﻿46 BULLETIN 24, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Where the stand is to be established wholly by planting the costs 

 will be : 



Preparation of the ground $2. 50 



Cost of stock (8 by S feet) 1.00 



Cost of planting 2.50 



Filling in blanks 1.00 * 



■ » 



Total 7. 00 



The cost of the land will vary widely under different conditions, 

 but at present $5 per acre will be the average price of unprotected 

 land unsuitable for fanning. Such lands are usually valued for 

 taxation purposes at only $1 to $3, and are seldom taxed more than 

 two cents on the dollar. Some allowance for increased taxes in the 

 future should, however, be made. The present land valuation for 

 tax purposes is therefore placed at $3, and an increase of $1 per acre 

 allowed for each succeeding decade. 



It is a fair assumption that a stand established by natural repro- 

 duction, supplemented by planting one-third of the area, will yield 

 at least three-fourths as much as the fully stocked stands shown in 

 Table 3. On the basis of these figures such a stand would, if the 

 stumpage is worth $5 per thousand board feet, return 7 per cent on 

 the investment, with a rotation of about 35 years. 



A planted stand, fully stocked, even though the cost of establishing 

 it may be higher than in the case of a stand secured by natural repro- 

 duction, should return about 7.3 per cent, because of its greater yield 

 per acre. 



While on the whole at least 6 or 7 per cent can be expected from 

 growing cottonwood, the profitableness of the undertaking must be 

 determined for each particular case by a careful study of local condi- 

 tions. 



CORDWOOD. 



The present low stumpage value of cordwood makes it a question- 

 able policy to sacrifice thrifty young cottonwood brakes for this 

 use. Such stands, if established in the same manner and at the same 

 cost as described for saw timber, will show a return of scarcely 6 

 per cent. This requires a fully stocked stand over the entire area, 

 which can scarcely be secured except by planting. With only three- 

 fourths of a normal yield per acre, as figured for saw timber, the 

 investment would not net more than 4 per cent. If natural reproduc- 

 tion, supplemented by planting, would result in a fully stocked 

 stand, the returns may be increased to 5 per cent. 



To make the growing of cottonwood for pulp as profitable as for 

 saw timber, the stumpage must bring from 80 to 90 cents per cord. 



