THE FOREST NURSERY 285 



Schwarz 1 gives the following as the average number of plants 

 obtained from one pound of high-grade fresh seed in the best Euro- 

 pean practice: Plants 



White pine 13,600 



Jack pine 34,000 



Scotch pine 27,000 



European larch 6,800 



Norway spruce 27,000 



Douglas fir 13,600 



Silver fir 2,275 



The average number of plants obtained from a pound of seed 

 during a period of 6 years at the Wasatch nursery was 10,343 

 for Douglas fir and 5919 for yellow pine. 



22. The Management of Seedbeds After Seeding and Prior 

 to Germination. Heavy-seeded broadleaved species such as 

 walnut, hickory, and oak, and species quick to germinate such as 

 maple, catalpa, and elm do not require special treatment after 

 seeding aside from the cultural methods of ordinary farm crops. 

 Ash, cherry, and other species that lie over until the second year 

 /are usually covered with a mulch of leaves or straw which is re- 

 moved as germination starts. Except in the most favorable lo- 

 calities, all coniferous species and small-seeded broadleaved species 

 such as Eucalyptus, birch, and alder should be protected from the 

 sun and wind as soon as they are sown. The surface soil should 

 kept uniformly moist throughout the period of germination. When 

 the soil contains germinating weed seed, Mayr 2 recommends that 

 boiling water be applied to the beds a short time after the tree 

 seed is sown. The hot water destroys the germinating weeds 

 and the insects in the surface soil. It also hastens germination. 

 When the seed is covered to a depth less than 0.65 inch the 

 temperature of the water should not exceed 175 F. Coniferous 

 seedbeds are invariably covered during germination in all the 

 larger forest nurseries in New England. Seedbeds of yellow 

 pine and a few other species are uncovered during germination 

 in some of the nurseries on the National Forests but only in 

 those where climatic conditions are such that covering has proved 

 unnecessary. 



1 Schwarz, Alexander: Der Waldpflanzenzucht-Betrieb in und um Halsten- 

 bek. (Forstw. Centralblatt, S. 491. 1903.) 



2 Mayr, Heinrich: Waldbau auf naturgesetzlicher Grundlage. S. 402. 

 Berlin, 1909. 



