The 'Farmer and Christmas Trees 



253 



out of the ground and before growth 

 starts. 



In handling the small trees, the roots 

 should never be allowed to dry out. 

 The package of trees should be soaked 

 with water as soon as received and the 

 trees planted as soon as possible. If the 

 trees are not planted promptly, they 

 may be stored for a day or two in a cool, 

 damp place with the package wety 

 soaked with water. If it is necessary to 

 delay planting as much as 10 days, the 

 small trees should be heeled-in by lin- 

 ing them out in a cool, moist, shady 

 place; one should make sure the roots 

 are thoroughly watered. 



Two-man crews (or a man and a 

 strong boy) are satisfactory for plant- 

 ing Christmas trees one man digs the 

 hole, preferably with a mattock or grub 

 hoe, and fills in the soil, while the other 

 carries the planting stock in a bucket 

 of water and inserts the tree. It pays to 

 use extra care in planting to insure a 

 good stand and thus avoid replanting. 



If some woody vegetation such as 

 brush covers the planting site, it is 

 imperative that it be removed before 

 planting. The small trees should be set 

 the same depth as they grew in the 

 nursery with the roots well spread out 

 in the planting holes. The roots should 

 never be allowed to dry out, hence 

 moist soil should be firmly packed 

 about the roots at the time of plant- 

 ing. Air pockets about the roots should 

 be avoided and firming the soil with 

 the heel will prevent this. 



An 80-percent survival is considered 

 satisfactory. It may be necessary to re- 

 place any small trees that do not sur- 

 vive the first year or two. Where dif- 

 ferent species are planted on an area, 

 it is not desirable to alternate rows by 

 species ; it is better to plant each species 

 in a group or block. 



Weeds, grass, and brush should not 

 be allowed to handicap the small trees. 

 In areas of limited rainfall during the 

 growing season, two or three cultiva- 

 tions each summer may be necessary to 

 eliminate competition of weeds and 

 grasses. Weed growth around the trees 

 may keep the lower branches from de- 



veloping. Later on, weed removal by 

 mowing is usually adequate and will 

 not disturb the lateral tree roots near 

 the surface. 



Pruning Christmas trees to shape 

 them is usually time well spent. It en- 

 hances the value of the trees and re- 

 duces the number of cull trees. Some 

 growers plan to prune each tree several 

 times before it is harvested. One man 

 can prune about 50 trees an hour. A 

 few pruning suggestions are: 



1 . Keep terminal growth to about a 

 foot per year. 



2. Keep the lower and the lateral 

 branches pruned so that the tree will 

 grow to a conical and uniform shape. 



3. Begin pruning a tree just as soon 

 as the leader develops a length out of 

 proportion to the laterals, which may 

 be when it is 2 or 3 years old. 



4. For pines, pruning must be done 

 in early summer. For short-needled 

 evergreens, such as spruces and firs, 

 pruning may be done at any time. 



5. Sharp pruning shears do the best 

 job. 



6. Pruning usually should not be 

 done the year that the tree is to be 

 harvested. 



A grower of Christmas trees is con- 

 fronted with many hazards. Probably 

 the greatest is fire and most fires are 

 due to carelessness. Other handicaps 

 are tree and insect diseases; rodents 

 and rabbits; brush and hardwood 

 seedlings; adverse weather, such as 

 drought, unseasonable frosts, hail, 

 heavy snow, and wind; animals (both 

 domestic and wild by browsing, 

 trampling, and occasionally rubbing) ; 

 and thievery. 



AMONG THE MANY RECORDS of suc- 

 cessful Christmas-tree enterprises is one 

 from a grower in Ohio who planted 

 12,000 trees on 4 acres in 1927. Nine 

 years later he began harvesting the 

 crop. At the end of another 9 years 

 he had cut 2,000 trees and received 

 $1,200 for the stumpage, thus aver- 

 aging 60 cents a tree, or $300 an acre. 

 He reported that the Christmas trees 

 alone yielded slightly more than 7-per- 



