FOREST PLANTING AND SEEDING 69 



In all parts of the country there is land once used for agricul- 

 ture, which was either unsuited for that purpose or has become 

 exhausted by a system of farming which did not maintain the 

 fertility of the soil. Such lands are often better suited for the 

 raising of forests than any agricultural crop, and must be stocked 

 artificially. Much land forested to-day is not covered with fast 

 growing trees or with timber that possesses high value. Such 

 lands are not producing so much or so valuable wood as they 

 might. Another opportunity for artificial reproduction is found 

 in introducing better species into such woodlands. This can 

 often be satisfactorily accomplished by setting out one to two 

 hundred plants per acre. Although only partially stocking the 

 land at the time of planting, if cared for they will finally develop 

 and dominate the stand. The desired change in the forest is 

 thus accomplished for a fraction of the expense necessary to plant 

 the whole area. It will be apparent that there are numerous 

 opportunities for the use of artificial reproduction, and it is 

 necessary that the best methods of accomplishing this be 

 thoroughly understood. 



Artificial establishment of a forest may be effected by planting 

 or by seeding. By " seeding" is meant the use of seed on the 

 land to be restocked; " plan ting" implies that small trees raised 

 in a nursery or taken from the woods are used, and it has been 

 found that planting is almost always preferable, because for the 

 same amount of money a more complete stand can be secured by 

 planting and because two or three years of the rotation are saved 

 thereby. 



Several methods of seeding are practiced. Broadcast sowing 

 of seed, the most common, is also least often productive of the 

 best results. This may be modified by brushing in, or rak- 

 ing the seed. Sometimes the ground is prepared in advance 

 for the reception of the seed by stirring the soil with a harrow. 

 Where the land is sufficiently free from rocks and brush very 

 satisfactory results can often be secured by plowing and har- 

 rowing the land and then sowing the forest seed with some 

 farm crop, such as buckwheat. This, however, is an expensive 



