68 THE AMES FORESTER 



which is hard to procure for some of our nurseries is found 

 in great abundance not forty rods from the nursery site. 



SEEDLINGS 



Nursery work does not differ materially from many other 

 agricultural pursuits. It is only a few steps in advance toward 

 what we might call intensive farming. With that idea in 

 mind, the ground is worked both fall and spring and placed 

 in a mellow, friable condition. The beds are laid off 4'xl2' 

 over which a seed bed cage is placed. Two foot paths are 

 left between the beds while art regular intervals 4' paths are 

 left. This is done to facilitate the work of watering and clean- 

 ing up. 



Equal amounts of seed are sown both fall and spring. One 

 half of the beds are sown broadcast and the other half drilled. 

 In drilling, the beds are prepared the same as for broadcast- 

 ing. They are then marked off into drills 4" apart. A board 

 4' long and 2' wide, with six V shaped markers is used in 

 making the drill. By exerting pressure on it, the drills are 

 made a /4" deep. The quickest and most economical method of 

 drilling seed is to take an empty shot gun shell and cut it 

 off until it holds the amount required for sowing one half 

 row. It is easier to work around the bed and sow one half 

 row at a time. The cost of drilling exceeds that of broad- 

 casting but it is not excessive. The beds are sown w4th the 

 idea of growing 100 seedlings per square foot. It has been 

 demonstrated conclusively that the beds have been over- 

 crowded with the result that the seedling stock, whether 

 used for transplanting or field planting was small, spindling 

 and lacking in general appearance and suffered enormous losses, 

 One hundred seedlings per square foot allows sufficient root 

 and growing space and produces, stocky, sturdy plants that are 

 able to withstand the shock of transplanting or field planting. 



The one great danger, especially with norway pine, is the 

 damping-off fungus. Each year we have suffered great losses. 

 No practice, such as the manipulation of shade frames or the 

 application of sand, seems to check it. The Bureau of Plant 

 Industry is now working on prophylactic measures to control 

 the disease. 



A comparison of spring and fall sown seed brings out the 



