UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF LODGEPOLE PINE. 45 



Table 21 shows the result of direct seeding on some of the National 

 forests in Colorado and Montana. It will be seen that in the former 

 State the direct seeding of lodgepole pine has been attended with a 

 fair degree of success, while in the latter it has been practically a 

 total failure. It is not easy to account for this difference, though it 

 seems that the greater rainfall of Colorado has had its effect. Though 

 enough reforestation work has not yet been done to demonstrate 

 conclusively the possibilities of direct seeding, it seems certain that 

 in Montana a more satisfactory stand can be secured at less cost by 

 setting out plants raised in a nursery than by sowing seed directly 

 on the site, while in Colorado, on the other hand, direct seeding 

 should give the best results, provided conditions are favorable. 

 Under adverse conditions, of course, reforestation by direct seeding 

 can not be expected to prove successful even in Colorado. 



PLANTING. 



While comparatively little lodgepole pine has been planted, the 

 experiments conducted by the Forest Service prove pretty conclu- 

 sively that this method of reforestation will be successful. If grown 

 on a large scale, 3-year-old transplants can be raised at a cost of from 

 $3 to $5 per thousand. Field planting at the rate of 1,000 to the 

 acre costs from $6 to $8 per thousand, making the total cost per acre 

 from $9 to $13. This is considerably more than the cost of direct 

 seeding where the latter is successful the first time, yet so few sites 

 are fitted for seeding that planting will in most places cost less in 

 the long run. If the ground has to be seeded several times to obtain 

 a satisfactory stand, planting will have a great advantage in cost. 



One obstacle to artificial reforestation with lodgepole pine is the 

 tree's slow rate of growth. This means that interest charges on the 

 original investment must be carried for a long time, and also that 

 yield is comparatively small. Lodgepole pine will yield about 

 10,900 board feet of timber per acre in 100 years, worth $4 per thou- 

 sand. With a cost for planting of $9 per acre and a charge of 5 

 cents per acre per year for fire protection, a planted stand of lodge- 

 pole pine will yield only 1^ per cent on the money invested. Western 

 white pine, on the other hand, with a cost for planting of $7 per acre 

 and a charge of 10 cents per acre per year, yields 75,000 board feet 

 per acre in 100 years, worth $5 per thousand, or a return of 6^ per 

 cent on the money invested. With the rotation of 140 years which 

 would ordinarily be required for lodgepole pine, the comparison 

 would be still more unfavorable to it. Lodgepole pine will hardly 

 be planted on a large scale until large areas of more productive 

 sites have been reported. 



Where it is desired to reestablish the forests over a large area at 

 the lowest cost, small groups of 5 or 6 trees may be planted, the 

 groups 40 or 50 feet apart. Such groups could be counted on to 

 begin the reseeding of the remainder of the area as soon as the trees 



