90 FIRST BOOK OF FORESTRY 



or more miles away, they are apt to heat and mold if 

 packed too closely, and dry out if packed too loosely. 

 The best method is probably to ship them in large bas- 

 kets, packed in bundles and with the roots wrapped with 

 damp moss. Seedlings of pine, spruce, and other coni- 

 fers should never be allowed to dry at then- roots ; in 

 fact, a few minutes of such drying in bright sunlight is 

 often enough to kill them. 



During planting, the bunch of seedlings carried along 

 should not be held in the hand but kept in a pail with 

 wet moss and a little water, and in warm, sunny weather 

 the pail should have a cover of wet sacking. The broad- 

 leaved kinds are much more hardy, but in all cases success 

 in planting depends on keeping the plants fresh. Planting 

 in spring is universally preferred, though fall planting is 

 often equally good. 



Sowing in the Forest. — Where seed is cheap and where 

 the soil is in good condition, as on newly clean-cut forest 

 land, many people prefer to sow the seed directl}' on the 

 land and thus save all the trouble of raising plants. 

 With the seeds of oak, chestnut, hickor}*, walnut, beech, 

 locust, maple, ash. and basswood this is a very good way ; 

 and even for pine and spruce excellent results are obtained 

 by this method. In sowing, the man hoes small spots 

 about twenty-four inches square, scraping the ground a 

 little toward the center to make this part the highest ; 

 he then drops three to five seeds in about the middle and 



