THE FOREST NURSERY 305 



conifers at the end of the first season's growth in New Zealand 

 nurseries. The trees are grown in bands 11 inches wide extend- 

 ing lengthwise of the beds. Root pruning 1- and 2-year yellow 

 pine when grown in rows is practiced to considerable extent in 

 the United States. 



One or the other of the following methods is usually prac- 

 ticed in root pruning seedlings in the seedbed. Two men equipped 

 with short-handled spades insert them on each side of the row 

 or band of seedlings at an angle of about 45. The spades 

 are pushed well under the trees cutting off the tap roots and the 

 more vigorous side roots. Small stock can be quickly root pruned 

 with a large, heavy knife which is run obliquely under the row of 

 seedlings at either side. This method of root pruning can be 

 practiced only in light, loose soil free from stones. The blade of 

 the knife should be broad and thin in order to be easily forced 

 through the soil. A tool known as the U-shaped root pruner is 

 used in a number of nurseries for root pruning small trees when 

 grown in rows or narrow bands. The cutting edge is U-shaped. 

 The tool is thrust into the ground at the end of the row by means of 

 two handles from 8 to 10 inches apart and the cutting edge forced 

 under the row of small plants from 5 to 8 inches below the surface. 



39. SOWING SEED IN POTS AND FLATS 



In warm regions where early growth is very rapid the seedlings 

 are set in the field when but a few months old. The seed is often 

 sown in pots. The plants when set in the field are either removed 

 from the pots, care being taken not to disturb the soil about the 

 roots, or the pot is placed in the soil with the contained plant. 

 In the latter case the pot is made of paraffined paper, unbaked clay, 

 or other material which will disintegrate and permit the develop- 

 ment of the roots after being placed in the ground. Several 

 seeds are usually sown in each pot and the number of seedlings 

 reduced to one or two after they are well established. Paper pots 

 are usually square in cross section and without bottoms. They 

 are placed in ordinary gardener's flats and filled with soil, after 

 which the seed is sown. When the pots are circular in outline 

 the spaces between are also filled with soil. The flats and the 

 contained pots are taken to the field, when ready for planting, and 

 the pots removed one at a time as required. Pot seeding is costly 

 and seldom justified in this country. 



