28 



THE WHITE riNK. 



practice of inirseryineii is to sow tlic seed broadcast in carefully jircpared beds, where the seed- 

 liufis stand from two to four years before traiisplantiiifj. Staiidin;; very close, the trees do not 

 make as stocky growth as they otherwise would, ruder these conditions the averajj:e growth of 

 untransplanted seedlings, according to statements by the well-kuown nurserymen, Thomas 

 Mcclian iS: Sons, is as follows: One year seedlings, L' to .'< intdies high; two years, 4 to (> inches; 

 three yeais, 12 to !."> inches; four years, 24 to 3<> inches. 



The late Mr. Robert Douglas, the veteran nur.seryman, of Waukegan, 111., wrote: 



Wliiti- I'iiii> seeilliiiK'* one year iilil iirr 1 to 2 iui:lic-s liiijli .ind :ilti>;;i'tli<'r too Hiiiall .iiiil tornlor fur traii8|il;intiiig. 

 At two ,vo:o» olil tbev are imicli stroiiK'Tj from H ti> Ti IiicIk's lii;;''. with line lihrnMs riiots and in line cunilitinn for 

 tranN]iIanting. At three years old tliey are ti to !l inches liigli anil (jliduld not hit allowed to stand another year, as 

 they wonid add abont 10 inches to their lioiftht dnrinj; the next year and wonld not be snitalilo for plantin;;. 



The tirst aeiison after transplanting, the Wliite I'ine (like other trees) will not incre.ase much in heij;ht, hut 

 will establish itself, extending its roots and forming a strong terminal bnd, ho that wlien it is six yi>ars old it will 

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

 in growth from 18 to ,S0 inches in height annually in gooil soil lor many years. 



Gardner i^ Sons, whose nursery is about !tO miles west of tlu; Mississipjji Uiver, in Iowa, and 

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

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

 planting: Oiie-year'idd seedling, \h inches high; two-yearold seedling, 4 inches high; three year- 

 old .seedling, 7 inches high. The trees are transplanted tit three years of age and tliereafter the 

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

 1(! inches high; six years old, ;5.'5 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 measurements of some forty-five seedlings in the forest jjcrmit the 

 following as t^) the height growth of seedlings in the forest: 



Ileiijhl growth of White I'iin in thu fun Ht for the first six yiars. 



Age of aoedlings. 



1 year . 

 'I ye-irs 

 :i years 



4 years 



5 years 



6 years 



Height of st«m. 



From— 



To- 



Current 

 annual ac- 

 Average. 1 cretion. 



Jiirlfg. Iitcht'it. Indies. 



\ -J. 15 



2 4 3 



3 7i S 

 6 10 8 



10 n IIJ 



:iO 34 31 j 



Inches. 



2 

 2 

 3 



n 

 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 

 fur seedlings favorably situated. In those less favored the r:\])'u\ stage of develoimicnt comes more 

 gradually. This slow progress in younger years is naturally retiected in a retardation of the year 

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

 ojijiressed trees it may not coniQ before the fortieth year. 



liK.VKI.OI'Ml'.Xr IN nVKS sfANI). 



Trees on lawns and in iiastures, 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 lapid increase in 

 the rate, which attains its maximum before the twentieth year and then declines gradually. 



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

 trees jilanted on a lawn at Ann Arbor, Mich., which were measured in l.SSd, the anuiial increase 

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

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

 (■onditions. In .some of the trees, evidently, injuries or accidents ret;irded development. Such 

 apparent defic-iencies have been left out of consideration in averaging the data. 



