Growing and Planting Hardwood Seedlings. 23 



tion of the soil. Fall plowing, followed by spring spading and raking, 

 will result in the soils being more mellow than if spring spading and 

 raking only are practiced. Thorough preparation of the beds will 

 result in better germination of the seed and better growth of the 



seedlings. 



SOWING THE SEED. 



METHOD. 



Although in commercial operations the practice of broadcasting 

 hardwood seed of many species is often followed, it is believed that 

 in a small farm nursery it will ordinarily be more satisfactory to sow 

 most kinds of seed in 

 drills. These drills 

 may be 2 or 3 feet 

 apart to permit horse 

 cultivation, or they 

 may be spaced as 

 closely as 10 or 12 

 inches. In the latter 

 case, hand cultivation 

 will be necessary. 

 Those trees which may 

 need shade (p. 27) 

 should be grown in 

 closely spaced rows. 

 Less work and ex- 

 pense will then be en- 

 tailed in providing the 

 shade than is neces- 

 sary when the rows 

 are 2 or 3 feet apart. 



The seeds should be 

 sown at a depth equal 

 to two or three times 

 their own thickness 



and Close enough ill -Hardy catalpa plantation, 21 years old. Iowa County, Iowa. 



the drill so that from 12 to 15 seedlings to the linear foot will result. 

 Ordinarily, the drill need not be more than half an inch wide. In 

 some cases, however, a drill of that width will result in crowding 

 the seed. This is true for the seed of yellow poplar, only a small 

 proportion of which sprouts (see Table 7) ; for seed with large wings, 

 such as that of maples, catalpa, and ashes; and for seed of large 

 size, such as that of walnut, butternut, chestnut, and some of the 

 oaks. In all such cases the drills should be 2 or 3 inches wide, or 

 wider if necessary, so that the seed may be distributed in them 

 without crowding. 



