78 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



POOREST NUKSERIES AND THEIR CARE. 



BY PROF. E. E. BOGUE. 



A forest nursery, like the human nursery, is a place where the little 

 ones are grown. At first we may have a large number in a small space, 

 but by and by the room becomes too small and it is necessary to reduce the 

 number per square inch and this is done by transferring to places where 

 there wall be more light and air. 



The locality is the first consideration, and like the human nursery, there 

 should be plenty of light and air, although it is sometimes necessary to 

 shut off some of the light. The soil should be in good tilth and as free 

 from weed seed as possible. As a roile, the less a soil has been worked the 

 ■ less seed it contains, the looser it is and the more easily it is w^orked. 

 Therefore, since a comparatively small area is required for a nursery, 

 room can be given for this purpose where the conditions are most nearly 

 ideal among those at hand. This need not and perhaps should not be a 

 very rich soil. Some growers prefer a soil on\j moderately fertile, claim- 

 ing that if the seedlings are grown in a very rich soil and then trans- 

 ferred to a comparatively sterile soil, their growth will be injuriously 

 checked and the tree will be more likely to be attacked by insects and 

 fungous disea'^es. Probably nothing better could be suggested at present 

 than a virgin soil that has never been contaminated with seed of many 

 foul plants. This condition is usually found in a piece of land recently 

 cleared of timber. Care should be taken that the soil be sufficiently moist 

 but well drained and at the same time not likely to w^ash, for the young 

 seedlings are easily covered. 



The weeds are one of the greatest enemies that w^e have to contend 

 . with, because while some tree seeds germinate readily, others usually 

 lie over one season before they will germinate. During this lying-over 

 period, weeds are likely to get a start if vigilance is relaxed. Among 

 those that do not usually germinate the first year are basswood, cherry, 

 and red cedar. By putting seeds into the soil immediately after stirring, 

 the tree seeds have a more equal chance with the weeds. 



As a rule, the seeds of deciduous trees are planted in drills far enough 

 apart for horse cultivation and their care i.-< much like that of any other 

 ■crop, alloAving trees to stand about a foot apart in the row. With the 

 exception of locust and catalpa, the trees will need to stand in the 

 nursery row more than one season. 



When the nursery crop is removed it leaves the land in a somewhat 

 impoverished condition because nearly every particle of humus matter 

 that belongs to the crop is removed Avith the trees and it therefore is 

 b^st to fertilize before another crop is raised. Right here is where 

 we need the results of more experiments with comme"rcial fertilizers in 

 forest nurseries. It is altogether probable that some form, as ground 

 bone, that gives up its fertility slowly, is preferable. The advantages 

 that commercial fertilizers have over stable manure is that they are 

 easily transported to where they are Avanted and they contain no weed 



