20 



able. The seed is planted directly on these beds. In Hawaii 

 this method has been found to give satisfactory results only in 

 localities favorable to tree growth, at elevations of 2,000 feet or 

 more, and where there is an abundant rainfall. It has proved 

 particularly successful in the nursery of the Maui Agricultural 

 Company, Kailiili, at an elevation of about 2,500 feet. In less 

 favorable situations the seedlings as a rule are grown in boxes 

 or flats of convenient size, usually 12 x 18 inches and 3 to 4 

 inches deep. In either case the soil in the seed bed should be 

 light and friable, so that the seedlings may be readily trans- 

 planted. A garden loam mixed with an equal quantity of sand 

 and put through a sieve with a mesh as fine as coarse mosquito 

 netting is the best. The soil is first made smooth ; then the seed 

 is scattered evenly over the surface and pressed down lightly 

 with a piece of board to imbed it in the soil, after which it is 

 covered with a thin layer of pure sand or finely-sifted soil to a 

 depth approximately equal to the thickness of the seed. To pre- 

 vent the growth of weeds in the seed-bed, it is often desirable 

 to sterilize both the soil and the sand. 



The seed will sprout and the young shoots will appear above 

 ground in from three to ten days. The soil should be watered 

 and kept moist with a very fine sprinkler, held close to the seed- 

 bed. Unless great care is taken in watering, the seed may be 

 washed out and the tender stems of the young trees broken by 

 the force of the falling water. If the soil is kept too wet, .the 

 trees will be killed by a fungus disease known as "damping-off." 

 This disease is most serious during times when there is little 

 evaporation taking place, as on damp, cloudy days and during 

 still, warm evenings. Very little watering should therefore be 

 done on cloudy days, and even on clear days the sprinkling 

 should take place in the morning. 



For the first few weeks of their life the young seedlings are 

 injured by excessive heat and light, and it is necessary to pro- 

 tect them from the direct rays of the midday sun. Various de- 

 vices are in use for shading the beds or boxes of seedlings, lath 

 houses and lath screens being the most common. The lath in 

 the screens are spaced their own width apart, and the screens 

 are so arranged that they can be readily moved. If a lath house 

 is used, the various panels composing the lath house are made 

 removable. This is necessary because the screens must be moved 

 in cloudy and humid weather in order to prevent "damping-off" 

 in excess shade. In many nurseries in Hawaii the shade afford- 

 ed by the large trees growing about the nursery is sufficient to 

 protect the young seedlings, and no lath screens are necessary. 



