Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 August 1909 — PROFIT IN TREES USED FOR POSTS [ARTICLE]

PROFIT IN TREES USED FOR POSTS

Indiana Farmers Are Advised tn Drew Black Locusts. MAKE WASTE LAND USEFUL Lot of 50,000 Planted In Southern Part of the State From Which Owners Expect to Gain SIO,OOO Within Period of Twelve Years—Borer Is a Pest Growers Will Have to Guard Against—Hardy Catalpa Also Useful. Boonville, Ind., Aug. 10. There seems to be a revival In tree planting in southern Indiana. The government forester and the Indiana board of forestry have, for several years, been advising the farmers to plant forest trees. In Warrick county and other counties in the southern part of Indiana many farmers have utilized their waste tracts by setting out black locusts, hardy catalpa and other varieties of fastgrowing trees. This is due largely to the post famine that the farmers are having to contend with.

Fence Posts Very Scarce. It is almost Impossible to secure good, lasting fence posts, and the farmers have found that the black locust, catalpa and Osage orange make posts which wear well. In this part of Indiana there are many acres of land that can be bought "dirt cheap" and will yield a good crop of black locusts for posts in ten or twelve years. An acre of posts is estimated to be worth $250 to SBOO, and in view of the high price of farm labor this looks like a goqd crop. In fact. It has been stated by government forestry experts that a small plantation of black locusts would ma ture into greater value in from ten to twenty years and would be a sure Investment if it were not for the possibility of the destructive work of the locust borer , Tract With 50,000 Trees. Thomas P. Llttlepage, legal adviser to the investigations committee of the senate, and W. B Burton, an official in the government service at Washington, own the largest tree plantation in southern Indiana The tract contains over 50,000 and is near Gentryville, Spencer county The owners expect this plantation to bring them $10,006 in twelve years The plantation consists of thirty-five acres and was bought by Littlepage and Burton for S2OQ Littlepage also owns another tract of land twenty acre sj)f which he planted in locust and W&alpas this spring. The locust borer is an insect very destructive in its work It bores holes through the youns growing trees, and it is not uncommon to find in sections where the borer -works trees with holes in and through them the size of a lead pencil ,