, Canadian Forestry Journal, June, 1917 1139 



dollars, and the single state of Massa- life. At the least the subject is 



chusetts some hundreds of thousands, worthy of continued and persistent 



"In the problem presented l)y experiment, and it is to be hoped that 



Sable Island not only do property the authorities will not rest satisfied, 



considerations enter, but considera- or torpid, in consequence of the failure 



tions involving the saving of human of this one attempt." 



Forestry Work for Women 



By Mary Sutherland. 

 (In charge of Forestry Seed-Beds at Aber, North Wales.) 



To make provision for planting operations after the War, the British 

 Board of Agriculture have sown large quantities of forest-tree seeds. The 

 following is an account of the work at one of the nurseries, and indicates one 

 type of forest work which may be carried out successfully by women's labour: 



A centre was established in the spring of last year, under the control of 

 the Department of Agriculture of the University College of North Wales, 

 Bangor, on the College farm at Aber, and for the greater part of the work 

 female labour alone was employed. 



The site chosen for the seed-beds was a field of about 2 acres, close to the 

 shore of the Menai Straits, and quite unsheltered from sun and the prevail- 

 ing west wind. The field, of which the soil was a moderately light loam, was 

 ploughed, and harrowed in early spring, but if more time had been available 

 would have benefited by still further cultivation. 



The area was then measured out into seed-beds, these being 4 ft. 6 in. 

 wide, with 1 ft. 6 in. paths betweeen each bed. The beds were of a length 

 varying with the shape of the field, the longest averaging 60 yds. 



The beds were brought to the necessary fine tilth by repeated raking over, 

 and basic slag was raked in at the rate of about 10 cwt. per acre. This was 

 followed, in the second week of May, by the sowing of the seed, this operation 

 having been delayed by the bad w^eather. 



Drills across the beds were marked out by means of a heavy wooden 

 roller, of the same width as the bed, and having laths 2 in. wide affixed to 

 the surface at intervals of 6 in. When drawn lengthways down the bed the 

 roller left furrows 2 in. wide for the reception of the seed. The seed was sown 

 evenly in the furrows, either from a seed-horn, or equally satisfactorily from 

 an improvised horn made from a large glass bottle, having a wedge cut out 

 of the cork, just large enough to allow for the passage of a few seeds at once. 

 The seed was first coated with red lead to prevent it being eaten by mice and 

 birds, and sowing was only carried out in fine weather wiien the soil was in 

 a dry, friable condition suitable to receive and hold the seed. After distribu- 

 tion, a Spitzenberg drill roller was taken over each drill to cover the seed, 

 and the whole operation was completed by drawing a light, wooden roller 

 over the bed lengthwise to consolidate the surface. 



Seedlings of Norway Spruce, which was the first species sown, were , 

 through the surface about a month later, a month being the average time 

 of germination of all the species, except Douglas Fir, which took considerably 

 longer, delay being due to the spell of dry weather after sowing, and during 

 July. Once the Douglas Fir seedlings had started, however, growth was very 

 rapid, and by autumn the beds showed a crop of good, strong seedlings, though 

 these were fewer in number than the quantity of seed should have produced. 



The beds were first weeded when the seedlings were just showing, and 

 the weeding was carried on continually all through the summer. As a rule, 

 hand-picking was the only satisfactory method of cleaning the beds, the 



