348 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



planted, with well-developed root systems, the plants in no case to 

 be more than 2 to 3 years old. The secondary or nurse crop may- 

 then be sown or planted with younger and less costly material taken 

 from the woods or grown in seed beds, or else cuttings may be used. 



In some localities for instance, the Western plains the germ- 

 inating of seeds in the open field is so uncertain, and the life of the 

 young seedlings for the first year or two so precarious, that the use 

 of seeds in the field can not be recommended. In such locations 

 careful selection and treatment of the planting material according 

 to the hardships which it must encounter can alone insure success. 

 Seedlings from "6 to 12 inches high furnish the best material. The 

 planting of large-sized trees is not excluded, but is expensive and 

 hence often impracticable, besides being less sure of success, since 

 the larger-sized tree is apt to lose a greater proportion of its roots in 

 transplanting. 



Methods of Planting. Preparation of soil is for the purpose of 

 securing a favorable start for the young crop ; its effects are lost after 

 the first few years. Most land that is to be devoted to forest planting 

 does not admit of as careful preparation as for agricultural crops, 

 nor is it necessary where the climate is not too severe and the soil 

 not too compact to prevent the young crop from establishing itself. 

 Thousands of acres in Germany are planted annually without any 

 soil preparation, yearling pine seedlings being set with a dibble in 

 the unprepared ground. This absence of preparation is even neces- 

 sary in sandy soils, like that encountered in the sandhills of Ne- 

 braska, which may, if disturbed, be blown out and shifted. In other 

 cases a partial removal of a too rank undergrowth or soil cover 

 and a shallow scarifying or hoeing is resorted to, or else furrows are 

 thrown up and the trees set put in them. 



In land that has been tilled, deep plowing (10 to 12 inches) 

 and thorough pulverizing give the best chances for the young crop 

 to start. For special conditions, very dry or very moist situations, 

 special methods are required. The best methods for planting in the 

 eemiarid regions of the far "West have not yet been devloped. Thor- 

 ough cultivation, as for agricultural crops, with subsequent culture, 

 is successful, but expensive. A plan which might be tried would 

 consist in breaking the raw prairie in June and turning over a shal- 

 low sod, sowing a crop of oats or alfalfa, harvesting it with a high 

 stubble, then opening furrows for planting and leaving the ground 

 between furrows undisturbed, so as to secure the largest amount of 

 drainage into the furrows and a mulch between the rows. 



The time for planting depends on climatic and soil conditions 

 and the convenience of the planter. Spring planting is preferable 

 except in southern latitudes, especially in the West, where the win- 

 ters are severe and the fall apt to be dry, the soil therefore not in 

 favorable condition for planting. The time for fall planting is 

 after the leaves have fallen ; for spring planting, before or just when 

 life begins anew. In order to be ready in time for spring planting, 

 it is a good practice to take up the plants in the fall and "heel them 

 in" over winter (covering them, closely packed, in a dry trench of 



