70 OUR NATIONAL FORESTS 



Methods of Reforestation. Two general meth- 

 ods of reforestation have been developed. The 

 first is called the direct seeding method, in which 

 tree seed is sown upon the ground with or without 

 simple forms of cultivation. The other method is 

 the planting method by which seedlings are grown 

 in nurseries under ideal conditions of soil, light, 

 and moisture until they are large enough to be 

 transplanted and stand the rigors of the open field. 

 Direct seeding, where successful, is the cheaper 

 method, but is necessarily limited to sites whose 

 soil and moisture conditions are exceptionally fa- 

 vorable to tree growth. The inability of the newly 

 germinated seedling to establish itself except in 

 comparatively moist soil makes the success of this 

 method on the semi-arid mesas of the Southwest, 

 for example, very problematical, especially since 

 these localities are subject to long dry seasons. In 

 such localities the use of the direct seeding method 

 must be restricted to experiments designed to deter- 

 mine the exact range of conditions under which it 

 is feasible. The main effort, however, of the For- 

 est Service has been given to direct seeding on areas 

 where reasonable success appears to be assured. 



