220 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



curred in soil preparation. When the soil is prepared with the 

 plow or other horse-drawn implement, the cost usually varies 

 from 50 cents to $2 per acre, depending upon the width of the 

 strips and their distance apart. The single furrow turned at 

 intervals of from 4 to 6 feet is the least expensive. The cost 

 rapidly increases with the substitution of hand labor for plowing. 

 Oak and hickory are sometimes regenerated in New England 

 by line seeding. The cost is approximately as follows: 



Per acre. 



Furrowing at 6-foot intervals $0 . 75 to $1 . 25 



Sowing and covering the seed 1 . 25 to 1 . 75 



Cost of seed, red oak at $1 . 50 per bu 1.50 to 3.00 



Total $3.50 to $6.00 



The above costs relate to the original seeding only; they do not 

 take into consideration the cost incurred in filling blanks by later 

 seeding or planting. 



In the regeneration of Scotch pine in Prussia by line seeding, 

 the soil is thoroughly worked by hand in narrow lines the autumn 

 following the removal of the old stand or sometimes the following 

 spring. The lines are spaced at approximately 4-foot intervals 

 and worked to a width of 15 inches. Eight days' labor per acre is 

 required to prepare the soil in the manner noted. Immediately 

 preceding the seeding four additional days are required to rework 

 the soil on the strips to a depth of several inches, remove all 

 roots and prepare the surface for the seeding. The seed is sown 

 in a single row in the center of the prepared strip with a seeding 

 machine drawn by two men and guided by a third. The three 

 men can seed about 7| acres per day. The seed is sown in early 

 April at the rate of If pounds per acre. This method of seeding 

 usually gives about 20,000 plants per acre, which are reduced to 

 10,000 five years later. Prussian methods of thorough soil prepa- 

 ration result in complete stands and few failures. The large 

 amount of labor required per unit of area prohibits the intro- 

 duction of this method of line seeding in the United States. 

 However, it clearly emphasizes the importance of thorough soil 

 preparation, without which we can scarcely hope for uniform 

 success. 



13. Seeding in Spots. The sowing of seed in prepared and 

 unprepared spots has been the most common practice in direct 

 seeding in the United States. At the present time more intensive 



