The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1875-11-25
$500 90

$500 90
This estimate is made upon the suppo-
sition that you have reference to the
provisions OF the Congressional Tree
Planting Act. which requires the trees to
be planted mot more than twelve feet
apart each way"
That fully covers the cost of the work
SO lar. On new. clean ground, the adj
dltlonal cost OF cultivation for two wears
ought not to exceed $500. Making the
total cost of 40 acres OF Young timber
under the provisions OF the COMPRESSION
al Tree Planting Act, $500, or about
four cents for each tree. In twenty
years your cottonwoods ought to average
one cord OF fire wood to each tree, worth
one dollar per cord on the stump.
Twelve feet apart each way gives you
800 per acre. These are the facts. Draw
your own conclusions. Your ash. larch.
butternut, &C.. won't be as big, but thew
will be worth more money,
think that justice to the cause Of tor
est tree culture requires me to saw that
a better plan would be to plant four feet
apart each way. My first reason for
this innovation is to secure an upright,
thrifty growth. Nature shows us how
to DO these things. In dense thickets
and groves we find the young trees run
ming up as straight as gun barrels. Ma
ture does her own pruning and thinning
out, and the doctrine of 1.-The survival Of
the fittest" is clearly demonstrated.
In planting closely, your young trees
are compelled to form straight, per-
pendicular growth making long.
straight bodies suitable for hewinc TIM
Der and saw logs, instead Of short bod.
led. big top shade trees.
Again, by close planting yon save and
shorten up the period of artificial cult.
walton, thereby lessening the cost of the
timber. The increased shade and
mulching resulting from close planting
enables us to dispense with the plow,
euitivaeof ana noe several years sooner
than If planted twelve feet apart.
Again, trees planted four feet apart
each way reduce the average cost
per tree to less than one cent each. To
explain: 40 acres planted II feet apart
each way requires 1890 trees. 40
acres planted four feet apart each way
requires lO9.SO0 trees. Here arc 81, $50
more trees to buy and plant. You can
buy and plant them for o. per thousand.
making an additional expense OF $500.
1t certainly requires less cultivation
to grow trees four feet apart than twelve
feet apart. AS they grow up and beyin
TO crowd each other, (Which they will
be likely TO do in five or six years.l YOU
can anticipate Nature in in its thinning
out process-thinning out those least
likely to develop into perfect trees. and
converting them into fuel or fencing.
thereby realizing enough from these
cuiis 10 defray the entire cost Of all the
trees remaining on the forty acres.
Three hundred to the acre is about what
you can leave to stand permanently. 1
have endeavored to give your letter .
careful answer. am aware my figures
will be doubted and disputed, ana that
my ideas will be ridiculed. am will
ling. however, to test the whole thing bv
contracting and furnishing satisfactory
security for the performance of the con-
tracts. 10 plant any required number Of
acres on the Main Line of the LIST Divis-
ion of the st. Paul & Pacific Railroad AZ
the foregoing estimates. Cash to be-
PAID down as soon as each forty acre
tract is planted,-s3OO for each forty
TO cover cost; and the usual contractors
per centage Of profits, say So 1-3 Der
cent. on cost, when the patent issues.
eight years from planting. to do the
necessary cultivation. N20O a iorty, land
the owner to protect them from damage
from fire and cattle.
In conclusion remark that thousands
and hundreds OF thousands of acres Of as
fertile soil as the sun ever shore upon,
clean prairie watered by lakes and rum
ming streams, interpreted with natural
meadows Of luxuriant native grasses.
yielding from two to five2tons per acre.
now lie along the Main Line OF the Let
Div. st. Paul & Pacific Railroad within
from one to SIX miles of railroad Sta
tons. TO be had under the provisions Of
the Homestead, Presumption or Tree
Planting Acts, / might almost say
without money and without price,
LAND for the landless," ..homes for the
homeless, trees for the treeless.n As
your letter embodies the substance OF
hundreds OF other letters daily accumu.
lating on my desk, shall, TO save the
labor OF answering each separately, give
this to Hon. Ignatius Donnelly for pub
LEGATION in the ANTI-MoxoPoLIsT, and
shall reply to similar communications by
sending copy Of the paper containing
this. l also invite the freess correspond
ence on all points touching this subject
not herein elaborated. and shall hold
myself in readiness. while in winter quar-
ters. for prompt, and Is far as am able
to make them. satisfactory replies:
Yours truly.
LEOxARD B. HODGKs.
Supt- Tree Planting, 1T Div. 81. p. &P.