QUANTITY OF SEED REQUIRED. 



(1) The quantity of seed required per unit of seed bed will depend 

 upon the number of seed per pound and the percentage of germination. 



(2) Overcrowding produces poorly developed plants. The seed 

 should be sown so that the seedlings will not require thinning, since 

 the plants removed rarely can be saved by transplanting. 



(3) Seed of low germination per cent should be sown thickly. The 

 seeds of this class which will be used in rangers' nurseries are the firs, 

 larches, and cedars. 



(4) Species with a higher germination per cent, such as the pines 

 and the spruces, should be sown so that each seed will alternate with 

 an open space approximately equal to its width. 



SHADE. 



(1) In practically all situations conifers require partial shade for 

 the first year. In nurseries this must be supplied artificially by cover- 

 ing the seed beds with screens of lath, shakes, or brush. 



(2) The most convenient screen is a 4 by 12 foot rectangular frame 

 constructed of 2 by 2 inch strips, with lath nailed crosswise, so that 

 each lath alternates with an opening equal to its width. a 



(3) A more substantial frame can be constructed of strips of the 

 same dimension, but with a center crosspiece and a diagonal brace 

 between the end and center crosspieces. Twelve-foot strips, three- 

 eighths inch thick by 2 inches wide, may be substituted for lath, and 

 nailed lengthwise of the frame. 



(4) Where lumber is not available, slender saplings of aspen or 

 pine split in the center can be used for the side strips, with split shakes 

 as substitutes for laths. Even brush may be used for a temporary 

 shade. 



(5) The shade frames, whatever their character, should be sup- 

 ported on stakes 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. The 

 frames may be hinged to posts, which permits their being raised and 

 lowered. 



(6) 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, and connecting them at the top with 

 2 by 4 inch stringers, and covering the entire structure with lath, or 

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

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

 half shade is produced. The top of the frame should be about 7 feet 

 above the ground. 



See fig. 59, p. 190 of Yearbook Extract 376, "How to grow young trees for forest 

 planting." 



