﻿WHITE PINE UNDER FOREST MANAGEMENT. 



55 



Where the soil and climatic conditions especially favor the growth 

 of seedlings, the less expensive method of "slit planting" may be 

 used. In this the roots of the seedling are dropped into a slit in the 

 soil made by inserting a spade and slightly working it forward or 

 backward. The soil is then packed about the roots by reinserting 

 the spade 2 or 3 inches from the plant and closing the previous slit. 

 The soil is then firmly pressed down with the foot. This method 

 is a very rapid one, but the roots are left in a crowded and unnatural 

 position, which may for years interfere with the thrift of the plant. 



The number of trees which can be set out per day varies with, the 

 nature of the ground cover, the texture of the soil, the character 

 of the labor employed, and the degree of care exercised in the work. 

 On fresh loamy or sandy soils, without a low herbaceous ground 

 cover, two -capable workmen should be able to set out 1,000 of the 

 2-1 transplants a day. With unfavorable conditions, as when the 

 ground is "full of tough roots, the same men might plant only 500 

 seedlings. 



The most common and probably the best spacing for white-pine 

 transplants is 6 by 6 feet. In especially favorable situations, where 

 growth will be rapid, a spacing of 8 by 8 feet may be used, while in 

 less favorable ones the plants should be closer together, either 5 by 5 

 feet or 4 by 4 feet. The number of plants per acre spaced at different 

 distances is shown in Table 18. Where pruning is to be practiced, a 

 spacing of 10 by 10 feet, or 12 by 12 feet, has been recommended. 



Table 18. — Number of trees required to plant an acre, using rectangular method of 



spacing. 



Distance 

 between 

 the rows. 



Number of trees when distance apart in the row is — 



4 feet. 



5 feet. 



6 feet. 



7 feet. 



8 feet. 



Feet. 

 4 

 5 

 6 



7 

 8 



2,722 

 2,178 

 1,815 

 1,556 

 1,361 











1,742 

 1,452 

 1,244 

 1,089 









1,210 



1,037 



907 







888 

 777 





680 



The cost of planting per thousand plants varies with the same fac- 

 tors which influence the daily rate of planting. The cost per acre 

 varies with these and also with the number of seedlings planted per 

 acre. Tables 19 and 20 give the cost per thousand and per acre, 

 respectively, of planting stock costing $3, $4, and $6 per thousand 

 when the average planting rate per man is 300, 500, and 600 plants 

 per day, with different daily wage rates. The average planting rate 

 is based on- the total time consumed in the work, including digging 

 up or unpacking transplants, carrying from nursery to field, heeling- 

 in, etc. 



