32 FORESTATION, SAND HILLS NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 



TABLE 8. Height of seedlings at the end of the first season. 



Until 1911 practically all transplanting was done with seedlings 

 which had been two years in the original seed bed and were then 

 retained in the transplant beds one year, making what is called a 

 "2-1 transplant." Occasionally, trees have been transplanted at 

 one year and kept in the transplant beds two years more; these are 

 designated "1-2 transplants. " Trees kept in seed beds two years 

 require watering about once each week; yet, in spite of this generous 

 use of water, it has not been possible wholly to prevent blight, due 

 to insufficient moisture, or to prevent stunting, due to overcrowding. 

 When blight occurs it can be accounted for only 'by the inability of 

 the roots to take up the moisture as fast as it evaporates from the 

 leaves. With greater root space this difficulty would probably be 

 obviated. In general, shade frames were not used on second-year 

 seed beds, but recent experiments where they have been used have 

 shown that losses may be reduced. The whole question of the 

 proper regulation of the shade will stand further investigation. The 

 longer the regular shading is continued in the seed beds, the greater 

 the losses in the transplant beds. This has been proved by experi- 

 ments begun in 1911, which show that the extent of loss at any time 

 from removing shade frames is about proportional to the length of 

 time that the trees have been under shade. This points to the 

 advisability of gradually reducing the quantity of shade and thereby 

 hardening the trees. 



TRANSPLANTING. 



The first transplanting at Halsey was done in 1906, with the object 

 of developing a more compact root system; that is, shorter and more 

 numerous roots. The success of these first transplants in the field 

 in 1907 was so great that practically no seedlings have been planted 

 directly in the field since that time. Practically all transplants have 

 been "2-1," or three years old from seed when used in the field after 

 two years in the seed bed and one year in the transplant bed. Experi- 

 ments with both younger and older stock showed this to be the best 

 and most convenient size from all standpoints. However, progress 

 in developing large trees from seed had been so good by 1911 that 

 in that year 1-year seedlings were transplanted, and these, in turn, 

 were planted out in 1912. 



