THE FOREST SERVICE IN NEBRASKA. 45 



ed through the planting and we were much elated over the suc- 

 cess of our work. The seedlings used In this planting were 

 not over four inches in height, in the fall when the grass dried 

 up and the sand began to fill up the furrows a, great many 

 of the little trees were buried, and those surviving are not mak- 

 ing the growth they should, but It is very probable that they 

 will make a good growth next year. 



This year we planted 275,000 western yellow pine trees, part 

 were planted in furrows and part in the grass sod without 

 preparing the ground in any way. At the present time 85 per 

 cent, of those planted in the furrows and 89 per cent, of those 

 planted in the sod are growing. Some of the stock of this 

 year's planting is 2 years old; it is growing exceptionally well, 

 and if future planting does as well we will no doubt soon recom- 

 mend it for general planting, as it is a tree of more economic 

 value than the jack pine. This 2-year-old stock that is doing so 

 well with us is planted in furrows, but the 1-year-old stock is 

 more successful in the sod. 



Planting trees in the hills is a. simple operation. We or- 

 ganize our force in squads of threes, one man carries the trees 

 in la bucket, and the other two do the planting with spades. 

 When planting in furrows, the furrows ai-e plowed six feet apart 

 and the trees are set six feet apart in the bottom of the furrow. 

 When planting in the sod a line of stakes is set for the leader 

 to follow, and each successive squad follows to the flank of the 

 preceding squad. 



Planting Trees in Furrows. Planting trees in furrows costs 

 from $1.75 to $3 per thousand trees, depending upon the charac- 

 ter of the ground to be planted, the rougher and more uneven 

 the ground the more it will cost to plant. 



We find that the direction of the slope of the ground is a 

 tremendous factor in the success of planting, 10 to 15 per cent, 

 more trees live on a north slope than on la; south slope, and an 

 east slope is preferable to a. west slope. To sum up the re- 

 sults of our experience in tree planting we have reached the fol- 

 lowing conclusions: * 



1. For general planting throughout the sand hills of this 

 state we recommend the jack pine; 2-year-old stock should be 

 used, six to eight inches in height; wild seedlings grow very 

 successfully and are much cheaper than nursery stock. 



2. The best results are obtained from planting on northern 

 exposures, followed by the northeast, east and southeast ex- 

 posures; south and west exposures give the poorest results; side 

 hills are more preferable for planting than depressions or pockets 

 or the crests of hills. 



3. On ground where the sand is light and loose the trees 

 should be planted in the grass sod with the least possible dis- 

 turbance of the soil. In the valleys or on nearly level ground, 

 where the soil is Arm and the grass sod thick and heavy, single 



