122 THE CORNELL READING-COURSES 



is a good method when most of the timber is of about the same size, and 

 therefore becomes merchantable at about the same time. 



By sowing seed broadcast 



If it is desired to have for the new crop a kind of tree of which there 

 are not many in the woods, seed can be collected or bought and scattered 

 broadcast on the ground. The same method can be used when so large 

 an area is to be cut clear that there will be no timber left near enough 

 to seed the ground. 



This method, however, is usually very unsatisfactory. A large part 

 of seed scattered on the surface is destroyed by birds and other animals, 

 or dies because it does not find the proper conditions for germinating. 

 For this reason, a great deal of seed must be sown, and the expense is 

 often considerable. Even when plenty of seed is used, it is very uncertain 

 whether a good crop of young trees will be obtained. This method should 

 not be used at all with large seeds, such as acorns and nuts. If one wishes 

 to try it with pine, spruce, hemlock, or locust, three to six pounds of seed 

 per acre should be sown. Broadcasting is best done just before growth 

 starts in the spring. If possible, it is well to scatter the seed on one of 

 the last snows. It should not be tried on more than a small area the 

 first year, in order to see whether it will succeed. 



If the surface soil can be loosened a little, this greatly increases the 

 chances of success; and if the seed can be partly covered by going 

 over the ground with a bundle of brush or a harrow, the chances are still 

 better. Usually, however, the ground is such that neither of these things 

 can be done, except perhaps by turning in hogs. 



By planting trees or seed 



By far the surest way of starting young trees is to sow the seed in a 

 garden and take care of the trees there until they are large enough to be 

 planted; or to make " seed spots," that is, to plant the seed where the 

 trees are to remain. This method also gives the desired kind of trees, 

 and is the quickest way of getting the open spaces covered. The expense 

 of planting is often not so great as that of broadcasting seed, or as the 

 loss in timber value or in time due to delaying the lumbering in order to 

 get natural seeding from the side in strips. In many other cases, planting 

 may be decidedly more expensive than some other method. In any case, 

 this method requires more work than does any other. 



For convenience in describing planting, trees may be divided roughly 

 into three classes: evergreens, large-seeded hardwoods, and small-seeded 

 hardwoods.^ 



