DIVISION OF FORESTRY. 191 



everywhere and in pure growths, when it has been long a well-estab- 

 lished fact that this larch, a mountain tree from the highest and coolest 

 elevations (3,000 to 5,000 feet up to the limit of tree growth), when 

 transplanted into the plain cannot be expected to be grown success- 

 fully to a mature age unless the conditions of its home are to some 

 extent provided. To do this it will be necessary to assign to it the 

 coolest exposures, to plant it only in single individuals through the 

 forest, and to take particular care to shade its foot well with dense 

 under-growth or densely f oliaged companions, while its crown is kejDt 

 in full enjoyment of the needed supply of light. If treated in this 

 manner no more desirable and profitable exotic could be suggested. 

 Its requirements for moisture being great, and at the same time its 

 foliage being thin, it cannot, in spite of its rich leaf-mold, preserve 

 the soil humidity under its deficient shade, and requires, therefore, 

 the assistance of a neighbor better qualified to preserve favorable con- 

 . ditions. None better could be suggested than the densely foliaged, 

 not quite as rapidly growing, Norway spruce, which will thrive well 

 under the partial shade of the earlier-grown larch, and these in com- 

 bined strength will_ prosper for many decades, making excellent 

 lumber in a short time, enriching the soil for coming generations, 

 and defying all objections to their foreign ancestry. 



HINTS AS TO PLANTING. 



Concise rules as to the manner of planting cannot be given here, 

 this being too much dependent on local conditions. The following 

 .considerations, however, may well be kept in view everywhere: 



1. Planting in most cases should have preference to sowing. Sowing is usually- 

 cheaper in its first cost and more quickly done over large areas, and furnishes fuller 

 stands without increased exjiense. But planting is surer, because the young plants 

 can be protected in the nursery against harmful influences which beset them in their 

 first years; and thus, in the end, planting may even prove cheaper than sowing, espec- 

 ially when seeds are expensive. 



2. For forestry purposes use seedlings (one to three years old); young plants suffer 

 least from removal; they are, therefore, surer to succeed; they are also more cheaply 

 handled. Older plants (from 2 to 10 feet high) may be used where trees have failed, 

 or in "frost-holes," or for standards in the standard coppice, &c. 



3. Transplanting can be done, with care, all the year round, but best in fall or spring. 

 In favor of fall planting it is m-ged that the yoimg plants regenerate their injured root- 

 lets during the winter, and tliat the earth packs more closely around the roots; 

 against it is the danger from winter cold and greater expense in the work on account 

 of shorter days. Spring plantmg, especially on dry soils, should proceed early and 

 be finished several weeks before leafing out, except in the case of most conifers 

 which will transplant well even after budding (except the Larch). Heeling in plants 

 in the fall facihtates planting in spring. The best time to plant is on rainy or cloudy 

 days and in the afternoon. 



4. Commonly a distance between the plants of 3 to 5 feet is recommended; the 

 smallest distance for slow growers, which do not close their crowns and shade the 

 soil soon; the widest for quick-growing, hght-needing kinds. 



5. Preparation of soil depends on soil conditions. A thorough cultivation on the 

 prairies is desirable, but not decidedly necessary in the Eastern States. Place the 

 plants as deep as they were in the nursery, if anything a little deeper on dry soils. 



6. Be chary in trimming; only trim off smoothly any injured roots and the top to 

 correspond. 



Never expose roots of trees to the wind or sun more than necessary, but keep them 

 under wet moss or in a wet loam puddle during the operation of planting; this in 

 especially a necessity for conifers. 



Press the soil firmly around the roots after these have been placed in a natural 

 position. Mulching, if it can be done, is better than watering. 



7. The number of trees to be planted per acre is determined (a) by tlie need of pre- 

 serving the soil humidity: on a poor, dry soil, therefore, (conti-ary to agricultural 

 usage), more plants are required than on a fresh or moist soil, im'less to check the 



