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



ing of soil would insure keeping the seed moist. The labor, how- 

 ever, would not be materially less than setting cuttings, while the 

 chance of failure would be much greater. 



COMPARATIVE MERITS OF DIFFERENT METHODS. 



The use of fresh cuttings has the one advantage of cheapness. 

 Such stock can easily be prepared for 75 cents per thousand. It is, 

 however, the least thrifty of all planting stock. Its chief use is for 

 planting on cultivated soil, as for farm woodlots or windbreaks, or 

 on low sand bars with the water table within a few feet of the sur- 

 face. Callused cuttings are slightly more expensive than fresh ones. 

 The best quality of callused cuttings, made in the fall and stored in 

 sand over winter, should not cost over $1 to $1.50 per thousand. 

 They should do well on moderately dry soils or where there are some 

 weeds, but not too many. Callused cuttings planted during the 

 winter or early spring in the southern Mississippi bottoms will 

 usually be rooted and will have started top growth before being 

 covered by the spring floods. For this reason floods will not injure 

 them greatly. Under such conditions fresh cuttings might not be 

 sufficiently established to resist injury, and if completely submerged 

 for a long period would probably be killed. Sometimes untrimmed 

 branches, 4 to 5 feet long, are used as cuttings in order that the 

 water may not entirely cover them. 



For general planting in the overflow bottoms rooted stock will 

 usually be superior to plain cuttings. It is better able to withstand 

 adverse conditions, and even if killed back by rodents or by fire it 

 will be likely to send up new shoots from below the injured portion. 

 Wild seedlings will generally be employed because of their cheapness 

 and availability. The cost of collecting them should seldom exceed 

 $1 to $1.50 per thousand, or the same as for callused cuttings. Such 

 stock is but little injured by complete submergence, remaining in 

 good condition for weeks under water. They are ready to start 

 height growth as soon as planted, which is a valuable characteristic 

 in situations where weeds are likely to spring up. 



Nursery seedlings have all the advantages of wild stock, except 

 cheapness. A conservative estimate of the cost of propagating 

 nursery stock is from $2 to $3 a thousand. 



Cost is the principal objection to rooted cuttings. Their value for 

 planting lies in their greater height than one-year-old seedlings com- 

 bined with a vigorous, bushy root system. They are especially 

 adapted to dry situations or where they are likely to come into com- 

 petition with weeds. Their cost should not exceed $4 to $5 per 

 thousand, and if grown on a large scale — as many as 50,000 to 100,000 

 at a time — it ought to be considerably less. 



