Direct Seeding of Trees 



139 



Repellents for rodent and bird con- 

 trol have been tried, applied both on 

 the seed and on or around the seeded 

 spots. No substance thus far tested has 

 given effective control. 



Species with relatively small seed 

 sometimes can be direct-seeded success- 

 fully even in areas of high rodent pres- 

 sure, without specific control measures. 

 Apparently the animals simply do not 

 find all the seed in these instances. In 

 tests with western redcedar and Engel- 

 mann spruce, seeded without protec- 

 tion at the Northern Rocky Mountain 

 Forest and Range Experiment Station, 

 most of the spots showed some germi- 

 nation, and where sites were favorable 

 and ground cover fairly open, 64 to 97 

 percent of the spots were stocked 5 

 years later. Where failures occurred, 

 they were generally attributable to 

 drought or overgrowth by other plants, 

 rather than to damage by rodents. 



In the Eastern States, direct seeding 

 often can be done without special 

 treatments to control rodents. Mice, 

 which here are the most common of- 

 fenders, typically are most numerous in 

 heavier types of cover where seeding 

 generally would be inadvisable because 

 of plant competition. Choicer seeding 

 areas, like recently cultivated fields or 

 fresh burns with scant cover, harbor 

 relatively few mice, and seedings on 

 them usually will not be seriously mo- 

 lested. In moderately heavy cover 

 where furrowing or clearing of spots 

 normally would be required in prep- 

 aration for seeding, it has been found 

 helpful to do this work several weeks 

 in advance of sowing. The animals in- 

 vestigate immediately; if they find 

 nothing of interest they apparently 

 pass by the spots or furrows thereafter 

 without close examination. Thus a de- 

 layed sowing may largely escape mo- 

 lestation. 



In some localities where studies have 

 been made, mouse populations are 

 known to fluctuate from high to low 

 on about a 4-year cycle. Probably this 

 is true of mouse populations generally. 

 Obviously, seedings made during the 

 low of a cycle will be less likely to be 



seriously molested. Information on 

 mouse cycles can be obtained from the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service or, in some 

 States, from the State biologist or State 

 forester. 



Prepoisoning entire seeding areas as 

 has been done in the northern Rocky 

 Mountain region is not generally rec- 

 ommended in the East because of the 

 denser human population and greater 

 danger of accidental consumption of 

 the poisons by domestic livestock, pets, 

 desirable forms of wildlife, or unsus- 

 pecting people. Some States prohibit 

 such poisoning by law, or control it by 

 requiring the landowner to show cause 

 for use of poison and obtain a permit 

 from State or local authorities. 



In the Southern and the Gulf Coast 

 States, trials of direct seeding mostly 

 have been unsuccessful because of dep- 

 redations by birds. No effective con- 

 trols short of the costly screening 

 method have been found, and seeding, 

 therefore, is not now generally advo- 

 cated in that region. 



Ground preparation of some sort 

 usually is required for success in seed- 

 ing unless the existing plant cover is 

 sparse and open. Where they are fea- 

 sible, furrows plowed on the contour 

 are probably the cheapest effective 

 procedure. Spacing between furrows 

 should be 6 to 8 feet, the depth 

 should be no greater than is required 

 for good turning action by the plow, 

 the furrow slices should all be thrown 

 down slope, and the work preferably 

 should be done several weeks before 

 seeding. Where plowing cannot be 

 done, seed spots 1 to 2 feet in diameter 

 are prepared by scalping off the vege- 

 tation with a mattock or hazel hoe. 

 Deep digging of the spots to loosen the 

 soil is not necessary. Where the cover 

 is sufficiently open to allow location of 

 seed spots at satisfactory spacing on 

 bare soil between clumps of vegetation, 

 ground preparation may be omitted. 

 The omission should be recognized, 

 however, as an acceptable increase in 

 risk taken for the sake of lower labor 

 costs. 



In seeding new burns without fur- 



