FOREST PLANTING IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 11 



TIME OF PLANTING. 



Practically all of the plantations examined in the region have been 

 started in the spring, which seems the best season for setting out 

 seedlings on the permanent site. As compared with autumn plant- 

 ing, spring planting has at least two distinct advantages— the stock 

 |has a whole growing season in which to become established before 

 being subjected to the rigors of winter, and it is not subject to the 

 immediate danger of being heaved out of the ground by alternate 

 [freezing and thawing. On the other hand, a dry season immediately 

 after the trees are set out in the spring may prove fatal to the planta- 

 tion. 



In the case of direct sowing, the time of planting is best determined 

 by some characteristic of the seed to be planted, particularly the time 

 of ripening. Silver maple and elm seed, for example, lose their vital- 

 ity soon after they ripen in the spring and must be sown at the latter 

 time. Walnut, butternut, hickory nuts, and red oak seed must be 

 kept moist for a considerable period before they will germinate well; 

 hence they must either be planted in the autumn or else stored over 

 winter in some place where they will come in contact with damp 

 soil. Any freezing which occurs during this period will be helpful 

 in opening the hard shells. 



Cloudy days should be selected for planting, especially in the case 

 of conifers. Exposure to the sun, even for a short time, will kill the 

 young roots, and thus the plantation will fail at the very start. The 

 roots of the young trees, whether hardwoods or conifers, should be 

 kept moist up to the very moment when they are planted on the 

 permanent site. The stock may be carried to the field in a bucket, 

 with the roots immersed in water, or the roots of a bunch of trees 

 may be wrapped in wet burlap, one tree being drawn out at a time 

 and planted. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 



Plowing and harrowing the planting site before setting out the 

 trees is a wise practice. It puts the soil in good tilth, facilitates 

 planting, conserves soil moisture, increases the proportion of success- 

 ful trees, and induces rapid initial growth. On very sandy soils 

 which do not support a heavy sod of grass, however, preparation 

 is not necessary; and on very steep slopes and among rocks or large 

 roots may be too expensive. 



Fall seems to be the best time to prepare the ground, since the soil 

 is thus exposed to the action of the winter frost, and has time to 

 settle before receiving the young trees. The trees in a 5-year-old 

 plantation of black locust in southern Michigan, on fall-plowed 

 ground, were fully as large as those in a 6-year-old plantation set on 

 an adjoining strip plowed in the spring. 



