368 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



is increased. The quality depends largely upon the conditions 

 under which the wild stock developed. When gathered in existing 

 woods it is likely to be dwarfed with a poorly developed root 

 system. When grown in open fields or along roadsides it is 

 usually better developed and far more desirable for planting 

 purposes. 



Although wild stock is always inferior to nursery-grown trees, 

 its use, particularly for small plantations, is often permissible 

 due to its low cost. When handled with care and planted on 

 favorable sites, selected wild stock of nearly all species can be used 

 with a fair degree of success. It is often desirable to transplant 

 wild stock in the nursery for a year before planting. 



Wild stock should not be depended upon except when it is 

 gathered in the locality where it is required for use. The planter 

 should personally supervise the gathering, discarding all inferior 

 plants. When collected at a distance it usually exhibits great 

 variation in quality and suffers severely because of the time inter- 

 vening between collecting and setting it in the plantation. 



8. THE PURCHASE OF NURSERY AND WILD STOCK 



The recent rapid development of forest nurseries in the United 

 States with the resulting competition has brought about an im- 

 provement in the quality of the stock placed upon the market 

 and very greatly reduced its cost. Thus, white pine and other 

 species extensively used in planting operations can be purchased 

 from forest nurseries at less than half of what they cost ten years 

 ago. Because of the greater variety and the quantity of stock now 

 grown, the planter is far more certain of securing the particular 

 classes of stock that he desires. 



The cost of collecting wild stock varies with the species, its 

 size, relative abundance, and the character of the soil. From 

 6- to 12-inch hard maple often grows in very dense stands along 

 roadsides and under open stands in the forest. This stock can 

 be collected and tied into bundles at a cost of from 30 to 50 

 cents per thousand. From 3- to 8-inch white pine can be col- 

 lected and bundled under exceptionally favorable conditions at a 

 cost of from 50 cents to $1 per thousand. In localities where 

 wild stock is very scattered and uneven in size it can be gathered 

 and graded into sizes suitable for planting only at large expense, 

 often more than the cost of superior stock from nurseries. 



