Production of Planting 



representative, the counts accurate, 

 and the grading specifications the same 

 as those to be used in culling at the 

 time of shipping. Inventories should 

 not vary more than 5 percent from the 

 shipping count. 



Trees are loosened in the soil by 

 mechanical lifters, which are connected 

 directly to tractors that straddle the 

 bed, or are pulled by cable and winch 

 mounted on a tractor at the end of the 

 bed. They are then gathered by hand, 

 bunched, and transported to the pack- 

 ing shed. Digging forks are used as 

 supplemental lifting tools in the heav- 

 ier soils to retain all the fine rootlets, 

 because stock that is stripped in lifting 

 is inferior. 



Fine rootlets must be kept moist 

 from the time lifting starts until the 

 trees are planted. To do this, the roots 

 are covered with soil or wet burlap as 

 soon as they are taken from the ground. 

 Conifers are especially sensitive to in- 

 jury of this nature. Lifting should not 

 be done when air temperatures are be- 

 low freezing. Bare roots of plants suffer 

 damage if they freeze. 



Grading and packing is done in tem- 

 porary field shelters or in permanent 

 packing sheds. Where weather condi- 

 tions permit, the stock is graded and 

 packed in the nursery near the seed- 

 beds as it is removed from them. Where 

 permanent packing sheds are used, the 

 stock is taken from the fields in baskets 

 or boxes to the sheds where it is graded 

 and packed. Here, better control may 

 be exercised over the graders, and the 

 trees are better protected from sun and 

 drying winds. For shipment, the stock 

 is packed in crates or bales with the 

 roots in wet sphagnum moss or shingle- 

 tow. It is necessary to have an accurate 

 count of the stock shipped, particularly 

 where small orders are sent to farmers. 

 Grading tables with moving belts are 

 used to facilitate counting and packing. 

 Graders place a specified number of 

 trees in each compartment on the belt 

 as it moves forward. These are dropped 

 at the end, ready to be tied in bunches 

 of 25 to 100, depending on the size of 

 the stock. 



It is unnecessary to tie or count accu- 

 rately the stock shipped in large orders. 

 The crates or bales are uniform in size 

 and a random sample count is made 

 to obtain an estimate of their contents. 

 A 5 -percent sample is usually within 

 3 percent of the actual count. 



In normal operations, stock is lifted, 

 packed, and shipped without delay, but 

 that procedure is not always possible 

 during adverse weather conditions. 

 Nursery storage is necessary until the 

 trees are called for. Heel-in beds under 

 shelter can be used as temporary stor- 

 age. Cold storage, with temperature 

 between 33 and 35 F., is used at some 

 nurseries. In late spring, cold storage is 

 effective for holding stock dormant, 

 when normally growth would start in 

 the nursery beds, until it is needed at 

 the planting site. Where heavy freezing 

 occurs, broadleaf species are usually 

 dug in the fall and stored in cellars. 

 With good aeration and temperatures 

 between 30 and 34 , it can be kept in 

 good condition for several months. 



Defining a plantable tree is an ex- 

 tremely difficult task. Size is not the 

 complete answer. It has been demon- 

 strated that trees forced with water or 

 fertilizer have a lower survival than 

 unforced trees of equal size. Trees with 

 a greater number of fibrous roots have 

 a higher survival than those with only 

 large tap and long lateral roots. Ac- 

 ceptable stock must assure reasonably 

 high survival on the area where it is 

 planted. Critical soil-moisture and cli- 

 matic conditions on the planting site 

 may require special nursery practices 

 to produce stock of required quality 

 or age class. Younger, less sturdy stock 

 of the same species will do equally well 

 under more favorable site conditions. 



Coniferous stock should have a ratio 

 of top to root, by weight, between 1 

 to 1 and 3 to 1. Those with higher 

 values than 3 top to 1 root do not sur- 

 vive well except in favorable years and 

 locations. 



Other factors that are used to grade 

 coniferous stock are height, length of 

 root, stem diameter at ground line, and 

 development of winter buds. Height 



