﻿58 BULLETIN 13, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Sowing in Strips. 



Under the strip method strips 6 to 8 feet wide are sown, gridironing 

 the tract with blank spaces from 6 to 8 feet wide between. This 

 method is cheaper than broadcasting since less seed is required per 

 acre. 



Sowing in Seed Spots. 



The method of sowing in seed spots consists in sowing the seed in 

 prepared spots at regular intervals. The sod is removed from a 

 small spot, commonly about a foot in diameter, and a seed bed pre- 

 pared in which from 5 to 15 seeds are planted. The work can be 

 done with a hoe, and the planters kept in line by flags. Spots where 

 the seed fails to germinate should be filled in the following year by 

 transplanting from spots which have produced groups of seedlings. 

 Conditions favorable for seed-spot sowing are the same as those 

 for planting two-year-old seedlings; namely, where there is a light 

 ground cover, as on old pasture land. Under the shade of hardwood 

 sprouts or on moist ground there is little chance for success. 



With the seed-spot method one man should sow an acre a day and 

 use 1 pound of seed. With labor at $1.75 a day and seed at $2.25 

 a pound, the initial cost will be $4 per acre, with a, cost for filling in 

 the gaps to be added later on. In New York State a careful record 

 of the expenditures for seed-spot planting indicates that $10 per 

 acre is the average cost. 1 



Protection from Rodents. 2 



A large source of loss when seed is planted directly in the field 

 comes about through its destruction by small rodents. To prevent 

 this, small amounts of grain soaked in a solution of strychnia should 

 be deposited over the area in the spring, some time in advance of 

 the sowing. A formula for poisoning chipmunks, recommended by 

 the Biological Survey, which has given good results, is the following: 



Strychnia sulphate ' 1 ounce. 



Saccharin 1 teaspoonful. 



Gloss, or laundry starch £ cupful. 



Water 1 quart. 



Barley 20 pounds. 



Where mice as well as chipmunks are prevalent the following 

 formula has proved effective: 



Strychnia (alkaloid or sulphate) 1 ounce. 



Saccharin 1 teaspoonful. 



Melted tallow 1 pint. 



Wheat 16 quarts. 



i C R. Pettis, Fifteenth Annual Report Forest, Fish, and Game Commission, State of New York. 

 2 This subject is fully discussed in Biological Survey Circular 78, "Seed Eating Mammals in Relation to 

 Reforestation," and in Forest Service 13ulletin 98, "Reforestation on the National Forests." 



