20 BULLETIN 475, U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



not yet passed through the three-year trial period tend to show that 

 success may be expected on from 75 to 100 per cent of the areas cov- 

 ered, provided the operations are conducted during the right season 

 and suitable stock is used. To determine these points, as in direct 

 seeding, intensive experimental work is being conducted on the 

 National Forests in addition to extensive f orestation operations. 



As the Forest Service nurseries have developed and planting stock 

 has been produced more abundantly, planting operations have gradu- 

 ally increased in scope. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1914, 9,100,000 seedlings or transplants grown in Forest Service 

 nurseries were planted, the operations covering 11,063 acres in 

 western United States and being carried on under a wide range of 

 conditions. 



SOWING AND PLANTING METHODS. 



The methods followed in forest sowing and planting should be 

 governed, first, by the success, and, second, bj 7 the economy which 

 attends them. When the Forest Service began this work in the 

 West, there was no experience to indicate how operations could be 

 successfully conducted. Numerous methods have been tried, with 

 varying degrees of success; but it can not yet be said that those best 

 adapted to the several regions and many different soil and climatic 

 conditions in the West have been entirely worked out. A good start 

 has been made, however, and a number of these methods will, accord- 

 ingly, be discussed. 



Sowing. 



broadcasting. 



In broadcasting, seed are scattered by hand or by the use of a 

 mechanical soAver in much the same manner as grain. The best 

 practice is to go over the whole area and sow half the seed ; then to 

 traverse it again at right angles to the previous courses and sow the 

 other half. This insures a more even distribution of tlie seed. 

 Large or medium-sized seed, such as sugar pine or western yellow 

 pine, can be sown by hand; but small seed, such as lodgepole pine, 

 larch, and spruce, can be handled better with a mechanical seed 

 sower. When very small seed are used, they can be scattered more 

 uniformly by mixing them with fine, dry earth. 



In general the rugged topography of the country, the inaccessi- 

 bility of the planting sites, or the presence of dead and down timber 

 makes preparation of the ground by such methods as plowing or har- 

 rowing impossible. In only a comparatively few cases has it been 

 done. In deciding upon the best method of preparing the ground for 

 sowing, the surface, slope, and character of the ground cover, as 

 well as the species to be sown, must be considered. Some of the 



