1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



204 



a rich, yellow heartwood, which is 

 highly prized because of its fine grain 

 and easy working qualities. 



PROPAGATION. 



Natural reproduction is fairly good 

 on open land in Kentucky, Virginia, 

 Maryland, and southern Pennsylvania. 

 A forest growth may be maintained 

 in these regions if proper care is taken 

 in cutting to regenerate towards the 

 prevailing wind, to leave seed trees in 

 the cut-over area, and to break the 

 surface soil so that it will form a fa- 

 vorable seed-bed. The seedlings which 

 spring up in these moist open fields 

 grow with surprising rapidity, often 

 making a growth in height of 4 to 6 

 feet annually. Farther south, through 

 Tennesee and the Carolinas, natural 

 regeneration is rarerly seen except oc- 

 casionally in open pastures where the 

 mineral soil has been freely exposed 

 ind there is plenty of light. The 

 young seedlings cannot endure shade 

 even to a limited extent. Sprouts grow 

 from the stump, but should not be 

 depended upon for reproduction. Seeds 

 are produced in considerable numbers 

 almost yearly, and the small percen- 

 tage of perfect ones germinate freely 

 if they fall upon a moist mineral soil. 

 Thev will not start in a bed of pure 

 humus. The seeds are borne in a 

 cone-like fruit 1 to 2 inches long. The 

 scales are really carpels, but only a 

 few of th$ 50 to 60 in each cone are 

 productive. Young trees are apt to 

 produce seeds which are absolutely 

 worthless, while on old trees only the 

 highest limbs and the center carpels 

 are productive of good seed. 



Artificial propagation should be en- 

 tirely by seeds. Where a forest growth 

 has recently been removed from land 

 which it is desired to reclothe with 

 Tulip-tree, fair results may be _ at- 

 tained by breaking the surface soil in 

 the fall with a brush or harrow and 

 sowing the seeds broadcast over the 

 area. 



Nursery culture and the use of care- 

 fully-grown seedlings or transplants 

 is the surer but more expensive meth- 



od of propagating the Tulip-tree. The 

 seed should be collected in the fall 

 when mature, and may be sown as 

 soon as obtained or stratified in sand 

 for spring planting. Fall stratification 

 is advisable, since the seeds will then 

 germinate the following spring ; other- 

 wise, if sown in the spring, they are 

 very liable not to come up until the 

 following spring. 



The seed should be sown thickly in 

 a bed of light, rich, sandy soil and cov- 

 ered to a depth of one-half inch. The 

 bed should be kept evenly moist, with 

 more moisture at first than later and 

 should be completely shaded until the 

 plans begin to appear. Subsequently 

 there need be only partial protection, 

 which is especially needed during the 

 middle of the day, when the sun is 

 hottest. Seedlings may stand in the 

 seed-bed for from one to two years, 

 but should not remain longer, because 

 the tap root develops with but few lat- 

 eral roots, which makes transplanting 

 difficult. It thus becomes advisable to 

 move the seedlings when one year old 

 to nursery rows, which stimulates 

 them to a vigorous development, in- 

 suring success in transplanting. Seed- 

 lings may be shifted nearly in the nur- 

 sery until three or four years old, 

 which causes a beneficial thickening 

 of the root system, but such prolonged 

 care is usually too expensive to be 

 practical. If trees two years old or 

 more are to be moved for the first 

 time, it is often advisable to cut back 

 the stem to the ground, taking care to 

 move the roots intact; this will cause 

 vigorous sprouts to spring up. Such 

 practice is sometimes resorted to with 

 younger seedlings. 



Transplanting from the nursery to 

 the permanent "site may be done most 

 successfully in the spring. Fall trans- 

 planting, although often fairly success- 

 ful, usually gives a lower average of 

 success than" spring planting. The 

 work should be done before the buds 

 start, but mav be attempted after the 

 leaves are out if the stem be cut back 

 in the way mentioned above. 



