NURSERY PRACTICE 123 



It is advisable to locate nurseries near the land to be restocked to 

 reduce the inconvenience and cost of transport, provided the climate 

 is not too severe. They are usually established on a bench where the 

 soil is sufficiently deep and fresh, near a brook or a spring, and near a 

 forest house or camp. 



The higher the altitude the more the plants may suffer from frost, 

 from throwing, or from the snow; therefore the nursery should not be 

 established at an altitude higher than the average elevation at which 

 the species are to be used ; in the Alps and Pyrenees it is rarely advisable 

 to establish nurseries at a higher elevation than 5,600 feet. It must be 

 borne in mind that the growing season at high altitudes is very short, 

 the growth is slow, and the dangers from snow, etc., considerable. Nurs- 

 eries in the Cevennes or the Central Plateau are rarely higher than 

 4,600 feet. 



If it is necessary the plants can be transported and heeled in where 

 they are to be used at high altitudes the autumn preceding field work; 

 or they can be heeled in at the nursery itself in order to retard vegetation 

 where nurseries are situated considerably below the planting area. 

 One should not hold stock at the nursery for later shipment into higher 

 altitudes if the nursery is much lower or on a warmer site. Ship earlier 

 and heel in where they are to be planted. 



The usual nursery practice in regions where regular reforestation 

 work is carried on is as follows: The soil is cultivated to a depth of 16 

 to 20 inches, leaving the humus near the surface, and the French policy 

 is to use plenty of fertilizer either manure or any standard chemical 

 type of plant food. As much vegetable mould as possible is retained 

 in the soil. It favors the seedling, the transplant, and all other forms of 

 vegetation, and sometimes doubles the growth. Usually sowing is in 

 strips 2.6 to 3.9 feet in width according to the slope; the sowing on the 

 strips is usually in drills about 1.1 inches apart. Conifers are covered 

 with about 0.4 inch of soil. To conserve the freshness of the soil the 

 area sown is often covered with one layer of moss or pine needles. Some- 

 times flat stones are placed between the drills to prevent throwing and 

 to conserve the moisture. Before germination the seeds are protected 

 against birds; weeding is done as required. As a protection against the 

 sun in summer lath shade frames are used or else branches are stuck 

 in the ground at each side of the strips and inclined toward the center. 

 As a rule, the simplest possible methods are followed. 



Nursery Practice. One moderate watering is favored and then only 

 when the germination is being hindered by drought or the health and 

 vigor of the plants require moisture. But much irrigation washes the 

 soil, decreases its fertility, and exaggerates the growth of the plants, 

 so that later they are all the more susceptible to drought. Irrigation 



