28 FORESTATION, SAND HILLS NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 



it with from 50 to 120 tons per acre and grow a soiling crop upon it 

 for one season. The soiling crop, of course, not only nitrifies the 

 soil, but breaks down the manure to a more usable form. Where 

 seed must be sown on ground freshly manured there is the possibility 

 that an excess 1 of manure will cause the soil to dry out or that the 

 plants will "burn" or will suffer from parasites. This latter danger, 

 however, is not necessarily a result of fresh manure. No damage 

 seems to have resulted from using manure just before transplanting. 



Cow manure free from straw is the most easily prepared for use, 

 and is the least likely to cause drying of the soil. It is obtained 

 mainly from feeding yards, and after being broken up may be applied 

 directly to the nursery soil. Horse manure is invariably mixed with 

 straw, and is not used until it has composted for a year with sand, 

 during which time it is turned two or three times and watered as 

 often as necessary to prevent heating. 



There is marked benefit from the use of stable manure followed by 

 cowpeas as a soiling crop. In 1910 one bed which had had both 

 manure and a soiling crop the previous year, and one which had only 

 the soiling crop, were sown side by side. At the end of the first 

 season the seedlings grown in the manured bed were from 1 to 2 

 inches taller than the others, and the difference still existed at the 

 end of the second year in these beds. The sharply-defined increase 

 in the average size of plants since manure began to be used is also 

 clear evidence of the need for it in the sandy nursery soil, as shown 

 in Table 7. 



TABLE 7. Average sizes of 2 -year-old seedlings at the end of various years. 



The aggregate benefits of the fertilizers show in the more stocky 

 character of the transplants as they now become ready for field plant- 

 ing. For example, the 1909 3-year-old yellow pine, transplanted 

 after two years in the seed bed (2-1), were from 5 to 7 inches high and 

 had, on the average, about four strong roots, from 14 to 16 inches 



1 This is especially damaging to young seedlings, which may not be watered as heavily as transplants. 

 The exact quantity of manure which may safely be used on seed beds directly or shortly before seeding is 

 now being carefully investigated. Should it be found that enough manure to keep the soil in good con- 

 dition and to produce strong plants can not be used, biennial fertilizing and rotation between transplants 

 and seedlings will probably be necessary because of the restricted area of the nursery. 



