ARTIFICIAL REFORESTATION 27 



sides, birds, mice, or squirrels may, and in many cases 

 will, consume much if not all the seed. When all things 

 are taken into consideration it is neither as economical nor 

 in any way as satisfactory as planting in hills or raising 

 trees in a nursery and setting them out. It has one redeem- 

 ing feature, the species can be selected. 



Planting in Hills. This is simply planting a few seeds 

 in places where the trees are to stand in the forest, sub- 

 stantially as a hill of corn is planted. The ground can be 

 spaced off in some convenient and cheap way, so that the 

 hills will be equidistant and the proper number placed on 

 the ground. With a hoe or other implement the ground 

 can be slightly loosened on the surface and the requisite 

 number of seeds dropped in and a very light covering of 

 soil drawn over them, unless nuts are planted. Three six- 

 teenths of an inch is deep enough for most seeds with 

 wings, but nuts should be planted from one to two and one 

 half inches deep. If the ground is stony or rough, or ob- 

 structions of any kind prevent regular spacing, the hills 

 can be put in where conditions permit, for exact spacing is 

 not essential. This system is well adapted to stony, rocky, 

 or rough ground where it may be difficult to find suitable 

 soil into which to transplant young trees. Furthermore, if 

 the ground is that of a dry ridge or steep hillside, or any 

 other place where the water soon disappears after a rain, 

 seeds may germinate and trees grow, just as they do in 

 natural seeding, when, if a tree were planted into such soil, 

 there might not be enough moisture to give it strength to 

 overcome the great shock it must endure in being trans- 

 planted. 



The number of seeds to be dropped in a given place 

 must be governed by the ascertained percentage of germ- 

 ination. Ordinarily fifty per cent of coniferous seeds may 

 be expected to grow in the nursery, but it will be well to 

 put in not less than six somewhat separated from each 

 other when planting for a forest, and when the little 



