THE ART OF THE SECOND GROWTH 



Oaks: The nursery treatment differs greatly according to local 

 likes and forestry authorities relied upon. The treatment of the 

 tap root is a continuous point of dispute. Manteuffel cuts the tap 

 root one and one-half inches below ground (just as the voles did 

 in Biltmore nurseries). Buttlar ties a knot into the root. Alemann 

 forbids any crippling of the tap root, making an extra cleft 

 in the planting hole to receive the tap root. Levret prevents the 

 ■development of a tap root by placing the acorns on macadam, 

 covering them with one inch of dirt. The 'ground underneath the 

 macadam must be hard. 



Large areas of Oak planted in Northern C4ermany witli the tap 

 root removed prove the success of jManteuffel's method. The hollow 

 borer cannot be used. Trimming of branches is all right. Roots 

 should be pruned, after Fiirst, with a sharp spade at six inches 

 below ground in the second spring. Spring planting is best. Some 

 planters remove the first germ of the acorn (" off'germing ") with 

 a view to stopping the development of the tap root. Stiimp plants 

 do very well, especially in the coppice woods. Usually seedlings 

 one and two years old are planted. The use of saplings, transplanted 

 repeatedly, is not advisable. Cleft planting of seedlings on broom- 

 sedge fields at Biltmore proved unsuccessful; the weeds choking 

 and the rabbits eating the seedlings. Cleft planting in cutover 

 woodlands, however, on fairly loose soil is a method to be strongly 

 endorsed. In France the clefts are made inclined, not vertical; 

 saplings 20 years old do not show any crooks due to the method. 

 Planting of seedlings or of young transplants in spade holes, in 

 furrows or in clefts made between the lid and the pit formed by 

 reversed sods prove successful at Biltmore. Young plants are not 

 subject to lifting by frost nor do they suffer from drought. The 

 nursery should not be worked deeper than one foot while the success 

 of the final plantation largely depends on looseness of ground at a 

 greater dej^th. Generally Red Oak is more vigorous in early youth 

 than White Oak. At Biltmore, Chestnut Oak is the best species for 

 abandoned fields. The Yellow Pines are valuable as nurses or 

 ushers, when planted with or in advance of the Oaks. 



Chestnut: Soil well worked to a depth of sixteen inches, 

 potash a necessity, lime disastrous. Seedling planting (plants one 

 •or two years old) forms the rule; planting of stumps is also good. 



Since Chestnut is very sensitive under changed conditions of 



growth, ball planting is probably the best method. Seeds are often 



kept in the burs over winter, or in layers alternating with layers of 



■dry sand. Immediate fall planting, however, is best. Nuts are 



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