236 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



7. The Selection of the Nursery Site 



The site must be favorable for the growth of the particular spe- 

 cies that are required. When large numbers of plants are pro- 

 duced year after year it is often desirable to grow but a single 

 species in a given nursery. A site can be chosen which is best 

 adapted to the special requirements of the particular species. 

 When species of diverse requirements are grown, the conditions 

 are necessarily more or less unfavorable for at least a portion of 

 them. By selecting a site of average conditions where the soil is 

 neither too light nor too heavy, too wet nor too dry, too cold nor 

 too warm, species of different requirements can be grown success- 

 fully. In nearly all localities because of the necessity for irriga- 

 tion, the nursery site should be selected with reference to an adequate 

 supply of water. 



8. SOIL CONSIDERATIONS 



The soil that most fully meets the requirements for growing a 

 diversity of species of varying requirements is a sandy loam or 

 loamy sand. It should be deep and fresh. A good soil is pre- 

 requisite to success and economy in plant production. An un- 

 favorable soil can be artificially improved by manuring, or by 

 the application of sand or clay, as the case requires, but only at 

 considerable cost. On the whole, the physical characteristics of 

 the soil are more important than its fertility, as the latter can be 

 overcome by the application of fertilizers. A heavy clay should 

 be avoided even more than a very light sand. The former lacks 

 in porosity and permeability, the distribution of the soil water is 

 uneven, and it is likely to be cold and overwet. Plants grown 

 upon it are in greater danger of being thrown by the frost. It is 

 much more difficult and expensive to work in all seasons, and in 

 the spring, when work is most pressing, it often cannot be worked 

 at all. The addition of fertilizers, more particularly organic 

 manures, to very light soils greatly improves their physical 

 characteristics. 1 



The seedlings are thrifty and the roots well developed in a 

 deep soil of good quality, and consequently there is a minimum 

 of loss when they are set in the permanent plantation. The plants 



1 Bates, C. G. and Pierce, R. G.: Forestation of the sand hills of Nebraska 

 and Kansas. (U. S. Forest Service, Bui. 121, p. 27. 1913.) 



