FOEEST NURSERT PRACTICE. 



Frank J. Phillips. 



Since the year 1902, the U. S. Forest Service has follewed the practice 

 of establishing forest nurseries as rapidly as warrantable on various 

 National Forests, where forest planting is an important project. At 

 the end of last year, there were twenty-four such nurseries which were 

 estimated to have an annual capacity of approximately 9,000,000 seedlings. 

 The largest nursery, of about ten acres, is located at Halsey, Nebraska, 

 while the remaining nurseries are widely scattered throughout the west 

 and are for the most part of comparatively small area. 



During the month of January, 1907, the Forest Service deemed it 

 advisable to hold a conference of the men in charge of various nurersies 

 then established. The principle nurseries at that time were located in 

 Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and California. The basis for 

 the following material was deduced from this planting conference but is 

 eupplemented largely by the writer's experience at government and 

 private nurseries. 



It should be borne in mind that nursery methods at the various 

 stations have been widely different because they are located on wildely 

 variable sites. Results from one nursery are often only of general value 

 in comparsion with those from another and scarcely at all comparable 

 with the practice at most commercial nurseries. The sites of the govern- 

 ment nurseries vary from the hot sand hills of Nebraska to the cold 

 mountain valleys of Utah and Colorado and to the warm valleys of 

 California and New Mexico, in localities where forest nurseries have 

 never before been established. The soils vary from gravel at the nursey 

 iu Utah through sandy loam at Halsey, Nebraska, and fine loam in 

 Colorado and California, to an adobe soil in New Mexico. Many of the 

 trees that are being propagated have never been grown extensively 

 before. 



All nurseries with the exception of the one at Halsey, Nebraska, are 

 designed largely to supply coniferous tree stock for planting on water- 

 charge of men who have been in the work for several years and who 

 hold the rank of forest planting assistant or some superior rank. 

 sheds while the one at Halsey provides material for the afforesaid station 

 of the sand-hill region of Nebraska. At each of the stations, the primary 

 design is to raise high class nursery stock suitable for planting in the 

 immediate region at a price cheaper than that quoted by commercial 

 nurseries. The location of these stations in the center of large planting 

 areas is especially advisable for the following reasons: 



1. Such stock is usually better adapted to local conditions than 

 Introduced stock. 



2. Most of the stock has been much superior in grade to that which 

 can be bought in the open markel 



