METHODS OF PROPAGATION. 



Green ash reproduces by seed and sprouts. Propagation by seed is 

 the best method. Seed may be purchased from dealers for from 50 

 to 75 cents per pound, but wherever possible it is advisable for the 

 local planter to gather his own supply. The several species of ash 

 seeds are very similar in appearance, and the germination per cent 

 low at best; hence it is advisable to send samples of seed, whether 

 purchased or home gathered, to the Seed Laboratory of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, where all seeds will be identified 

 and tested without charge. 



Green ash matures its fruit in early autumn. Collecting should 

 be begun as soon as the seeds ripen, by stripping them from the trees 

 by hand. Fall planting may be practiced, but is in general inadvis- 

 able. The seeds may be kept over winter in a cool, dry place or 

 stratified. If stored dry, the seed should be soaked in warm water 

 for several hours before planting in the spring. If stratified, the 

 winged seeds should be placed between alternating layers of slightly 

 damp sand in boxes, and the boxes stored in a cool cellar. The seeds 

 are not likely to retain their vitality more than eight months. 



Broadcast sowing on prepared or unprepared ground, or even 

 planting the seed in hills where the trees are to stand, is generally 

 unsatisfactory; hence nursery culture is advised. The nursery and 

 seedbeds should be prepared on rich, well-worked ground, an old gar- 

 den spot being an excellent site if the soil is not too full of weed seeds. 

 Planting may begin in spring as soon as danger of frost is over. For 

 convenince in weeding, the seed should be sown in drills 8 to 12 

 inches apart for hand cultivation and 2 to 3 feet apart for a horse 

 cultivator. The normal germination per cent is rather low, hence 

 the seeds should be dropped thickly enough to touch each other in 

 the row. They should be covered about one-half inch deep and the 

 soil rolled firmly, or pressed down with a board. In the arid regions 

 it is sometimes best to cover seed with 2 or 3 inches of soil until after 

 germination is well started, after which the dry surface layer should 

 be raked off, leaving a covering a little less than a half inch in 

 depth. A mulch of chaff, sawdust, or old hay, if kept moist and 

 raked off when the sprouts begin to break the ground, will answer 

 the same purpose. Uniform moisture conditions should be main- 

 tained by surface irrigation, sprinkling, or mulching. 



PLANTING. 



The seedlings will attain a height of 6 to 10 inches the first season, 

 and should be translated to the permanent planting site when 1 

 year old. If the plantation is small and only a few seedlings are 



[Cir. 92] 



