FOREST TREE NURSERIES 



By Q. R. CRAFT 



( Illustrations by Courtesy of Mr. G. W. Hill > 



THAT the ami nun <>f forest plant- 

 ing done e-ach year is increasing 

 is evident from the uniform re- 

 port of increased sales by the nursery- 

 men. A nurseryman at Aitkin Minn., 

 last year shipped four hundred thou- 

 sand jack-pine seedlings to Nebraska 

 alone. There are now nine Government 

 nurseries where seedlings are gro\vn 

 for planting on the National Forest-, 

 twenty-one state nurseries, and 137 

 dealers in nursery stock, many of whom 

 grow their own stock. 



A great man}' planters are beginning 

 to grow their own seedlings for plant- 

 ing, and shade screens, preventives for 

 damping off. transplanting, and root 

 pruning are becoming subjects of dis- 

 cussion. 



There is considerable difference of 

 opinion as to the comparative merits of 

 high and low screens, and though many 

 favor the former. Mr. David Hill, of 

 Dundee. 111., after a thorough trial of 

 both kinds, gives it as his opinion that 

 low screens in frames of four feet 

 square, are preferable. It is the prac- 

 tice . .f Mr. Hill to transplant all coni- 

 fer- when one year old from -eed (ex- 

 cept those of rapid-growing species, 

 which are sold for special purposes at 

 the age of one year). Then each sub- 

 -<<|uent spring, until sold, the trees in 

 the transplant rows are root pruned, 

 the primer being set one-half inch deep- 

 er each time. The effect of transplanting 

 is to stimulate root development and 

 make the little trees stocky and hardy. 

 The difference in the trees j- noticeable 

 in the accompanying illustrations. 



With some nurserymen there' i- a 

 question as to the advisability of root 

 pruning because of the belief that in- 

 jury to the root permanently inter fere- 

 with its natural development, and that 



the wounds may invite the entrance of 

 fungi and insect-. In an-wer to an in- 

 quiry on this point. A. Knechtel, a Xew 

 York state forester, writes: "We have 

 done no root pruning of evergreens, but 

 in transplanting hardwoods root prun- 

 ing has resulted .successfully." Con- 

 cerning the nursery beds. Mr. Knechtel 

 adds : 



"The sandy soil is enriched by tin- 

 free use of black muck and ashes. The 

 nursery is provided with a water tank, 

 from which leads a system of water 

 pipes, so that the trees can be irrigated 

 when necessary. A free use of seed 

 gives fullv stocked seed beds. For a 

 bed twelve by four feet, we use three-- 

 fourths pound to one pound of pine 

 seed, and one-half pound to three- 

 fourths pound of s] truce 1 seed, ac- 

 cording to the si/.e of the seed. Damp- 

 ing off is hindere 1 by making the 

 beds with convex surface, and by using 

 screens as a lx around the bed instead 

 of Ixiards. so that the tree- get a free 

 circulation of air. I'.ut the trouble has 

 not been entirely prevented. This year 

 the tree's damped "" ver\ considerably. 

 The- Use of sand thoroughly dried and 

 sprinkled on the- beds on close, damp 

 days, lias helped somewhat. N'ext year 

 we shall try heated powde-re-d charcoal. 

 We- mav also devise some means b\ 

 which a current of air can be passed 

 over the- be'ds artificially on such close 

 days. I'.urlap is used instead of leave- 

 a- a covering for the- winter." 



As Mr. iVrley Spaulding writes, in 

 Bulletin No. 4. just issued by the- I'.u- 

 re-au of Plant Industry, damping-off 

 disease's are- givat oh-tacK-- to the snc- 

 -ful production of tr< dling-. 



Mr. Spaulding conducted experime'iit- 

 tlr-t in the gre-enhon-e and then in the- 

 tie-Id in the- \\-w York State- nurseries at 



373 



