114 PRACTICAL FORESTRY 
the larger the quantity sown, the greater the chances 
of a good stand. 
Whenever seeds are sown a suitable germinating- 
bed must be prepared, otherwise the best of seed will 
fail. The soil must be loose, and the seed must be 
covered in proportion to its size. 
Forest seeds may be sown with agricultural crops, 
such as rye or wheat. Furrows may be plowed at 
intervals of four or five feet. This is an excellent 
way to start oaks, chestnuts, walnuts, etc. Harrows, 
grub-hoes, rakes, or spades may be used, depending 
upon the nature of the soil and the kind of seeds. 
Pigs often, by rooting, prepare an excellent seed-bed, 
to which the fine regeneration in the pine woods of 
our south is often due. 
The accumulation of duff on the surface is often 
a great hindrance to seed germination. -The mineral 
soil should be exposed if possible. 
In nature the seed is washed into the soil, or 
blown by the wind into crevices, but in the majority 
of cases it fails to find a suitable nidus. 
It is impossible to state just how deep every spe- 
cies should be covered. One is safe, however, in 
covering seed with a layer of earth twice the thick- 
ness of its shortest diameter. The layer should be 
thicker in loose, dry soil, and thinner in compact, 
moist soil. In many cases it is merely necessary to 
