THE FOREST NURSERY 



295 



FIG. 70. High cover formed of posts and scantlings covered with mats 

 woven from narrow slats and wire. 



paths. The beds are either the entire length of the cover or 

 broken at intervals to facilitate working. 



30. Low Covers. The various kinds of low covers useful in 

 shading seedlings are usually raised from 1 foot to 1^ feet above 

 the surface of the seedbed. They do not extend uniformly over 

 the entire compartment, but there is a separate cover for each 

 bed. A low cover may be any one of the following: 



1. Brush screens. 



2. Lath or slat screens. 



3. Scrim, cheese-cloth, or burlap screens. 



31. Brush Screens. -Branches of forest trees, preferably hem- 

 lock, spruce, fir, and other conifers, form the simplest kind of low 

 shade cover for seedbeds. When branches 3 to 6 feet in length 

 are laid over the beds during germination, they are removed and 

 stuck upright in the soil as soon as the seed begins to germinate. 

 The longer branches arc placed along the south border of the 

 beds so as more effectively to shade them. Sometimes the 

 branches are bent inward at the tops if otherwise the shade does 

 not extend over all parts of the beds. 



When special care is taken in covering the seedbeds and the 

 branches are well distributed this is a perfectly practical method 



