BULLETIN OF THE y@ 
De) USIRDARTMENT OFAUCUITRE 
No. 24. 
Contribution from the Forest Service, Henry S. Graves, Forester. 
December 31, 1913. 
COTTONWOOD IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 
By A. W. WILLIAMSON, 
Forest Hxanminer. 
IMPORTANCE OF COTTONWOOD. 
Cottonwood is one of the important timber trees native to this 
country. Twenty years ago it had almost no value; to-day its wood 
is extensively used and the demand for it is much in excess of the 
supply. It is a tree of very rapid growth. On rich lands yields of 
from 4 to 5 cords of wood per acre per year are not uncommon. 
Yields of over 30,000 feet of merchantable timber can be obtained 
in 40 years, and 20 years is sufficient to produce timber of fair dimen- 
sions. Cottonwood is especially valuable in the Mississippi Valley — 
region, where it offers exceptional inducements for the conservative 
handling of timberlands in which it occurs, or for forest planting. 
Cottonwood’s importance as a tree for artificial forestation is 
attested by the fact that it has claimed the attention of forest plant- 
ers in many foreign countries, such as France, Germany, Belgium, 
and Argentina. (See Pl. VI, fig. 1.) By careful selection certain 
French horticulturists have developed from this species improved 
varieties which are said even to exceed the original form in rapidity 
of growth. In South America, at the mouth of the Parana River 
in Argentina, a very extensive and lucrative industry has been 
developed by growing cottonwood on land subject to frequent in- 
undations. (See Pl. Il.) These plantations furnish saw timber 
from 10 to 12 inches in diameter. On account of the scarcity of 
timber there, boards but 3 or 4 inches wide and 6 feet long find a 
ready market at high prices. Such plantations pay as high as 15 
per cent on the money invested. 
In this country the possibility of growing cottonwood commer- 
cially, either by planting or by favoring it in natural stands, has 
not yet received the attention it deserves. Though cottonwood plan- 
tations as a source of future supply of pulpwood justify considera- 
tion, the tree’s chief value will lie in the production of fuel and 
farm timbers, and for windbreaks, for which it has been extensively 
planted by farmers in the Middle West. (See Pl. VI, fig. 2.) 
8471°—Bull. 24—13——1 
