14 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 
that the earth must be tightly packed around the little 
tree. 
Six feet apart the trees are planted and ordinarily 
a planting crew can cover from two-thirds to a little 
over an acre a day, depending on the toughness of the 
soil and its freedom from stones. 
If good planting stock has been used and if the ground 
was firmly pressed around the roots eighty-five or ninety 
per cent of the little trees should be alive at the end 
of the first season. An excessively dry summer, or care- 
less planting, may cause high mortality. 
Costs and Results.—Forest planting is considered a 
good investment and like every other phase of forestry 
must pay its way financially. Land that can be tilled 
should not be planted unless as a landscape improve- 
ment. If cheap land is planted and the whole cost in- 
cluding purchase of land and planting expenses—seven 
to ten dollars per acre—does not exceed fifteen dollars 
per acre, the investment should certainly yield four or 
five per cent compound interest based on present stump- 
age value. With the increase in timber values that is 
bound to occur as the result of our diminishing timber 
supply even a higher rate should be assured. The ele- 
ment of time, however, is discouraging to many persons, 
but the Federal Government, States, railroads, and other 
corporations and logging companies with continuous 
existence can plant and feel that a good long-time in- 
vestment has been made. 
Even private individuals who from sentimental or 
business reasons possess land, a part of which is unsuited 
to agriculture will find enormous satisfaction in watch- 
ing a young plantation develop, feeling all the while 
that they have made an investment for their descend- 
ants. The pleasure derived from watching things grow 
