70 FOKEST COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 



catalogue before me, trees from six to twelve inches high are invoiced 

 at $3.00 per thousand. 



It will require but 544 trees to cover an acre when set eight by 

 ten feet apart, at an expense, with purchased seedlings, of $1.63. 

 To this should be added packing and freight ; but even then it may 

 be thought advisable to purchase seedlings rather than to purchase 

 and sow the seeds. 



HOW TO TRANSPLANT. 



In transplanting, whether from the seed bed nursery row, or 

 from the forest, great care must be exercised in taking up the tree. 

 To be transplanted in the best manner practicable, a tree should be 

 moved with its system of roots entire and uninjured. This can 

 seldom or never be done when the trees are large, while with small 

 seedlings the process is perfectly feasible. For this reason, it is 

 advisable to transplant seedlings to the place they are to occupy 

 when from one to three feet high. 



Always use a sharp spade that as few roots may be injured as 

 possible. Let two persons work together, on opposite sides, and 

 the tree be carefully lifted rather than pulled from the ground by 

 force. If soil adheres, all the better. Let the roots be at once 

 protected from the sun and wind by hay-caps, rugs, or old sacks, 

 and the trees taken as soon as may be to the spot they are to 

 occupy. Trim the injured roots, if any, and prune the top if prun- 

 ing is required. Deciduous trees ma}' be greatly improved by a 

 judicious use of the knife. The holes must be so large as not to 

 cramp the roots, and of such a depth that the crown of the roots, 

 when the tree is planted, will be even with the surface of the 

 ground. Spread the roots in all directions, like the spokes in a 

 wheel ; fill fine dirt under, around, and over the roots, and make 

 the ground compact by pressure with the foot. The use of water 

 is seldom required, and then only to moisten the roots so that dirt 

 will adhere. Mulch in time of drouth. 



When the land to be planted will admit, the ground should be 

 plowefl in the fall previous, and harrowed and furrowed in spring 

 with broad furrows at suitable distances for rows. This will aid 

 very much in the labor of transplanting. Seeds of the white birch 

 may be sown between the rows, and they will arrive at maturity 

 and may be cut before pine will be of suitable size. 



