Our national forests : $b a short popular account of the work of the United States Forest service on the national forestsBoerker, Richard H. D. (Richard Hans Douai)
History
Our national forests : $b a short popular account of the work of the United States Forest service on the national forests
Boerker, Richard H. D. (Richard Hans Douai)
Forests and forestry -- United States; United States. Forest Service
While the reforestation of the watersheds of streams important for
irrigation and municipal water supply has a large financial value, this
value is hard to estimate because it involves not actual cash profit but
loss prevented. But when a favorable site is planted to a quick-growing,
valuable, species, it is comparatively easy to arrive at a fair estimate
of the possible profit on money invested. It has been estimated that
under many conditions it is highly profitable to reforest waste lands
on the National Forests by planting. From certain experiments made it
is estimated that a white pine forest artificially established on a
second-class forest soil in Minnesota, will yield about 46,500 board
feet per acre in 50 years, worth at least $10 per thousand feet, or
$465 per acre. Figuring the cost of planting and the cost of care and
protection per acre per year at 3 per cent. compound interest gives a
total cost of $34.07 per acre at the time the timber is cut and a net
profit of $8.62 per acre per year. Douglas fir in the Northwest will
produce 81,000 board feet in 80 years, worth at least $8.50 per thousand
feet. After deducting all expenses this would leave a net profit of
$555.30 in 80 years or about $6.94 per acre per year. These profits are
indeed large, considering that the land is not capable of producing
cereal or vegetable crops profitably. And it must be remembered that in
all the above calculations all the money invested is earning 3 per cent.
compound interest and that the net profits are the earnings in excess of
this 3 per cent. interest.
The little trees that are set out on the National Forests every year
are produced in large nurseries, where they are grown by the millions.
In these nurseries the little trees receive the most expert care from
the time the seeds germinate until the time they are large enough to
withstand the rigors of wind and weather on the barren hillsides of
Uncle Sam's Forests. The seeds are first carefully sown in seed beds
and left to develop in these from one to three years. At the end of one
year they may be transplanted in nursery rows where they will have more
room to develop. Rapidly growing species like yellow pine are kept only
a year in the seed bed and perhaps one or two years in the transplant
beds; but slow growing species, like cedar, must remain in the seed beds
two years and usually two years in the transplant beds. All this depends
upon the species and the site upon which it is to be planted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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