JACK PINE. 31 



On the Michigan National Forests firo is not considered necessary 

 in order to secure natural reproduction. This is because poorer soil 

 conditions are found here than in Tiorthern Minnesota, and there is 

 a much loss vigorous growth of popple and white birch. The general 

 policy here is to cut all merchantable trees, pile and bum the brush, 

 and rely for reproduction on the seed that is already on the ground, 

 or that may come either from the trees left after cutting or from 

 trees on adjacent uncut areas. 



PLANTING AND SOWING. 



The cost of planting jack pine nearly equals that for white and 

 Norway pines. Therefore, the extensive planting of this species does 

 not seem, warranted except on the poorest soils where these better 

 trees will not grow. Even here, the ease with which natural repro- 

 duction is secured makes planting unnecessary in the majority of 

 cases. For forest planting on relatively arid soils both inside and 

 outside its natural range, for windbreaks, and for the fixation of 

 moving sand, jack-pine may be the best tree to use. Oh severe 

 exposures in the sand hills of Nebraska, for example, jack pine 

 plantations have been eminently successful, while those of Scotch, 

 Norway, and western yellow pines, Douglas fir, and arborvitse have 

 failed. (See PI. XV.) 



The recently adopted policy of the Public Domain Commission of 

 Michigan provides for the planting each year of from 4,000 to 5,000 

 acres of waste sandy-plains land to forest trees, of which the State 

 Forester^ says from 20 to 33 per cent will probably be jack pine. 

 It is here to be used largely as a filler for Norway and white pines, 

 and planted from 5 to 6 feet apart in ploughed furrows, with 6 feet 

 between the furrows. The National Forests in Michigan and Minne- 

 sota contain large areas of jack pine land. Wherever jack pine re- 

 produces naturally, the Forest Service is glad to have it do so and 

 in this way save the expense of planting. But the present Forest 

 Service practice is not to plant jack pine on vacant land on these 

 Forests, as it is believed none of this land is too poor to grow the much 

 superior Norway pine. (See PI. XIV, fig. 2.) 



Nursery-grown stock is almost always used in planting out, wild 

 stock being only occasionally collected for this purpose. Experi- 

 mental planting of jack pine shows that on poor sites, such as those 

 found in the sand hills of Nebraska, the best results are obtained 

 from the use of 3-year-old stock wliich has been two years in the 

 seed bed and one year in the transplant bed. This material can be 

 raised at a cost of from $3.50 to $4 per thousand, including seed, 

 preparation of beds, and subsequent care, while the collected wild 

 stock costs about $5 per thousand. On Michigan State forests, 

 however, good success has been secured from planting 2-year seed- 



1 Marcus Schaaf. 



