488 Forestry Quarterly. 



laid between the drills to preserve soil moisture, to prevent weeds 

 and to mitigate frosts. 



Since overcrow^ding in the drills is almost inevitable, an im- 

 portant measure where seedlings are left two or even three 

 years in the seed beds, is thinning out the weaker ones wherever 

 there is overcrowding. By this simple expedient, many thousand 

 seedlings are saved, which otherwise w^ould have perished through 

 overcrowding in the interior of the drills. This thinning in 

 the drills is found advantageous, also, where seedlings are to 

 be set out directly, without preliminary transplanting. 



Quite a keen battle rages about the necessity of transplanting. 

 Foresters practising under favorable soil conditions are almost all 

 against transplanting * whereas those who work on unfavorable 

 sites swear by transplanting. The conclusion to which these 

 experiences point, is that for success on poor sites a strong, well- 

 rooted transplant is indispensable. To properly plant a jfted- 

 ling with its elongated root system has been found far more 

 difficult and expensive than where shallow rooted transplants 

 are used, this item oftentimes offsetting the additional cost of 

 raising the transplants. 



As with seed beds, the soil is not loosened too deeply; else 

 the development of a deep root system is encouraged. The best 

 practice loosens to a depth of only four to six inches for normal 

 seedlings i or 2 years old (especially spruce!). This is the usual 

 age of transplanting ** ; the seedlings are usually kept two years 

 in the transplant bed ; for this period represents the happy mean 

 between the time required for the plant to recover from the 

 shock of transplanting and yet secures the maximum benefits of 

 the isolated position without the unwieldly increase in size if left 

 a third year in the transplant bed. Thus the great majority of 

 plant material is three or four years old (1-2 or 2-2 stock). 



The most propitious time for transplanting is considered to 

 be early spring before any vegetative activity begins. The latter 



^Compare Gustav Wagener : "Der Waldbau und Seine Fortbildung," 

 Stuttgart, 1884, who calls transplanting "an expensive, useless, unnecessary- 

 trick" ! 



**Hardwoods which do not keep well over winter such as maple, ash, 

 hornbeam, etc., are gathered in the seedling stage (first year usually) 

 wherever there is an excess of natural regeneration, and are immediately 

 dibbled into carefully prepared transplant beds. Excellent results are 

 secured; especially in the development of a sturdy root system. 



