DIRECT SEEDING. 33 



small seed, such as that of lodgepole pine, larch, and spruce, should 

 be scattered with a mechanical seed sower. When very small seeds 

 are used they can sometimes be scattered more uniformly by mixing 

 them with fine, dry earth. Covering seed that has been broadcasted 

 by harrowing or otherwise has not yet given good results, though 

 further experiments along this line will be undertaken. Damage 

 from rodents is usually less, or at least less noticeable, in the case of 

 broadcast sowing than with other methods, since the seed is dis- 

 tributed over a wider area, there is more of it, and it is more difficult 

 to find. 



SOWING IN STRIPS AND BLOCKS. 



Strip sowing and block sowing are modifications of the broad- 

 cast method. Sowing in strips has the advantage that it does not 

 require the preparation of the entire area, thus reducing the cost. 

 Narrow strips, 3 feet wide or less, are prepared in -various ways, 

 frequently by plowing. On hillsides the strips should run along 

 contour lines, not up and down. Strips so run catch and retain the 

 precipitation, and also prevent the soil and seed from being washed 

 down by rain. In a flat country they should run east and west, and 

 when a plow is used the furrows should be turned toward the south. 

 In this way seedlings are given some protection from drought dur- 

 ing the first year. Less seed per acre is required in strip sowing, 

 but the seed is sown more thickly on the strip seeded than on the 

 area broadcasted. Seed may be sown even without preparing the 

 ground. It is a method particularly adapted to quick-growing 

 species. 



In sowing by both the broadcasting and strip methods machinery 

 can sometimes be used to advantage. Where the slope is not too 

 steep, and where down timber, brush, and rocks do not prevent, corn 

 planters drawn by horses can be used. Hand planters of several 

 kinds have been used extensively and have proven satisfactory. On 

 an average one man can sow a little more than 2 acres a day with a 

 hand corn planter. Before using hand planters the " shoe " should 

 be modified so that it will not push the seed deeper than is desired. 

 The edges of the shallow holes made by the corn planter crumble in 

 and cover a part or all of the seed to about the right depth. The 

 chief objection to all of the hand planters now on the market is that 

 both hands are required to operate them. The Forest Service is 

 now preparing plans for a machine which will be possible to operate 

 with only one hand, and which in other respects is better adapted 

 to the small, light seeds of coniferous trees. 



The seed of broadleaf trees, nuts, acorns, etc., are easily dibbled 

 in. A pointed staff is thrust sharply into the ground and pried 

 about so as to slightly loosen the soil. It is then withdrawn so as 



