THE FOREST NURSERY 309 



It is seldom necessary or desirable to erect an artificial cover 

 over transplant beds. Sometimes, however, they are formed 

 under an open stand of trees which provides a natural shade. If 

 the transplant beds are exposed to the sun the plants are hardier 

 and better able to resist exposure when finally transferred to the 

 field. Watering transplant beds is rarely necessary except in 

 regions of deficient summer rain. 



41. The Size and Form of Transplant Beds. The ground 

 for transplant beds is prepared much the same as for seedbeds. 

 It is deeply plowed, manured when necessary, and carefully 

 leveled. It is particularly important that coarse manure and 

 dense vegetation are not plowed under immediately before the 

 formation of the beds, as they seriously interfere with the setting 

 of the transplants and harbor the larvae of the May beetle and 

 other destructive insects. Transplant beds are usually much 

 larger than seedbeds. The form and size depend primarily upon 

 the method of cultivation practiced in tending them. When hand 

 cultivation with the hoe and similar tools is practiced the beds 

 are from 3 to 6 feet wide with the rows usually extending cross- 

 wise. When wheel cultivators like the Planet Jr. or horse-drawn 

 cultivators are used, the rows extend lengthwise of the beds and 

 a single transplant bed may occupy an entire compartment. The 

 paths between the transplant beds are usually 18 inches wide and 

 slightly depressed below the surface of the beds or on the same 

 level. 



42. Season for Transplanting. Although adequate care makes 

 transplanting possible at any time when the soil can be worked, 

 the cost of the operation and the percentage of loss incurred are chiefly 

 dependent upon the season and weather conditions during the trans- 

 planting and immediately afterward. 



Early spring is the best time for transplanting in nearly all 

 parts of the United States. This applies to all species and all 

 classes of stock. The stock should be transplanted as soon as 

 possible after lifting from the seedbeds. 



Broadleaved species should not be transplanted after the buds 

 open and the foliage begins to develop. Most conifers can be 

 safely transplanted, if weather conditions are favorable or facili- 

 ties are afforded for watering the beds, for a period of several 

 weeks after spring growth has begun. Late transplanting, however, 

 should not be attempted during dry, windy weather and when the 



