SHORTLEAF PINE: IMPORTANCE AND MANAGEMENT. 55 
COST. 
The cost of direct seeding varies with the price of labor and size 
of the operation. From one-half to 1 pound of seed is required for 
an acre, and one man can sow at the rate of an acre a day. On the 
basis of $1.50 for labor and $2.50 for seed, the cost is not over $4 
per acre. If the soil preparation is by furrow plowing, the item of 
labor is increased from 50 cents to $1 per acre. To this must be 
added the value of the land to get the total initial cost of the in- 
vestment. 
The cost of raising 1-year-old seedlings in lots of 50,000 to 200,000 
is about $2 per thousand, 2-year seedlings about $2.50, and 2-year-old 
transplants $3.50 per thousand. ‘The field labor for planting an acre, 
spaced 5 by 5 feet, requires one man about two days with the 1-year- 
old seedlings, or three days with the largest-sized transplants. The 
total cost of plantations is $5 to $8 per acre. 
The returns and cost of carrying the investment can be calculated 
on the basis of the rate of growth, yields at various ages, results from 
intermittent thinnings, and final cutting, as discussed under the 
corresponding headings above, the value of the land, the initial cost 
of establishing plantation, and annual expenses, including taxes and 
protection, calculated at compound interest. 
