SHORTLEAP PINE : IMPORTANCE AND MANAGEMENT. 55 



COST. 



The cost of direct seeding varies with the price of labor and size 

 of the operation. From one-half to 1 pound of seed is required for 

 an acre, and one man can sow at the rate of an acre a day. On the 

 basis of $1.50 for labor and $2.50 for seed, the cost is not over $4 

 per acre. If the soil preparation is by furrow plowing, the item of 

 labor is increased from 50 cents to $1 per acre. To this must be 

 added the value of the land to get the total initial cost of the in- 

 vestment. 



The cost of raising 1-year-old seedlings in lots of 50,000 to 200,000 

 is about $2 per thousand, 2-year seedlings about $2.50, and 2-year-old 

 transplants $3.50 per thousand. The field labor for planting an acre, 

 spaced 5 by 5 feet, requires one man about two days with the 1-year- 

 old seedlings, or three days with the largest-sized transplants. The 

 total cost of plantations is $5 to $8 per acre. 



The returns and cost of carrying the investment can be calculated 

 on the basis of the rate of growth, yields at various ages, results from 

 intermittent thinnings, and final cutting, as discussed under the 

 corresponding headings above, the value of the land, the initial cost 

 of establishing plantation, and annual expenses, including taxes and 

 protection, calculated at compound interest. 



