= —— 
40 BULLETIN 1496, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
expedient method for obtaining quicker returns. It is doubtful, 
however, if any wood user, after he has cut clean the forest that sup- 
plied him with raw material, will want to plant up the entire area 
and wait 50 to 100 years for a new supply of raw material. 
Planting has its definite place under intensive forest management 
as an accessory to natural reproduction and the proper handling of 
the existing forest, or as a means of correcting failures in natural 
reproduction or of securing stands of the most desirable species. 
Under such conditions planting may become as desirable as any other 
method of reproducing the forest. 
WHAT TO PLANT 
The species which may be planted safely in the northern parts of 
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are white pine, Norway pine, 
jack pine, and white spruce. On the driest, sandiest soils where only 
an occasional jack pine or oak is left, Norway or jack pine will give 
the best results. On the sandy soils of better quality where there is 
usually some natural growth of aspen, red maple, and hazelnut, Nor- 
way and white pine will do well. In the open, Norway is preferable; 
under a light cover of aspen or brush, white pine. On the heavier 
soils where the original growth was hemlock, maple, or yellow birch, 
the best species to plant are white pine and white spruce. 
COST OF PLANTING 
At the present prevailing prices of labor and material the cost of 
forest planting in the region ranges from $3 to $15 an acre. Open, 
sandy land, small, easily handled stock, and reasonably large-scale 
operations, efficiently handled, will contribute to low costs of planting. 
On the Minnesota National Forest 7,400 acres have been planted, 
at an average cost of $5.10 an acre. On the Michigan National 
Forest 10,482 acres cost $3.43 an acre. Fourteen thousand acres on 
the State forests of Michigan, where almost. twice the number of 
trees are planted on each acre as on the national forests, averaged 
$5.79 an acre. Where underplanting needs to be done, as in open 
stands of aspen, with only 100 to 200 plants to an acre, the cost need 
not run more than $2 to $3. These costs are not prohibitive. 
RETURNS FROM PLANTING 
It is conservative to predict that planted Norway and white pine will 
cut 15,000 board feet to the acre in 60 years. Assuming the cost of 
planting to be $6.50 an acre, a land value of $2 an acre, an annual 
fire-protection charge of 5 cents an acre, and annual taxes of 10 cents, 
Norway and white pine at 60 years would have to have stumpage 
values of only $14 a thousand to earn 5 per cent, or $24 to earn 6 per 
cent on the investment. With present values of $10 to $15 a thou- 
sand, and values in the Northeast for white pine of $15 to $20 a thou- 
sand, a future value of $24 is not at all unlikely. 
Reforestation by planting in the Lake States is practicable in cer- 
tain instances even now, particularly with Norway and white pine on 
the better soils. The costs are not unreasonably high, and the pro- 
spective yields are attractive. With better fire protection and modi- 
fication in the taxation of cut-over land and second growth, planting 
