Some Developments in Reforestation on National Forests 107 



"Mast Board" with its several counterparts, with each of which 

 the seedlings are strung in the notches while the board is resting 

 on a threading table ; and the "Michigan Board" with which the 

 seedlings are strung in the notches as the board lies on the 

 transplant bed with its notched edge flush with the trench in 

 which the seedlings are to be transplanted. With this latter 

 type of board, one or two men perform the whole operation of 

 transplanting; that is, they first dig the trench, then string the 

 seedlings in the board (the roots hanging in the trench) as it 

 lies on the ground, and then fill in with dirt and tamp it around 

 the roots. Both types of boards are effective and a good average 

 rate of transplanting for each of them is about 600 plants per 

 man per hour or 5,000 per day. Rates considerably in excess of 

 this are sometimes reached. An improvement has recently been 

 made in the Mast type of board by providing the slat which holds 

 the seedlings in place with a clamp hinge. This clamp presses 

 the slat firmly against the seedlings and does away with the need 

 for the small buttons which have been a part of the board. 



Improvements in nursery equipment are constantly being 

 worked out which tend to reduce costs of nursery operations. 

 At the Monument Nursery, where drill sowing is still practiced, 

 a drill marker has recently been devised which is considered an 

 improvement over old methods. A cylindrical roller with a 

 cement core to give it weight has been constructed. On the sur- 

 face of this cylinder, cleats have been nailed longitudinally and 

 at distances apart equal to the distance desired between drills in 

 the seedbeds. This cylinder is rolled over the surface of seed- 

 beds and the drills are formed rapidly and effectively by the im- 

 pressions of the cleats. The need of a spade or hand trencher 

 for preparing transplant trenches bids fair to be eliminated at 

 the Savenac Nursery through the construction of a plow with a 

 short moldboard which has been tried for this purpose and bids 

 fair to be successful. At this nursery, transplanting is con- 

 ducted in long rows. Where transplanting in short rows is prac- 

 ticed, this tool could not be used. A similar plow is used for dig- 

 ging stock at the Monument Nursery, supplanting the old method 

 of digging it by hand with a spade. For operations at the Halsey 

 Nursery, where the sandy soil makes the use of such a tool pos- 

 sible, another type has recently been constructed for digging 

 stock. It is simply a wedge-shaped knife seven feet long, twelve 

 inches wide, and six inches thick in the rear which is mounted on 

 a steel frame and can be drawn under the beds at regulated depths. 

 As the trees are loosened, they are crowded out over the wedge 

 by the forward movement of the implement. The digger is 



