CULTIVATION AND SPACING 125 



soil and prevent throwing. As a general rule, untransplanted stock is 

 recommended in big planting operations, 2 to 3 year-old conifer seed- 

 lings being preferred. Transplanted stock, on the other hand, is used 

 to complete natural regeneration. Here the cost is less important be- 

 cause only a small percentage of the total area need be planted and 

 better success is secured, since it is less likely to be crowded out. The 

 plants are never pulled and are not watered before shipment because 

 of the danger of heating while en route. Baskets or open boxes are 

 generally used for shipping. 



It should be borne in mind that large nurseries, such as the one just 

 described, are no longer numerous, many of them having been abandoned 

 in favor of small local nurseries near the planting site. Much more 

 typical is the small local nursery at Royat in the Central Plateau, which 

 is situated in a narrow valley on a 6 per cent west slope. The main 

 product here is 3-year-old spruce fir or Scotch pine seedlings. There 

 is no transplanting, since it is considered too expensive. The fir is sown 

 under lath frames 6.5 feet wide and placed 2.5 feet above the soil and 

 the pine is sown in drills spaced 3 to 4 inches apart. Shade frames, 10 

 to 12 inches above the ground, are used for the Scotch pine also during 

 the heat of the first year. 



PLANTING 



Cultivation and Spacing. — In planting, Jolyet says " cultivation 

 should usually be considered indispensable — always advantageous." 

 The great aim of planting is the use of the most economical local means 

 to get the roots in touch with the humus and the soil. Complete culti- 

 vation is, of course, never necessary and would only increase the danger 

 of erosion. Planting trees in horizontal strips is often advantageous in 

 dry regions, but the general preference of the forester should be for 

 holes or spots. As a rule, the French favor much wider spacing in 

 plantations than do the Germans. Bartet even suggests spacing spruce 

 6.5 feet apart owing to its superficial root system and in order to give 

 the crown a chance for development. In Germany the average distance 

 for spacing spruce is usually 4 feet and sometimes closer. The French 

 rule is never less than 3.3 feet and never more than 10 feet. Intolerant 

 species Hke maritime pine can be spaced wider apart than a tolerant 

 species such as fir; and as a general rule, rapidly growing species can be 

 spaced wider than species that are slow growing during the seedling 

 and sapling stages. Ordinarily the spacing is 5 to 6.5 feet. It is cer- 

 tainly apparent, without going into further detail, that the French 

 system is more in accordance with American practice, namely, wide 

 spacing and comparatively few trees per acre as contrasted with the 

 close spacing in Germany. 



