21 



.- 



The seed boxes must not, however, be kept directly under the 

 big trees, where the seedlings would be injured by the drip from 

 the leaves. 



When the seedlings grow to be two or three inches high, they 

 are transplanted in the nursery. This is done in order to give 

 the young trees more room for growth and to encourage the de- 

 velopment of a strong root system. The little trees are taken 

 out from the seed boxes or beds and are set out either in other 

 beds in the nursery or in other boxes. In transplanting, the 

 trees, as a rule, are spaced about two inches apart, the ordinary 

 box or flat containing 100 trees. The holes for the transplants 

 are usually made with a small cylindrical stick or with the finger, 

 and great care must be taken to spread out the roots in the holes 

 and to press the soil around them. The roots should not be ex- 

 posed to the air any more than is absolutely necessary, and the 

 work of transplanting should be done during cloudy weather 

 when there is little danger of the roots drying up and dying. 



After the trees have been transplanted they should be watered 

 well and shaded from the sun. The trees are left in the nursery 

 until they are from eight to fourteen inches in height, when they 

 are ready to be set out in the place where they are to grow. 



An extremely efficient but somewhat more expensive method 

 of raising young trees is to transplant them in the nursery into 

 pots, bags or bottomless tin cans, about 4 or 5 inches deep and 

 2 to four inches wide, before they are set out in the ground 

 where they are to grow. The pots are usually made of hollow 

 sections of bamboo or of ti leaves (Cordylina terminalis), while 

 the bags are made from fertilizer sacks. They are left in the 

 nursery for two months or more and are then set in the ground, 

 the pot or bag eventually rotting away, and the trees soon be- 

 coming well established in their home. 



METHODS OF PLANTING. 



Clearing the Land. 



The heaviest expense in planting forest in Hawaii is entailed 

 in clearing the land of the rank growth of Hilo grass, guava and 

 lantana, which is often six feet or more in height. The ground 

 cover is frequently so heavy that any attempt to grow trees with- 

 out first getting rid of it is absolutely futile. Three methods of 

 preparing the ground are in general vogue, as follows : 



1. Where the ground cover is very tall and heavy, where 

 sufficient money for proper planting is available, where the area 



