124 THE CORNELL READING-COURSES 



sandy loam soil is the best in which to bury the seeds, but a heavy soil 

 will do if in a well-drained place. The pit should be watched to see that 

 animals do not disturb it. 



Instead of putting the seeds in a pit outdoors, they may be kept in 

 boxes in an unheated building. A layer of soil, the more sandy the better, 

 is placed in the bottom of the box, then a layer of seeds, then another 

 layer of soil, and so on. A good arrangement is to have the layers of 

 soil about six inches deep, and those of seeds two to four inches deep. 

 Look at the seeds once in a while to see that they are not molding because 

 of too much moisture, or are not drying out. Drying can be detected 

 by cutting open a few of the seeds in order to see whether they are keeping 

 their usual plump, moist, fresh look. The seeds should be taken from 

 the pits or boxes and planted in the garden or in seed spots just as early 

 in the spring as the ground can be worked. 



Small-seeded hardwoods. With the small-seeded hardwoods, such as 

 maple, ash, and elm, it is well to sow the seed in rows or in broadcast 

 beds in the garden, giving them good care for one or two years before 

 planting. One year is ordinarily enough if the trees are thrifty and if 

 the conditions under which they are to be planted are fairly good ; otherwise 

 they should be kept in the garden for two years. The seed of elm 

 and of soft maple should be gathered in the spring as soon as they are 

 ripe, and sown within a few days. The sugar maple and the ash 

 seeds should be gathered in the fall and stored over winter in boxes 

 of soil, as described for the larger seeds. With these seeds, however, 

 it is better to have the layer of seed only one or two inches thick, and the 

 layers of soil need be only about four inches deep. The seeds should 

 be sown as early in the spring as possible. 



Wild stock. Trees for forest planting can sometimes be obtained from 

 the woods or the roadsides. This wild stock does not have so good roots 

 as do trees that have been cared for in a garden, and more trees are 

 likely to die after transplanting than is the case when nursery stock is 

 used. However, where fairly good wild stock can be procured cheaply, 

 it is sometimes a good plan to try it, on a small scale at first. Care should 

 be taken that a good supply of small roots is left on the tree in taking it 

 up. For forest plantations, evergreens more than about a foot high, 

 and hardwoods more than about eighteen inches high, should not be used, 

 as the cost of planting larger trees is too great. For ornamental planting, 

 much larger wild stock can be used. 



Distance of planting. In this country, trees are usually planted either 

 five or six feet apart in each direction; in Europe, closer planting is custom- 

 ary. Seed spots are ordinarily spaced the same as though trees were 

 being planted. Spacing the trees six feet in each direction means 1,210 



