28 



THE wh:te pine. 



practice of iiiiiserymen is to sow tlic set-tl broadcast in <arefiilly i)repared beds, where the seed- 

 hiigs stand I'nuii two to lour years before transplanting. Standing very close, tiie trees do not 

 make as stocky growtii as they otherwise would. Under these conditions the average growth of 

 nntraiis])lanted seedlings, according to statements by the well-known nurserymen, Thomas 

 -Median \- Sous, is as follows: One year seedlings, 2 to 3 inches high; two years, 4 to inches; 

 three years, ll' to l."J inches; four years, 24 to M) inches. 



The late Mr. Robert Douglas, the veteran nurseryman, of N\ aukegan. 111., wrote: 



White Piiifi seedlings one year old arc 1 to 2 inches high and altogether too small and tender fur transplanting. 

 At two years old they are much stnniger, from 3 to 5 inches high, with line lilirons roots and in line cundition fur 

 transplanting. At three years olil they an- (J to !) inches high and shonld not lie allowed to stand amither year, as 

 they would add about 10 inches to their height during the next year ami would not be suitable tor ])lanting. 



The first season after transplanting, the White Pine (like other trees) will not increase much in height, but 

 will establish itself, extending its roots and forming a strong terminal bud, so that when it is six years old it will 

 exceed in weight and bulk over one hundred times its ])roportions when transplanted, and thereafter will increase 

 in growth from 18 to 30 inches in height annually in gooil soil for many years. 



Gardner \' Sons, whose nursery is about 00 miles west of the Mississippi Kiver, in Iowa, and 

 therefore outside of the natural range of the species, submit the following measurements, coincid- 

 ing with the above, as representing average growths at their nurseries before and after trans- 

 planting: One-year-old seedling, li inches high; twoyear-oid seedling, 4 inches high; three-year- 

 old seedling, 7 inches high. Tlie trees are transplanted at three years of age and thereafter the 

 average height for the three following seasons are: Four years old, 12 inches liigh; five years old, 

 10 inches liigh; six years old, 'S^i inches high. Another establishment reports as the average 

 height of two year-old trees in seed bed, 3i inches; of three-year seedlings, 7 inches. 



Casual observations and mea.suremeuts of some forty-five seedlings in the forest jjermit the 

 following as to the height growth of seedlings in the forest: 



Height growth of White Pine in the forest for the first $ix yeart. 



Age of eeedlings. 



Height of stem. 



To- 



j Current 



anDnal ac- 



Arerage. | qretion. 



1 year . 



2 years 



3 years 



4 years 



5 years 

 years 



Incha. 

 1 

 2 

 3 

 6 

 10 

 30 



Jnchet. 

 2 



^ 



10 

 12 

 34 



Jnchet. 

 U 

 3" 

 5 

 8 

 UJ 

 31 J 



Inches. 



2 i 

 2 I 



20 



These measurements show that the rapid height growth begins with the sixth year, when the 

 total growth of the first five years is almost doubled in one season. This, to be sure, holds only 

 for seedlings favorably situated. In those less favored the rapid stage of development comes more 

 gradually. This slow ])rogress in younger years is naturally reflected in a retardation of the year 

 of maximum height growth, which in dominant trees occurs about the twentieth year, while in 

 opjiressed trees it may not come before the fortieth year. 



OKVKI.OI'MKNT IN (lI'EN SIAXO. 



Trees on lawns and in jiastures, which grow up in full enjoyment of light, are somewhat dif- 

 ferent from trees in the forest. The slow seedling stage is followed by a very rapid increase in 

 the rate, which attains its maximum belbre the twentieth year and then dec^lines gradually. 



Table I, on the next page, presents a complete record from year to year of the growth of eight 

 trees planted on a lawn at Ann Arbor. Mich., whicli were measured in ISSC. the anninil increase 

 being measured between the whorls of branches. These measiirenients also exhibit the great 

 variability of growth from season to season and from tree to tree, even under otherwise similar 

 conditions. In some of the trees, evidently, injuries or accidents retarded development. Such 

 apparent deficiencies have been left out of consideration in averaging the data. 



