15 



SILVER MAPLE. 



Silver maple has been more extensively planted in Illinois than any- 

 other species. It is liked because of its rapid growth, but this is 

 almost the only tiling in its favor. The wood is considered to be 

 worth $2 per cord on the stump, and no other product is given. The 

 cost of establishing a plantation is placed at $10 per acre. 



Plantation 10 is typical of many others in the State. It is 40 years 

 old, and the original spacing was 4 by 8 feet. Only dead trees have 

 been removed, and the struggle for existence has gone on until the 

 surviving trees now number only about 17 per cent of the original 

 stand. These are practically all dominant trees, with an average 

 diameter of nearly 1 inches and an average height of 70 feet. The clear 

 length is 40 feet, but the stems are crooked — often a characteristic of 

 this species. When the plantation was started, a number of sugar 

 maples were mixed with the silver maples. At present only an 

 occasional sugar maple is found. The survivors are from 3 to 4 

 inches in diameter and from 20 to 30 feet high and are in good con- 

 dition — an excellent illustration of the tolerance of sugar maple. 



Table 7. — Silver maple. 



Plan- 

 ta- 

 tion 

 No. 



County. 



Age. 



Area of 

 planta- 

 tion. 



Original 



spacing. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 trees 

 per 

 acre. 



Average size of 

 trees. 



Diameter 

 breast- 

 high. 



Height 



Yield per acre. 



Wood. 



Net 

 value. 



Annual 



income 



at 3 per 



cent. 



Hancock 



....do 



Rock Island, 



....do 



Ford 



Winnebago. 



Lee 



i Sangamon.. 

 1 ....do 



Kane 



Lee 



Whiteside... 



Yrs. 

 18 

 18 

 31 

 31 

 32 

 33 

 35 



• 35 

 35 

 40 

 41 

 40 



Acres. 

 0.81 

 .60 

 1.70 

 1.81 

 5.00 



1.80 

 .90 

 5.60 

 7.00 

 1.60 

 1.49 



Feet. 

 10 by 10 



6 by 10 

 5 by 5 

 5 by 5 



10 by 12 



7 by 8 

 5 by 10 



250 

 508 

 788 

 608 

 200 



6 by 6 

 4 by 8 



8 by 8 



308 

 173 

 264 

 222 

 269 

 206 



Inches. 



7.8 



5.6 



4.4 



4.5 



10.1 



9.3 



10.9 



13.4 



10.6 



9.8 



9.8 



11.15 



Feet. 



47 

 42 

 38 

 38 

 70 

 49 

 70 

 80 

 71 

 70 

 68 



Cords. 

 24.7 

 29.5 

 34.5 

 27.5 

 41.9 



$32. 38 

 41.98 

 44.00 

 30.00 

 58.10 



51.1 

 47.1 



62.4 

 35.2 

 52.0 

 40.6 



74.10 

 65.98 

 96.74 

 37.78 

 70.40 

 48. 58 



$1.38 

 1.79 



.60 

 1.11 



1.23 



1.09 



1.60 



.50 



.89 



.64 



Silver maple is valuable chiefly as a quick-growing shelter-belt tree 

 and for fuel. The wood is too inferior to make the planting of the 

 species profitable for any other purpose. 



ash: 



Seventy per cent of the volume of white ash is figured as handle wood 

 at $4 per cord and 30 per cent as cordwood at $2 per cord. This seems 

 to be the best way to utilize ash of small size. Another way, how- 

 ever, is to cut the trees into posts. Ash will not make a very durable 

 post, but it is assumed that a first-class ash post is worth 6 cents and 



[Cir. 81] 



