94 IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES 



diminutive seedlings. Whether or not broadcast sowing in 

 the seed-beds should be adopted must mainly depend upon 

 the amount of weed seeds in the soil. 1 



When the seed-bed has been properly prepared the seed 

 should, in some manner, be evenly scattered over it with- 

 out delay. This is a somewhat difficult task and it must be 

 done by hand, for no machine has yet been brought out 

 that will broadcast seed evenly on so narrow a strip of 

 ground without scattering more or less of it where it will 

 be wasted. The seed would best be thoroughly mixed with 

 several times its bulk of light-colored sand and then scat- 

 tered as evenly as possible. Enough sand should be added 

 to go over the bed at least twice. The color of the sand 

 will indicate where the seed has fallen. Small seeds can, 

 when mixed with sand, be quite evenly sown with a sieve 

 with suitable meshes. 



As soon as sown the seeds should be pressed into the 

 ground with a bat, hoe, or shovel, or a board can be laid 

 on and a light blow given it. After the seeds have been 

 pressed into the ground a coat of finely pulverized loose 

 soil or, better, a mixture of well decayed leaf mould and 

 sand, must be evenly sifted over the entire surface to a 

 depth of from three sixteenths to one fourth of an inch, 

 this applies to all conifers ; and if this covering is of loose 

 material it should be slightly pressed down, but if it is of 

 such a character that it will crust after being wet, it should 

 not be. 



The amount of seed to be sown on any given area 

 must depend largely upon its percentage of fertility, a point 

 which can and should be determined before sowing. About 

 one sixth of an ounce of White Pine seed is deemed a 

 suitable allowance for one square foot of bed on the basis 

 of sixty per cent fertility. This amount should produce two 



1 If the ground is at all dry the seed-beds should be thoroughly watered 

 a day or so before the seeds are sown, and when in a suitable condition the 

 surface should be gone over with a rake, care being 1 taken not to disturb the 

 surface when it is wet enough to bake. 



