10 REFORESTATION IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



A Marker. 



For making the drills to plant pine seed, a marker made of 

 strips of wood 4 feet long, nailed to cross-pieces on a board, with 

 the strips about 4 inches apart, and so arranged as to make a 

 drill about % inch deep, has been found very useful. The 

 marker (Fig. 2) can then be pressed down across the bed. If, 

 each time it is moved, the inside cleat is allowed to rest in the 

 trench previously made by the outside cleat, very uniform drills 

 can be made. 



Sowing the Seed. 



After the drills have been made, the seed should be sown 

 similarly to any garden seed. In case of pine seed, if sown 

 nearly touching each other, 1 pound would cover a bed 4 feet 

 wide and 40 feet long. After the seed is sown, it should be 

 covered by lightly brushing or sifting a little fine soil over it and 

 firming it slightly. If the marker has been made by nailing 

 strips to a smooth board, the back side can be used for this pur- 

 pose. Some nurserymen advise making a box bed similar to a 

 hot bed, but with holes in the side to act as ventilators and for 

 drainage, a wire screen protecting the beds from rodents. 



i 

 Mulching. 



As soon as the seed is sown, the beds should be covered over 

 with leaves or needles about 3 inches deep, in order to hold the 

 moisture in the ground and keep an even temperature. This 

 prevents the soil from becoming dry, in which case the seed 

 would not germinate. As soon as the seed commences to appear 

 above ground, the mulch should be carefully removed. Screens, 

 for shading should be provided in the mean time, as pine seed 

 does not generally germinate for from two to three weeks. 



Shading. 



For the first two years most coniferous seedlings need to be 

 protected from the sun (Figs. 5 and 6). For this purpose both 

 screens (Fig. 3) may be cheaply made, using two laths as cross- 

 pieces, and nailing others to them about their width apart. If a 

 lath is nailed on slanting through the middle, it makes the screen 



