NURSERY PRACTICE ON THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 11 



pipe line which runs along one edge of the nursery. (See PI. II.) 

 From this pipe it is distributed to the beds through 6-inch canvas 

 hose, flooding being practiced for transplant beds and for the seed 

 beds after germination is completed. 



SPRINKLING SYSTEM. 



In the sprinkling system the water is conveyed to and through 

 the nursery by a system of pipes and applied to the plants ordi- 

 narily by the use of garden sprinklers. Where it is practicable, a 

 gravity pipe-line sprinkling system in which water is diverted from 

 .1 spring or stream at a higher elevation and thence conveyed direct ly 

 to the nursery is the best type because it is the simplest. A system 

 with a tank or reservoir above the level of the nursery to which 

 water is pumped and then piped to the nursery may in some cases 

 be the most practicable one. A tank or reservoir may sometimes be 

 necessary, even with a gravity system, to provide for storage of 

 water to meet the needs of the nursery when heavy watering is 

 practiced. 



In planning a sprinkling system the length of hose to be used 

 should first be decided. The most convenient length is 50 feet. 

 Greater lengths are cumbersome; shorter lengths necessitate a too 

 frequent change of faucets. As a hose should reach half way be- 

 tween parallel lines of pipes, it follows that adjacent pipe lines 

 should not be farther apart than 100 feet. Given two faucets 100 

 feet apart, it is clear that a 50-foot hose will convey water in a line 

 with them over a distance of at least 190 feet. This allows only 45 

 feet for the length of the hose, the assumption being that a portion 

 of its length will be taken up by curves at the faucet and nozzle. 

 Keeping on a path, a man, hose in hand, can conveniently water a 

 strip only about 15 feet wide on either side of it. This indicates that, 

 the paths from which the watering is to be done should be 30 feet 

 apart and that there should be a faucet at each path. Thus the sec- 

 tions of beds should be 30 feet wide throughout and of any desired 

 length up to 100 feet. For a sprinkling system of watering, this is 

 believed to be a very economical arrangement of pipe lines ami 

 faucets. If a shorter hose were used it would be necessary to have 

 the main pipe lines closer, necessitating more pipe and more labor 

 for installation. The use of a longer hose would mean less pipe. 

 but much additional time and labor in handling the hose. The i 

 creased weight of longer hose is not of particular significance, h 

 the care necessary to prevent its dragging across the beds and land- 

 ing and breaking the plants is much greater in long than in short 

 lengths. 



