PLAN FOR A COMMERCIAL PLANTATION. 25 



PLAN FOR A COMMERCIAL PLANTATION IN THE RED BEDS BELT. 



The following planting plan was prepared for a quarter section 

 of land located about 5 miles northwesl <>l* the town of Stafford, Kans. 

 The country is an open, treeless prairie, very slightly undulating. 

 There are no creeks or draws affording- surface drainage, but in the 

 northwest corner are portions of a very low range of sand dunes, 

 which make the surface less uniformly flat than the rest of the tract. 

 Parts of these dunes are rather too saiuVy to grow agricultural crops 

 successfully. The soil in general is a fertile sandy loam about 2 feet 

 in depth, grading into a subsoil of sand which extends to uii unknown 

 depth. The water table is from 12 to 20 feet below the surface of 

 the ground. The land has been in cultivation several years, and is 

 in excellent tilth. The portion of the farm lying south of the Santa 

 Fe Railroad track, containing about 110 acres, is well adapted to 

 forest trees; the remainder of the quarter section will probabty yield 

 higher returns if devoted to fruit culture, and the plan provides for 

 orchards in this portion, and also along both sides of the railroad, for 

 a reason which will presently appear. 



There are no trees groAving- naturally upon the tract or near it, 

 but cottonwood and black walnut have done well when planted in 

 similar situations. On a neighboring farm cottonwood trees have 

 grown large enough for saw logs in twelve years. The following 

 species are suitable for planting in this locality: Cottonwood, black 

 walnut, hardy catalpa (only on the richest land), white elm, green 

 ash, hackberry, Osage orange, Russian mulberry, honey locust, red 

 cedar, and Chinese arborvita?. Fig. 4 reproduces the sketch plan 

 made for this tract. 



The site upon which the hardy catalpa plantation was made con- 

 sists of about 30 acres lying south of the Santa Fe Railroad track. 

 The land was prepared by listing, and the trees were planted in the 

 listed furrows so that they stand about 4 feet apart each way. 



The following diagram illustrates the method that was followed in 

 distributing these trees: 



Diagram 4. — Pure plantation for Red Beds Belt. 



(Spacing 4' by 4'.) 



C C C C 



CO C c • 



C C C C 



c c c c 



C=Hardy catalpa ; 2,720 trees per acre. 



The trees were planted very expeditiously, most of the work being 

 done by horsepower, as described on page 14* The tillage the first 



