326 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



WOVEN SLATTING CRATES USED FOR A SHIPMENT OF FIVE THOUSAND TRANSPLANTS 



TO A RANGER 



sery, Nebraska National Forest, is very 

 satisfactory where protection from 

 rodents is unnecessary. It consists of 

 slatting in 50-foot rolls stretched over 

 a track of Ix2's. A row of 2x2 stakes 

 on each side of the bed supports the 

 track 12 to 14 inches above the sur- 

 face of the bed. If the bed is curbed 

 the stakes are placed just inside the 

 curbing and the Ix2's nailed to the 

 inner sides of the stakes. When weed- 

 ing the slatting is loosened at one end 

 and rolled back, the track serving to 

 steady the laborer and making it un- 

 necessary for him to put one hand 

 down in the bed when leaning over at 

 work. 



STORAGE 



When coniferous seedlings are dug 

 for transplanting or when transplants 

 are taken up for field planting it some- 

 times becomes necessary to hold large 



numbers in storage for a greater or less 

 length of time while the planting is in 

 progress. To do this without injury to 

 the stock it is important that provision 

 be made to prevent rapid transpiration 

 lest the equilibrium in the moisture con- 

 tent of the plant be disturbed and its 

 vitality seriously reduced. 



Heeling-in is a common practice, but 

 if there is not space for this in the 

 storage house and it must be done out- 

 side the plants should be covered with 

 a thick blanket of straw or other mulch 

 supported on slatting a few inches 

 above the tops of the trees. This 

 method of covering permits a free cir- 

 culation of air for the tops, but keeps 

 them from warming up enough in the 

 middle of the day to cause "forcing/' 



In 1908, when handling a very large 

 number of coniferous seedlings at the 

 Halsey Nursery, I found that good re- 

 sults could be obtained from stacking 



