METHODS OF PLANTING MOST SUITED TO FLORIDA. 39 



In California, where the plantations have been intended primarily 

 for the production of fuel wood, the trees are spaced from 8 to 16 

 feet apart in the rows, with the rows usually the same distance apart. 

 In Brazil, in the plantations of the Paulista Railway, 13 feet has 

 given the best results with the majority of species for the produc- 

 tion of ties. With this spacing trees have been produced which at 

 4 years of age measured 7.6 inches in diameter. If the trees are to 

 produce tall, straight steins, with little branching, close spacing is 

 necessary, especially in Florida, where, because of the greater danger 

 from wind and heavy rainstorms, close spacing, followed in three 

 or four years by thinnings, will probably prove most satisfactory. 

 Vigorous and thrifty plants may safely be spaced farther apart than 

 small and poorly developed specimens. As a general rule, the more 

 isolated the tree the more rapid is its diameter growth and the 

 greater the volume of wood produced, and the more branchy is it 

 apt to become. 



Each species, therefore, must be considered with regard to its 

 inherent qualities, as well as to the site on which it is to be planted. 

 Thus, for instance, E. globulus and tereticornis, because they branch 

 but little in the first years, may be planted about 10 feet apart, and 

 if thinned out at the end of the sixth year will furnish a large 

 quantity of fuel wood. E. rohusta, on the other hand, has a natu- 

 rally branchy form, and if planted less than 13 feet apart it will be 

 at a disadvantage in the third or fourth year because of the small 

 space allowed it. 



On dry soils the trees should be planted closer than on fertile, 

 humid soils. In Brazil the trees are spaced 9 feet apart on very 

 dry ground, and 12 feet on firmer, damp ground, while on very level, 

 fertile tracts or where the ground is marshy, a spacing as wide as 

 16 feet gives good results. Comparatively wide spacing gives the 

 trees the necessary space to grow in and allows room for cultivation 

 of the soil to keep down brush and harmful weeds which would 

 otherwise compete with the young trees for light, air, and moisture. 

 It should be remembered, however, that while too close spacing can 

 always be remedied later by thinnings, too wide spacing can be 

 remedied only by subsequent planting which is likely to make the 

 cost prohibitive, and puts the younger trees at a disadvantage. 



There are many advantages in laying out plantations on a sys- 

 tematic and orderly plan. Among these may be mentioned: 



1. Better circulation of air. 



2. Uniform light conditions, favoring uniform growth. 



3. Equal growing space for the roots. 



4. Ease of cultivation. 



5. Ease of weeding. 



6. Easier filling in of fail places. 



