82 BRITISH FOREST TREES 



soil. The seed is sown in rills about one inch deep and 

 4 to 4| inches apart, and lightly covered with soil. If 

 two-year-old seedlings are to be used, the rows are put 

 six inches apart, the quantity of seed being of course re- 

 duced to J to of what is found most suitable in the former 

 case. When the seedlings are intended for very dry soil, 

 bastard-trenching is advisable in order to loosen the soil and 

 stimulate the young plants to the development of long roots ; 

 the work of trenching should be carried out as early as 

 possible, so as to let the ground settle again before the seed 

 is sown. If no sheltered locality be available, the nursery 

 must have some artificial protection from the wind, such as 

 dykes or hedges, whilst on poor soil manuring with leaf- 

 mould or the ashes of weeds is advisable. Where such 

 temporary nurseries have been well chosen, no covering or 

 protection for the young seedlings is necessary, and in no case 

 should twigs or sprays of Scots pine be used for such a 

 purpose, as their needles are often infected with the fungous 

 disease occasioned by Hysterium pinastri, which may only 

 too easily be thus communicated to the seedlings. 



In order to provide a supply of transplants for the filling 

 up of blanks, or for the introduction of Scots pine as a 

 subordinate tree in forests of other species, one must adopt 

 the usual method of schooling the plants in nurseries, which 

 should of course be located as near to the ultimate desti- 

 nation as practicable, in order to reduce to a minimum the 

 costs of transport and the risk of damage during the final 

 operations of planting out. 



All planting operations with Scots pine on dry soils 

 should be carried out as early as possible in spring, so that the 

 young plants may have a fair chance of establishing them- 

 selves before the usual period of drought sets in. The better 

 and the fresher the soil, the less danger is there of late 

 operations proving unsuccessful. 



