12 MASSACHUSETTS TREE PLANTER 



(b) Chestnut and Red Oak 



Chestnuts and red oak acorns, when taken up from their 

 winter storage, should be looked over and the bad ones re- 

 moved. These cannot always be distinguished from good 

 ones but a large percentage of the bad ones can be detected 

 at this time. The nuts and acorns may be planted in rows 

 about a foot apart and one to two inches apart in the rows. 

 No protection from the sun, such as that afforded white pine 

 seedlings, is required for chestnut and red oak. 



Their seedlings grow rapidly and are ready for planting 

 at the end of one year. At that time, they are anywhere 

 from six to eighteen inches high and make excellent plant- 

 ing stock. 



(c) Sugar Maple and White Ash 



Sowing in drills a foot apart is recommended for white 

 ash and sugar maple seeds. In these drills, the seeds should 

 be strewn at the rate of four or five to the inch. On account 

 of the wings attached to the seeds, they are hard to sow 

 evenly. For these two species artificial shade is unneces- 

 sary, and the seedlings are of the proper size for planting 

 after one year in the seed beds. 



PLANTING THE SEEDLINGS IN THEIR PERMANENT LOCA- 

 TIONS 



Seedlings may be taken from the nursery beds and planted, 

 either in the fall, or in the spring. Those planted in the 

 fall are often heaved out of the ground by the frost, and are 

 more easily injured by the winter storms than those set out 

 in the spring. In most cases, the work should be done early 

 in the spring, during the month of April or early in May. 

 If possible cloudy, or even rainy weather, should be selected 

 as the time to do the planting. 



One of the most important things to remember in setting 

 out seedlings is that their root systems must not be allowed 

 to dry out during the process of removal from the nursery 

 to the planting site. In order to make sure of this, the 

 planter is advised to observe quite closely the following 

 method of procedure. 



