﻿COTTONWOOD IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 49 



parison with other poplars is that it forms a better shaped stem, freer 

 of side branches. Such conclusions are based on a comparatively 

 small number of plantations in southern Minnesota, which hardly 

 afford sufficient grounds for recommending this tree in preference to 

 the better known cottonwood or the Carolina poplar. 



PLANTING SITES. 



Moderately well-drained, permeable bottom lands afford the best 

 planting sites. The soil need not be rich or loamy. Very sandy 

 land will be suitable if the water table is within from 12 to 15 feet 

 of the surface. Even upland sites may sometimes be suitable, pro- 

 vided the soil is not too shallow and rainfall is abundant and well 

 distributed. Suitable upland sites, however, are apt to be well 

 adapted for farming. 



COMMERCIAL PLANTING. 



• The cottonwood lumber industry is almost exclusively confined to 

 the Mississippi Valley, where maximum returns can be obtained on 

 a 35-year rotation, or in the central and southern sections perhaps on 

 as short a rotation as 25 to 30 years. Even in the north, where the 

 growth of cottonwood is comparatively slow, the better market for 

 small sizes will make it possible to produce saw timber in 35 to 40 

 years. For the present, however, planting for lumber should proba- 

 bly be restricted to the central region. 



The Northeastern and Central States offer another opportunity for 

 realizing profitable returns from cottonwood plantations located close 

 to pulp mills. Several pulp-manufacturing companies have already 

 started plantations of cottonwood. 



Black, cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa Torr and Gr.), which is 

 very similar to the cottonwood of the Mississippi Valley, has been 

 planted to some extent for pulpwood in western Oregon and Wash- 

 ington. The success already attained with this species emphasizes 

 the possibilities of our eastern cottonwood in the region. The com- 

 mon cottonwood should do well in the Pacific Coast States, where 

 the markets for pulpwood and box material should afford a ready 

 outlet for the products of plantations. It is not certain, however, 

 that Populus deltoides will excel in any respect the native Populus 

 trichocarpa. 



PLANTING FOR WINDBREAKS. 



Cottonwood plantations are often warranted where, as in Iowa, 

 Minnesota, the Dakotas, Kansas, and Nebraska, timber for lumber, 

 posts, and fuel is scarce. Plantations of cottonwood made by the 

 pioneers in those States from 30 to 50 years ago, often on dry upland 

 sites, have in many instances been sawed up into rough lumber at 



