68 Forestry Quarterly. 



to a surface which had a slope equal to the general slope of the 

 land, but where the land sloped more than this these spots were 

 given a lesser slope, enough to allow good drainage. Moreover the 

 seed was set firmly into a compact surface of loosened soil and 

 this again allowed close contact with the underground, leaving no 

 loose or unpacked soil under the seed and thus no obstacle to 

 percolation by evaporation of the soil moisture. Since the snow 

 had barely disappeared the ground was very wet and the evapo- 

 ration of this moisture was depended upon to germinate the seed, 

 which it did, germination of the Yellow pine seed being in pro- 

 gress within 10 days after sowing. 



By the method described the surface of the seed spots was well 

 drained and remained moist as long as there was moisture in the 

 earth. The water from occasional rain was thus applied gradu- 

 ally, having to evaporate first. The loose earth thrown over the 

 seed kept dry most of the time. It assisted in keeping the seed 

 damp during periods of evaporation, prevented rapid drying, 

 equalized the temperature by day and night and prevented drying 

 and cracking of the seed sf)Ot surface, simultaneously hiding it 

 from rodents and birds. 



