FOREST EXTENSION. 21 



be free from weed seeds. Water in limited quantities should be 

 applied even to mulched beds. 



Enough seed should be sown to provide 30 to 50 plants to the 

 running foot of drill at the end of one year or to pro- 



re?Jed. ty f seed duce 25 to 35 see dlings to a square foot in broad- 

 casted beds. Seed of low germination per cent, such 

 as firs, larches, and cedars, should be sown thickly, and species with 

 a higher germination per cent, such as pines and. spruce, should be 

 sown more sparingly. Wherever possible, actual germination per 

 cents should be used, to determine the exact amount to sow. 



In practically all situations conifers require partial shade for the 

 first year. This must be supplied artificially in nurs- 

 eries by covering the seed beds with screens of lath or 

 shakes. Brush may be used for a temporary shade. The shade 

 frames should be supported on stakes from 18 to 24 inches above the 

 surface of the beds and set about 3 feet from each end of the frame. 

 A crosspiece of inch material should connect the stakes on opposite 

 sides of the bed. In semiarid regions or where material is cheap and 

 plentiful a lath house is the best method of shading. One can be 

 constructed by setting posts about 12 feet apart, connecting them at 

 the top, which should be about 7 feet above the ground, with 2 by 

 4 inch stringers and covering the entire structure with lath or woven- 

 lath fencing. When lath or woven-lath fencing can not be secured 

 readily, brush or light poles may be spread over the framework until 

 half shade is produced. 



All conifers and some broadleaf species while in the seed beds 

 are subject to damping off, which often destroys a 

 Dampin| e ofl lillss ' ^ ar g e P er cen t of the seedlings. It is caused by a 

 fungus which attacks the young plants near the sur- 

 face of the ground. Dry sand, charcoal, or fine gravel spread on the 

 beds will often check the disease. The proper appli- 

 cation of water to the seed beds before and after 

 germination is particularly important. The soil should be kept uni- 

 formly moist from the time the seed is sown until the seedlings are a 

 week or 10 days old. After that water should be applied less fre- 

 quently, though the soil should never be dry enough to powder when 

 dug up. When irrigation is inadvisable, water should be applied 

 with a sprinkling pot or hose and the soil should be thoroughly wet 

 each time. Watering should be done early in the morning or late in 

 the afternoon. Shade frames should remain over the seed beds, 

 except during damp, cloudy days. In localities where heavy rains 

 are followed by high temperature the frames should be raised or 

 removed as soon as the sunshine disappears from the seed beds and 

 kept so until the sun appears the following morning. The drying of 

 the soil may also be hastened by cultivation. This should not be 

 neglected, since proper drying and airing of the soil after rain checks 

 damping off. The same method for drying out the soil should be 

 followed if water has been applied excessively. 



Seedlings should be cultivated often, in order to prevent weeds 



from starting, stimulate growth, prevent damping off, 



and keep the soil in good condition. Cultivation, 



which can be done either with a narrow hoe or with a small rake 



made of nails, should be shallow and should pulverize the soil thor- 



