149 



3. Qucmtiiy of Seed. 



The density of a forest crop should be sufficient, on the one 

 hand, to give a proper shelter to the soil, and, on the other, 

 to provide for each tree that gro\Ying space which is best 

 suited for its proper development. The first object will be 

 obtained by thick sowing, but in that case the development of 

 the trees would soon be interfered with ; hence a mean must 

 1)6 struck ; in other words, the density of the 3'oung crop should 

 be such that a fair cover overhead will be established within 

 5 — 10 years after sowing. This consideration governs the 

 quantity of seed to be sown per unit of area. The actual 

 quantity depends on the qualit}^ of the seed, the nature of the 

 soil, the mode of growth of the species, and the dangers to 

 which the seed and the young seedlings are exposed. Of these 

 the quality of the seed has already been dealt with. 



The Soil. — Almost any soil can nourish a full crop of seed- 

 lings, so that the chemical composition of a soil becomes of 

 importance only after the young crop has closed up and the 

 struggle for existence commenced. Of far greater importance, 



