116 



The Farm Woodlot 



two and a half or three seeds, on the average, to the square 

 inch should be sown. For white pine, this would require 



one pound for 60 to 

 80 square feet, or a 

 bed 4 feet wide and 

 from 15 to 20 feet 

 long. 



Protecting the seed 

 in the seed-bed. In 

 locations in which 

 mice, squirrels and 

 birds are very nu- 

 merous, it is neces- 

 sary carefully to pro- 

 tect seed in the 

 beds. Squirrels that 

 burrow in the ground 

 are particularly 

 troublesome and it 

 is necessary, in order 

 to keep them out, to 

 inclose the beds with 

 wire netting not 

 larger than a half- 

 inch mesh, allowing 

 the netting to ex- 

 tend downward 

 eight or ten inches below the surface of the ground. It 

 is also necessary to cover the beds over the top with the 

 same style of netting. The top netting may be removed 

 as soon as the seedlings are a few weeks old. Squirrels 



FIG. 30. Sprinkling sand on a newly sown 

 seed-bed. 



