THE CULTURE OF CONIFERS 33 



bed to the other by horses, sprinkHng the sand over evenly, cover- 

 ing the seed the desired thickness. 



In Europe the surface of the seed beds is left rounding. I have 

 found that the germination is greatly retarded along the edges of 

 the bed when the surface is left rounded, therefore I use only the 

 flat surface, due to the fact that the lath shades which are used for 

 covering fit more closely and evenly over the surface when it is flat. 



Shade for the seedlings. After the seeds are sown, rolled, and the 

 bed covered with sand, the lath shades are placed over the beds. 

 These lath shades are four feet sciuare and the laths are nailed to a 

 two-inch cleat, leaving space enough between each lath to allow 

 another lath to be laid without nailing; thus when the rack is 

 lying flat on the ground with the loose lath filling the opening, it 

 covers completely with a little wooden roof the newly planted seeds. 



It is important and necessary that these racks be placed over the 

 seeds as soon as planted. It is a strange fact, but nevertheless 

 true, that germination takes place more rapidly and more evenly 

 in total darkness beneath the rack than the same seed planted 

 under the same conditions and allowed full light of the sun. This 

 lath covering also acts as a roof to keep the pelting rains from dis- 

 turbing the surface of the newly made beds. If all goes well, the 

 seed of most conifers will start to germinate in the spring, in from 

 one to three weeks. The little seedlings push through the soil, 

 growing up toward the light. The lath shade is now raised to the 

 height of one inch above the surface of the ground. It is left in 

 this manner until all of the seedlings have grown high enough for 

 their tops to touch the lath. The lath shades are then raised to a 

 height of ten inches and placed on pegs driven into the ground. 

 Most varieties of conifers now demand a little more sunlight. It 

 is therefore necessary to go over the beds and remove the unnailed 

 lath. The seedlings are now protected from the sun and driving 

 rain by a four-foot rack shade, with the laths nailed one and a half 

 inches apart. This gives the seedlings what is known as a shifting 

 shade; the shade moves as the sun travels across the sky. 



To some perhaps, these details are rather uninteresting, but to 

 the grower of young seedlings, who strives for maximum results, 

 each and every one of these operations must be given careful con- 

 sideration. 



