12 



3 cents. Cordwood was assumed to be worth $1 per cord, 

 being, in this case, simply what is left after the plantation has been 

 fully utilized for posts and poles. 



The cost of establishing a plantation of European larch is assumed 

 to be $18 per acre. The plantations varied widely in original expense, 

 and the cost of establishing some of them was undoubtedly much 

 more than $18 per acre. This figure, however, is a fair average. 



Table 5. — European larch. 



County. 



Aver- 

 age size 

 of domi- 

 nant 



trees. I 



GO 



Products per 

 acre. 



ZZ 



O « 



Condition. 



Knox 



do 



Warren 



Kane 



Ogle 



Dekalb 



Bureau 



McHenry. . . 

 Winnebago. 

 Sangamon.. 

 Bureau 



Lee 



Knox 



Will 



Champaign. 



Bureau 



Trs. 



29 



Acres 



0.99 



.79 



2.70 

 1.30 



.30 

 1.00 

 .16 

 .70 

 .25 

 2.40 



5.50 

 .96 



1.50 

 .40 



Feet. 

 9by< 

 9 by! 



4 by 5 



10 by 10 

 4 by 4 



4 by 4 



5 by 8 



.025 



6 by 7 

 2 by 4 



5 by 6 



367 

 214 



202 

 156 



347 

 530 

 880 

 625 

 536 

 300 

 1,129 



346 

 627 

 412 

 710 



10.6 



7.6 

 8.0 



Ft 

 48 

 43 



49 

 40 



48 

 44 

 55 

 38 

 45 

 37 

 50 



55 



48 

 55 

 55 



Cds. 



850 



144 

 400 



$187.57 $4.15 

 117.57 2.60 



110 



335 



1,280 



117.57 

 None. 



156.31 

 146.31 

 386.31 

 206. 31 

 351.31 

 128. 65 

 313. 65 



168.65 

 252. 26 

 232. 26 

 330.82 



239.35 



2. 



None. 



3.29 



3. 



8.12 



4.34 



7 



2.45 



5.97 



3.21 

 4.58 

 4.22 

 5.73 



3.96 



Rich, soil; pastured. 

 Excellent; not pas- 

 tured. 

 Good. 



Gravelly soil; neg- 

 lected. 

 Good; rich soil. 



Do. 

 Excellent ; dense stand 

 Good; light clay loam. 



Do. 

 Poor; thin stand. 

 Rather poor soil; 



dense stand. 

 Good; rich soil. 



Do. 



Do. 

 Alternate rows re- 

 moved in 1877-78. 

 Good; rich soil. 



The study shows that European larch is adapted to well-drained 

 prairie soils in Illinois, and that in such situations it makes excellent 

 growth. It is a matter of common knowledge, however, that the 

 tree will eventually fail in situations where the drainage is poor. 

 Bulletin 26 of the agricultural experiment station of the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois notes the effect of poor drainage on the larch plan- 

 tations at that place, which may be taken as typical of similar 

 conditions elsewhere. The plantation was established in 1871, and 

 did very well for four or five years. Then trees occupying wet 

 ground began to show signs of decay, and later to die. Those which 

 survived had sparse and yellowish foliage and the branches were 

 slender and wiry. Their roots ran near the surface, and a taproot 

 appeared to be wanting. By 1893 not quite one-fourth as many 

 trees were growing there as on the higher ground, where scarcely 

 a tree, except those overtopped, had died or shown any signs of 

 unhealthiness. 



rcir. 81] 



