70 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



drop off (thus saving pruning and giving clean stems) and with 

 the leaves form a mulch, thereby establishing forest conditions. 

 We have only from 15 to 19 inches of rainfall, snow included. 

 It is thus easily seen that the conservation of moisture is an 

 important matter with us. 



Planting is often done with the plough. A furrow is ploughed 

 out; the plough comes back in the same furrow making it 

 deeper. The planters are all ranged along the line, each 

 having his bit to do. The plants are carried in buckets half- 

 filled with muddy water to keep the roots moist. The plant 

 is placed in the furrow, and the soil drawn on to the roots from 

 each side with the feet, and well tramped down. The rest of 

 the soil is thrown back with the plough or harrow. 



Cuttings, and plants with a tap-root, are planted with a 

 dibbling iron. Conifers are planted with the spade. 



Conifers are being propagated here, but are not yet being 

 distributed to planters. They are propagated in the same 

 manner as at home. They are grown in seed-beds about 4 

 feet wide, the sides of the beds being boarded ; the beds are 

 shaded with light flakes made from lathing. The Scots pine 

 is kept for two years in the seedbed and then lined out. The 

 plants are dibbled in the lines instead of being lined out with 

 the spade as we did at home. This of course is to ensure as 

 little stirring of the soil as possible, as it dries out to the depth 

 of the spading and the little plants would suffer accordingly. 

 Other species are also grown, e.g. — 



Jack Pine {Ptnus divaricatd). 

 Blue Spruce (Picea pungens). 

 White Spruce {Picea alba). 

 Tamarack {Larix Americana). 

 European Larch {Larix europcea), etc. 



They are all handled in much the same way as the Scots pine. 

 I may say that very successful results have been obtained 

 in the growing of conifers from seed here. 



On lining out the plants they are placed about 12 inches 

 apart in the row with 3 inches between the plants. About 

 every 12 yards a space is left in which sun-flowers are sown 

 to form a snow-trap in winter. By this method the snow is 

 caught and covers up the young plants, for if not covered up 

 the parts exposed are browned and die off. The snow adds 



