24 



Farmers' Bulletin 1123. 



With small or thin seed, such as that of birch, elm, or sycamore, 

 the best results, perhaps, will be secured by sowing broadcast and 

 rather thickly over the beds, pressing the seed into the loose soil by 

 means of a board, and covering it very lightly with soil and a light 

 mulch of leaves or straw. Nearly any seed may be broadcasted, 

 if that is desired. 



THE USE OF SPROUTED SEED. 



Because of the long taproot formed by the nut-bearing trees,. and 

 the consequent loss that ordinarily attends the transplanting of 

 seedlings to the field, an experiment conducted by the Pennsylvania 

 Forest Commission is of interest. Seed of white oak, black walnut, 

 butternut, hickory, and red ash was stored over winter and stratified 

 thinly in the spring. After the seed began to germinate and the 

 root had developed to a length of from 2 to 4 inches, from 1 to 2 

 inches of this was pinched off. When the seed was planted, a very 

 fibrous, stocky root system developed, the usual long taproot being 

 absent. 



NUMBER OF SEED TO SOW. 



The number of seed to sow per foot depends upon the percentage 

 of germination. This varies considerably, but Table 8 shows approx- 

 imately the proportion for different species. 



TABLE 8. Number of seed to sow per running foot of row to secure 15 seedlings to the foot. 



In the case of yellow poplar, for instance, which has a germina- 

 tion of only 10 per cent, it would be necessary to sow 150 seeds to 

 the foot to obtain 15 seedlings. Only 50 seeds to the foot would 

 be necessary for sycamore, which has a germination of 30 per cent. 



The number of seeds to the pound of the more important species 

 is about as follows: 



