“J 
7 SUGGESTIONS FOR PAPER-MULCH TRIALS 
COSTS 
Although most of the mulching paper used in the Hawaiian 
Islands is manufactured in the United States, the delivered cost in 
quantity for consumption there is nevertheless appreciably below the 
present cost of comparable paper in this country. During the past 
season, however, a number of companies have devoted much effort to 
the quantity production of mulching papers, and it is probable that 
with increasing numbers of types of paper and enlarged use, the 
present costs of papers suitable for various mulching purposes may 
be gradually reduced. The present cost of the paper-mulching system 
depends upon the type of paper used and the method of use. With 
an inexpensive type-A paper costing $1 per 500 square feet the cost 
of the paper required for 3 by 8 foot squares spaced at 12-foot 
intervals would be about $5.50 to the acre of 302 squares. This 
minimum expense involves the use of an inexpensive paper, but it 
will readily be seen that the use of squares of more durable and 
expensive paper in the establishment cf orchards does not appear 
prohibitive. The cost of the type-B papers varies from two to three 
or more times the cost of the type-A papers. As used in the produc- 
tion of many annual crops in field culture with the system of extended 
-cropped and mulched rows with uncovered interspaces, the type-A 
papers, in quantity, have an approximate minimum cost of about 
$30 per acre. As used in the practically complete covering of the 
soil the type-A papers have an approximate minimum cost, in quan- 
tity, of about $60 per acre, while the more durable type-B papers, 
similarly used, will cost $120 to $200 per acre, the cost being distribut- 
able against use for two or more crops or seasons. 
The cost of applying the paper depends upon the method of use, 
but ordinarily it appears to be only a small percentage of the cost 
of the paper. 
On the basis of present costs, the use of paper mulch is not profit- 
able in the ordinary production of such crops as field corn, dry beans, 
cotton, sugar-cane, and other low-value crops. The paper is effective 
with these crops, however, and it is entirely possible that, should the 
manufacture of mulching paper from waste by-products (e. g., 
pressed cane, cornstalks, etc.) prove feasible, its application to low- 
value crops might become a matter of practical interest. 
GENERAL PRECAUTIONS 
In making small-scale trials with paper mulch the system was con- 
sidered as experimental, and provision was made for suitable com- 
parison areas without paper. The papered areas were as nearly as 
possible of the same fertility as the comparison areas which were not 
papered. The preparation of the soil and the planting were done at 
the same time on both areas, and any fertilizer subsequently applied 
_ was applied equally to the mulched and unmulched areas. Under iuri- 
) eo conditions special precautions were taken to prevent excessive 
oisture under the paper, and on moist soils the paper was extended 
over ridged and shghtly elevated beds to facilitate drainage. 
In conducting the initial trials the main objective was the determi- 
nation of the extent of crop-plant stimulation attributable to the use 
