island is only eight to ten feet above the low water 

 mark of the Platte the roots do not need to penetrate very deep 

 to get a good supply of water. Nearly every year when the 

 snow begins to melt and during the spring rains the island is 

 covered with water. Every time the river overflows it deposits 

 a layer of sand on the ground and at the same time washes away 

 a great deal of the litter that has formed beneath the trees. 



In the past year, Mr. Hawthorne has grazed four hundred 

 head of sheep on this area. They graze over the five hundred 

 acres, but generally keep to the more open part of the island 

 where there is a very good growth of grass. There was no cop- 

 pice growth on the small area that was cut over years ago, and 

 this is probably due to the cattle grazing on the land eating the 

 sprouts. 



