FOREST NURSERY PRACTICE 155 



At the Fort Bayard nursery where low shade frames were used it 

 was customary to water by throwing a spray over the frames and to allow 

 the water to drip from the frames onto the seedbed. This system is 

 opened to serious objection because of the amount of water lost in 

 evaporation, unless t is performed at night, and because the method is 

 slow. In California 100 foot hose was used with two sprinklers which 

 threw a revolving s'pray. Ths saves labor an dthe water was dis- 

 tributed even enough on the porous soil to be entir^y satisfactory. 



Different soils require modifications in the system of watering. For 

 instance the adobe soil at the Fort Bayard nursey absorbs water slowly 

 and washes readily when it becomes saturated. At the Watscatch 

 nursery where gravel soil prevails or at Halsey where there is sandy loam 

 large amount of water may be applied in a short period of time. 



It has not yet been fully determined whether heavy watering at 

 moderate intervals is superior to light waterings at very frequent inter- 

 vals. Jlost nurseymen are nclined toward the former view and recent 

 work on the control of damping off seems to be in favor of this method. 

 At Halsey, where ii-rigation is performed, a gasoline engine is used. 

 In the Watsatch nursey, water is secured from a spring and held in a 

 storage tank until warm enough to apply to the seedlings. Windmills 

 and hydraulic rams with storage tanks may also be used to advantage 

 where local conditions are favorable. 



It should be remembered that a very light watering followed by hot 

 weather may cause an increase of evaporation over what might have 

 occurred had there been no watering. Evaporation is less at night and 

 it would seem that in nurseries where artificial watering by hose is 

 necessary that it would be best to water late in the afternoon and early 

 in the evening. In moderately humid climates it may be possible to use 

 light watering with success. 



Watering in the north during the growing season should be stopped 

 usually by the middle of August of the first of September. In southern 

 California the practice has been to water from the first of June to the 

 middle of September or the first of October. Watering was always done 

 in the morning since it was thought that conditions were less favorable to 

 damping off it the trees were watered at that time rather than in the 

 evening. At Fort Bayard it is customary to do most of the watering in 

 April, May and June with some watering in September and the first part of 

 October. Since a large part of the damage ascribed to winter killing 

 is due to drying out it may be advisable to water from one to three times 

 during the winter. 



Cultivation. 



Cultivation varies to a wide degree under different conditions. On 

 a heavy soil which has a tendency to pack it is often necessary to use a 

 board about 6 Inches broad and as long as the bed is wide through 

 which shingle nails have been driven in order to assist the seedlings in 

 breaking through the surface. The nails should be about one-half inch 



