DIRECT SEEDING. 43 



stand of old Douglas fir and hemlock, as well as the humus, and 

 badly baked the soil. The area is largely high bench land, at an alti- 

 tude of approximately 1,000 feet. In December, 1909, the burned 

 area was sown broadcast to Douglas fir. While two years had elasped 

 since the fire, the brush cover was not excessively heavy. It was 

 lightest on the steep slopes. On more level land there was a con- 

 siderable quantity of dead fern which had grown up during the pre- 

 ceding summer, while moss was beginning to forrii a layer over the 

 ground. The soil is a dry, gravelly clay, which dries out rapidly in 

 the summer on account of southern exposure, but the site is an excel- 

 lent one for Douglas fir, as indicated by the down and fire-killed 

 timber. Rains are heavy between September and May, but there is 

 little precipitation during the summer. Sowing was done with 

 Douglas fir seed collected in the fall in the region immediately south 

 of Tacoma, Wash., and coated with red lead. Seed was broadcasted 

 over the entire area, 4 pounds, or 170,000 seed, to the acre. Sowing 

 was done by hand, each man casting a distance of 22 feet 11 to the 

 right and 11 to the left. The cost in labor of sowing the seed was 

 47 cents per acre, which, together with 4 pounds of seed at $1.50 per 

 pound, made a total cost per acre of $6.47. The germination per 

 cent of the seed sown, according to the test made in the Forest Service 

 laboratory at Washington, was 77 per cent. 



In August, 1910, sample areas laid off in representative portions 

 of the seeded area showed a stand of seedlings ranging from 4,000 

 to 5,000 to the acre. These had withstood the dry season fairly well, 

 though some were a little yellowish. On an average they were about 

 an inch high. The thickest stand was found on fine, loose soil, 

 somewhat sandy in character, near the stream bed, where other vege- 

 tation was not thick. Here on 1 square rod were counted as many 

 as 35 seedlings. On the bench land seedlings ran about 30 to the 

 square rod, while on the steep slopes the results were as good if not 

 a little better. 



OREGON NATIONAL .FOREST, OREGON. 



What is known as the Latrourelle Prairie tract is situated at the 

 headwaters of the Bull Run River, in the Oregon National Forest. 

 The area was formerly occupied by a rather heavy stand of Douglas 

 fir and western white pine. A severe fire occurred several years ago, 

 killing off the entire stand and burning off the humus completely. 

 Some of the fire-killed trees still stand and others have fallen and lie 

 scattered over the area. The tract sown is a portion of the bench 

 land on the southwest slope of Shell Rock Mountain. At the north- 

 ern end it slopes gently downward to a second bench 15 feet below, 

 and at the southern end it descends abruptly with a slope of over 60 

 per cent. The soil is a clayey loam mixed with large quantities of 



