7(5 



The principal points in favor of the single central nursery are that all 

 of the operations are centered at one place and under one head, therefore 

 resulting in better supervision, greater uniformity of stock and lesser cost 

 of production per unit. Less initial investment is required for major 

 equipment The outlay on this account for a small station is comparatively 

 heavy and it goes without saying that a large establishment can be equipped 

 more cheaply than can a number of smaller similar ones. Consolidation 

 and large output mean cheaper production. Nursery work is intensive and 

 highly specialized and as such demands close and constant supervision by 

 one well versed through practical experience in such matters if success is 

 to be attained. Consequently one large nursery under the supervision of 

 a competent man will be better managed than a number of separate places 

 under as many different men. And above all, the central nursery is, if 

 properly located, a permanent affair whereas the others are in their very 

 nature more or less temporary. 



On the other hand there are certain drawbacks that are inseparable 

 from the central nursery. The work being of an intensive kind and there- 

 fore requiring much labor, there is the possibility when operating on a large 

 scale of not obtaining sufficient help where production is restricted to one 

 place. This is brought to mind all the more forcibly when we realize that 

 state forests usually, and naturally, are located in sparsely populated dis- 

 tricts. This problem may, however, be largely overcome by dividing activ- 

 ities as much as possible between the fall and spring seasons. The central 

 nursery must be depended upon to produce all the stock required for plant- 

 ing not only in the immediate vicinity but in the remoter parts of the state 

 as well. This involves transportation of the plants over long distances, 

 which to say the least is in no wise conducive to their betterment. Then 

 again there are somewhat greater chances of infestations of dangerous 

 diseases where the tendency is to overcrowd or confine great numbers 

 on small areas. Plants, like animals, are more or less subject to epidemics 

 where extreme congestion occurs, and applicable to a certain extent in this 

 case is the old adage that we should not place all of our eggs in one basket. 



Considering the alternative of a system of individual local nurseries the 

 following advantages are apparent. The work is distributed and the diffi- 

 culty of securing the necessary labor diminishes in proportion. The place 

 of production being on the forest itself, the stock is always immediately 

 at hand and the delays and possible damage incident upon transportation 

 are thus eliminated. Should disaster befall any one of the nurseries 

 through any cause, there are the others to fall back upon. 



This same plan carries with it, however, a number of decidedly objec- 

 tionable features. The matter of supervision and inspection becomes as 

 scattered as are the nurseries themselves. The area of each, and conse- 

 quently the output, is apt to be so small as hardly to justify the mainte- 

 nance of a qualified superintendent in each case and without such super- 

 vision, good results cannot be expected. The initial investment put into 

 a place of small producing capacity can very easily be made to exceed be- 

 yond reason the demands to be met. In many instances, especially on the 

 smaller forests, the nursery could not possibly be otherwise than temporary 

 and temporary nurseries, implying lax or incompetent supervision, inade- 



