98 STATE OF MICHIGAN. 



sideration, and must receive it if the work is to have any successful 

 outcome. 



Again taking it for granted that all of these have been investigated^ 

 and the planting decided upon, it is the purpose of the present paper 

 to point out some of the lines of procedure to be followed if quick 

 returns are to be counted upon. 



The simplest of these, and the one which would first suggest itself,, 

 would seem to be the choice of rapid-growing species. It is well known 

 that some kinds of trees grow much faster than others, especially when 

 young", and not a few are persistent, as well as rapid, in their growth. 

 At once we may divide such species as make rapid growth into twc^ 

 general classes, those with relatively hard wood, and the soft wooded. 

 In the hard wooded group, belong the hardy catalpa, the chestnut, the 

 common or black locust, the ashes, and sojne other species which, 

 under favorable conditions are quite rapid in reaching a marketable 

 size. The soft wooded group would include the poplars, of which the 

 Cottonwood, sold under various names, such as Carolina poplar, Kansas 

 poplar,, etc., is the largest, and also probably the most rapid growing of 

 all our trees, the European willow, the basswood, and the majority of 

 the coniferous species which will grow in our climate. Intermediate 

 lietween these groups would be one which would include the soft maples, 

 the elms and other species which need not be taken into account. 



A second consideration, which is mentioned at this point, because 

 it must be taken into account in determining the availability of a species 

 for securing i]uick returns, is the possibility of using the wood of the 

 species while the trees are yet in the pole stage, for some commercial 

 and general purposes, so that the smaller sizes of the trees have a 

 market value and can be sold at prices which will make it worth while 

 to market them. 



In general, the soft and brittle wooded species have no value in small 

 sizes, except for paper pulp or for use in the manufacture of certain 

 novelties. The wood makes inferior poles and posts, and poor fire-wood 

 and the demand for material of this sort is very local and very small, 

 since it is only used where no better material may be had. It should 

 be said that the lack of durability rather than softness is the chief 

 reason why such wood is not more valuable, and there are some of the 

 evergreen or coniferous trees which furnish durable wood, which, 

 though very soft, is in large demand for poles, railroad ties and posts, 

 but these are not of specially rapid growth, and need not be discussed 

 at this time. 



On the other hand, when the hard wooded species are taken into- 

 account we find some that have wood that is durable and strong as well, 

 and for small sizes of these, there is a demand which is likely to be 

 increasingly strong and steady. It is evident then that such species are 

 much more desirable as a crop than those which simply grow fast. 



In the list of species already given, those which have the most durable 

 wood are the catalpa and the common locust, and for many sites these 

 two species are the best adapted for plantations where quick returns 

 are sought. Of these two, the hardy catalpa has been very carefully 

 studied by the Bureau of Forestry of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture at Washington, and the results of this work, with tables 



