Canadian Forestry Journal, October, 1919 



393 



A Big Nursery Begun. 

 One of the obstacles in the way of planting 

 forests in Canada is the scarcity of comparative- 

 ly cheap labor. In this particular the Quebec 

 companies at least, possess an advantage, for 

 they are in a position to obtain labor at reason- 

 able rates of wages. The planting season is 

 necessarily short, so the companies endeavor 

 to provide their labor with other work during 

 as much of the year as possible. To a limited 

 extent the forest nursery at Proulx, Quebec, as- 

 sists in this, although, of course, the outstand- 

 ing purpose of the nursery is to ultimately sup- 

 ply the annual planting requirements of the 

 Laurentide Company with, possibly later on, 

 that of other companies as well. This nursery 



of moisture. The seeds were planted in rows 

 two or three inches apart in small beds, much 

 the same as seeds in a vegetable garden. An 

 abundant water supply was obtained by pump- 

 ing water from nearby springs into a large tank, 

 from which it was piped to all parts of the 

 nursery. Irrigation was used but sparingly in 

 order to increase the hardiness of the seed- 

 lings. The tender young plants were kept care- 

 fully shaded from excessive direct sunlight and 

 the beds were covered with canvas and straw 

 throughout the winters. 



How THE Seedlings are Handled. 



During the second year the tiny seedlings are 

 carefully "lifted" from the beds and transplant- 







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in a CjlU'bi.-f s.iii.l ,n\a. 



was established about three years ago and is at 

 present under the general supervision of Mr. 

 Ellwood Wilson with Mr. R. W. Lyons, a gradu- 

 ate in Forestry at the University of Toronto, as 

 resident forester in charge. 



Twelve acres of land were carefully stumped 

 and the ground thoroughly cultivated. Owing 

 to the inferior nature of the soil, fertilizer was 

 necessary and was obtained by mixing farm- 

 yard manure and bog-muck in equal parts and 

 allowing it to stand under cover for a year be- 

 fore it was applied to the land. This produced 

 a well-rotted fertilizer which mixed well with 

 the soil, without leaving the latter too open 

 and, therefore, subject to too ready evaporation 



ed in rows ten inches apart by five inches in 

 the row. This transplanting requires careful 

 supervision. As it is a much slower operation 

 than that of "lifting,' the plants are "heeled in" 

 in wide, shallow trenches as soon as they are 

 taken from the beds. This makes it possible 

 to keep the roots thoroughly moist, without de- 

 /aying the "lifting" process. The transplanting 

 is done mainly by boys and girls with the aid 

 of a few men to dig and fill in the trenches. 

 The seedlings are carried from the heeling-in 

 beds to portable cabins placed near the trans- 

 plant beds. Here they are "threaded." For 

 this purpose planting-boards, about eight feet 

 fong and five inches wide and provided with 



