THE USE BOOK. 167 



FOREST PLANTING. 

 IN GENERAL. 



As a _ result of severe forest fires and destructive lum- 

 bering there are several million acr^ ir> |V>p ivrnfinm 1 

 Forest^ which have been denuded. Wherever there is 

 no possibility of the natural reseeding of this land 

 within, a reasonable time, it is the purpose of the Forest 

 Service to restore it to a state of productiveness by for- 

 e_st^ planting, and thus renew as soon as possible the 

 ability of extensive watersheds to control and regulate 

 stream flow. 



Planting operations of the Forest Service are at pres- 

 ent centered in planting stations within or near Na- 

 tional Forests. With trees grown at these stations, 

 planting is carried out on miportnnt watersheds of 

 near-by Forests, and plant material is distributed to 

 other Forests in the region for experimental planting. 

 A few small nurseries are maintained on certain For- 

 ests to grow trees for special experiments. 



On Forests wherejconditions favor reforestation by 

 direct seeding, e : x]3eriments are being carried p,ut to de- 

 termine its feasibility. 



PI^jrting_vviJl be confined chiefly to those watersheds 

 where a forest cover isnecessary to conserve the water 

 supply oTlidjacent townslThd cities^ 



The object of experimental^ planting js to ascertain 

 in advance the proper sizejof nursery stock to use under 

 different conditions, and the best seasons and methods 

 for planting. These experiments are being made on as 

 many of the Forests as possible where there is need for 

 reforestation. 



