ARBORICULTURE 



129 



inches, but the dehcate seeds of sweet 

 gum, deciduous cypress, Catalpa speciosa, 

 etc., should have less than half an inch 

 of covering. 



As soon as the tiny seedlings appear 

 above ground, they should be carefully 

 hand-hoed, and if much young grass ap- 

 pears and the season is wet, hand weeding 

 will be necessary. 



After the plants are up a few inches 

 above the surface, horse cultivation mav 

 be adopted. 



Under no circumstances must grass and 

 weeds be allowed to choke the young 

 plants. 



In autumn such plants as are to be 

 transplanted may be taken up, tied in 

 bunches, usually one hundred to a bunch, 

 and heeled in for the winter. 



It is not advisable that young plants 

 be set in forest in autumn in regions 01 

 frost, where they may be heaved out and 

 destroyed. 



In the spring the land intended to be 

 planted should be prepared with the same 

 care as directed for the seed-bed. The 

 tract may be marked ofif lightly one way 

 and furrowed deeply in cross direction. 



In order that trees may quickly shade 

 .the ground, we plant much closer than the 

 trees can remain and mature. 



My observation in many forests in all 

 portions of the country has given me the 

 clue to distance, and I feel assured that 

 14 X 14 feet, or about two hundred square 

 feet space to each tree, is the proper 

 distance. 



This, however, will largely depend 

 upon the fertility of the soil and quantity 

 of moisture obtainable. 



I thus decided to plant y yiy feet, or 

 nine hundred trees per acre, at which dis- 

 tance trees may remain for seven to ten 

 years, depending upon the rapidity of 

 growth of various trees. 



Two men thus plant two thousand trees 

 in an ordinary working day. 



It is preferable that forest trees should 

 not exceed one year's growth when 

 planted ; larger trees are more expensive, 

 take more time to plant, and are too bulky 

 for long-distance transportation. 



Oaks and nut trees will thrive better 

 if the nuts be planted where they are to 

 remain permanently. 



Under no circumstances should oats, 

 any small grain, clover or grasses be sown 

 in the young forest. 



In a recent visit to the Indiana State 

 Forest Reserve at Henryville, Clark 

 County, we found a remarkably untidy 

 state o^ affairs. One young plantation of 

 hickory, oak and walnut, the plants six 

 inches high, had been sown to oats, which 

 will smother the trees and may destroy 

 manv. In other fields the trees were un- 

 cultivated, the weeds thickly covering the 

 ground. A little hoeing had been done 

 immediately about some of the trees, but 

 no such cultivation as any thrifty nursery- 

 man would consider absolutely necessary 

 to produce any growth. 



A nurseryman would quickly starve to 

 death if he undertook to grow trees as the 

 State of Indiana is doing at this reserva- 

 tion. 



The falling leaves in a forest, together 

 with the shade, maintain a soft, penetrable 

 soil, where the roots may revel and gather 

 energy with which to push the trunk 

 upward and maintain a healthy growth. 



This must be imitated by frequent stir- 

 ring- of the surface soil, but never to a 

 great depth. After a rain, if the crust 

 hardens, it should be torn up with a har- 

 row, thus breaking the capillary attraction 

 and checking too rapid evaporation of 

 moisture. 



PRUNING. 



There is little to do in the way of 



