214 



were 70 percent taller than those on 

 soils not harrowed. 



At least three ways of planting de- 

 serve consideration. They are direct 

 seeding, planting with wild seedlings, 

 and planting with nursery seedlings. 



It is possible to reforest by sowing 

 or planting seed directly on prepared 

 ground, and there are examples of 

 satisfactory stands obtained by this 

 method. T. J. Fountain, of Taylor 

 County, Ga., prepared a 100-acre field 

 as if he were going to plant water- 

 melons. He sowed it to longleaf pine 

 seed. Each seed was planted by hand, 

 deep enough to cover the seed, but 

 with the wing sticking out in the breeze. 

 Contrary to the customary habit of 

 waiting several years before starting 

 height growth, many of Mr. Foun- 

 tain's longleaf seedlings grew several 

 inches the first season. He now has a 

 near-perfect 15-year-old longleaf stand 

 with trees 35 feet tall and 6 to 7 inches 

 in diameter at breast height. On the 

 other hand, many capable people have 

 failed in their efforts to obtain a stand 

 by direct seeding. Until sure-fire meth- 

 ods for successful direct seeding are 

 worked out, it is cheaper in the long 

 run to plant high-grade, nursery-grown 

 seedlings. 



Plantings may be made with wild 

 seedlings, which grow naturally in old 

 fields or along road banks or borrow 

 pits. Wild seedlings 6 inches to 12 

 inches tall can be lifted and trans- 

 planted during the dormant season 

 late fall and winter. 



One notable planting with wild 

 stock was made in 1928 by M. L. Shaw, 

 on worn-out farm land in Clinch 

 County, Ga. With help from his 

 father and hired hands, he planted 72 

 acres with wild slash pine seedlings dug 

 up in the forest. He used a 10 by 10 

 spacing. He replanted the fail places in 

 1929 and 1930. His pines, thinned for 

 pulpwood in 1942, yielded 8.6 cords 

 an acre, or $20 an acre, at the end of 

 14 years. In 1947, he started turpen- 

 tining 5,000 trees on a selective basis, 

 chipping only crowded trees and those 

 of poor form. He cut the turpentined 



Yearboo^ of Agriculture 1949 



trees in 1948, and they yielded 500 

 cords of pulpwood. Prior to the cut- 

 ting in 1948, the stand had 28 cords 

 to the acre and about 275 trees 7 to 13 

 inches in diameter. Total growth for 

 20 years was 36 cords an acre. The 

 land, originally worth $2 an acre, has 

 already produced $44 worth of pulp- 

 wood and now has a well-stocked stand 

 of saw-timber trees. 



The wild seedlings are recommended 

 only in exceptional cases. They are 

 rarely available close by in the quan- 

 tity needed and of the right size for 

 transplanting. They are generally not 

 so well developed in root and top as 

 nursery-grown stock, and hence would 

 not be so uniformly successful where 

 equivalent care was given. Expert and 

 careful handling is required in lifting 

 and transporting wild seedlings. The 

 cost might easily exceed the cost of 

 nursery-grown stock, and an inex- 

 perienced planter might have greater 

 losses with wild stock than with nurs- 

 ery-grown stock. Nevertheless, if a man 

 knows how to handle wild seedlings 

 and takes all the necessary care, they 

 should prove satisfactory. 



Planting should be done in the dor- 

 mant season, after the hardwood leaves 

 drop in the fall and before new growth 

 shows in the spring. Trees should not 

 be planted in frozen ground. Seed- 

 lings showing new growth are likely to 

 fail under ordinary handling. Of 

 course, it is possible with small seed- 

 lings, excellent care, and plenty of 

 rain, to transplant at any season of the 

 year when the ground is not frozen. 



The solution for most small-wood- 

 land owners is to purchase nursery- 

 grown seedlings from a State forest- 

 tree nursery. Any publicly employed 

 forester, State or Federal, or any county 

 agent will assist a landowner to place 

 his order and get any information he 

 may need about planting. Trees from 

 the State nursery are grown to the size 

 that gives the best success when trans- 

 planted, and only healthy, vigorous, 

 well-developed trees are sold. Trees 

 come properly wrapped and ready for 

 planting. If the trees are handled care- 



