SOWING METHODS AS APPLIED TO SPECIES AND REGIONS 135 



Season for Sowing. The natural time to sow is when nature sows, 

 but this is often impossible owing to the price of labor and the difficulty 

 of seed collection. .The best season for sowing seeds ripening toward 

 the end of summer is the autumn or winter. This has the additional 

 advantage that the seeds germinate early in the spring and get the 

 start of the weeds. The spring gives the best results when species ger- 

 minate quickly and when there is danger from rodents. 



The directions for sowing which are standard in France have been 

 summarized in the following table. It covers the more important species 

 only: 



TABLE 13. SEASON AND METHOD OF SOWING CHIEF SPECIES 



Species 



Method 



Season 



Oak. 



Beech 



Hornbeam. 



Spruce 



Scotch pine. . . 

 Austrian pine. 



Maritime pine. 

 Aleppo pine. . . 

 Larch. . 



Sowing best on account of taproot; deep soil, 



can plow 1.6 to 2.4 inches deep; dibbling 



good. 

 Like oak. 

 Broadcast under partial cover best; 0.4 to 



0.8 inches. 

 Only need partial cover at low elevations; 



cleared soil by strips or seed spots, rake 



into soil; all methods applicable; strips 



and seed spots especially good. 

 Best for direct seeding; no need of cover; if 



seed is expensive planting is better. 

 Better than Scotch pine for limestone soil; 



same method. 

 Direct seeding. 



Bears heat and drought; bare ground. 

 Soak seed in water 15 to 20 days before 



sowing; like spruce; needs moist soil but 



good for rocky ground. 



Spring. 



Autumn. 

 Spring. 



Autumn or spring. 



Summary of Sowing Methods as Applied to Species and Regions. 

 In the Alps at high altitudes the sowing of larch, mountain pine, and 

 cembric pine is usually done with seed spots or furrows of variable size. 

 In the seed spots three to four seeds of cembric pine are planted, and 

 eight to ten of larch or of mountain pine. They are then covered by 

 hand. In the furrows one or two seeds per running 0.4 inch of soil are 

 sown. In the case of the larch it is especially necessary to sow strictly 

 according to the germinative per cent, which often varies from 40 to 70. 

 The amount of soil needed for covering depends on the size of the seed. 

 Larch and mountain pine are covered with 0.4 inch of soil, while cembric 

 pine seeds are covered with 0.8 inch. Seed bought in the autumn is 

 sown the following spring. The spring sowing, while securing the benefit 

 of the heat and humidity favorable for germination, does not always 

 resist the summer drought. Autumn sowing often gives the best results 

 because the seed can germinate early in the spring, thus getting a start 



