NURSERY PRACTICE ON THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 67 



Packing boxes of spruce 24 inches long by 14 inches wide by 15 

 inches deep cost the Wind Kiver Nursery 29 cents each knocked 

 down, and about 5 cents each to assemble at the nursery. Boxes of 

 this size fit nicely into an ordinary wagon box, weigh approximately 

 75 pounds when filled, and are a convenient size for packing on a 

 horse. 



At the Cottonwood Nursery boxes or crates 12 inches by 14 inches 

 by 2i or 3 feet are used. The 3-foot size will hold 20,000 2-0 Douglas 

 fir, 7,500 2-1 Douglas fir, 10,000 1-0 yellow pine, or 6,250 1-1 yellow 

 pine; the 2-foot size will hold 20 per cent less. A 16 by 16 by 24 inch 

 crate at the Pilgrim Creek Nursery holds 800 1-2 western yellow 

 pine, 1,000 1-1 bigtree, 1,250 1-1 western yellow pine, or 1,500 1-2 

 sugar pine or 1-1 incense cedar. 



At the Savenac Nursery the trees are rolled in a strip of burlap 

 for shipping. The device for making the rolls is somewhat on the 

 order of a shingle-weaving machine. Two 6-foot lengths of lath 

 yarn fastened by means of poultry netting staples to two wooden 

 cleats (the cleats 18 inches apart and the two lengths of lath yarn 12 

 inches apart) 2 feet long are first placed in the bottom of the packer. 

 A strip of burlap 6 feet long and 21 inches wide is placed over the 

 lath yarn and cleats, and over the burlap is laid a 6-foot sheet of 18- 

 inch " butcher's " wrapping paper. The bunches of trees, after being 

 moderately root pruned, are then laid in the packer in two tiers, roots 

 to the center, each layer being well packed in wet shingle tow. When 

 the container is full, the ends of paper and burlap are drawn to- 

 gether at the top and the ends of the burlap are wrapped around a 

 good hard strip of wood (tamarack 1 inch by 2 inches by 2 feet). 

 The ends of this stick extends about 2 inches beyond the edges of the 

 burlap. On these uncovered ends a grip is secured by means of a 

 long tool — 16 inches — similar to a wagon hammer. With this pur- 

 chase the burlap can be twisted as tight as its tearing resistance will 

 permit. When the burlap has been drawn tight this wrenching tool 

 is held in position by means of a catch on the packer and the hands 

 are free to tie the bundle with the lath yarn. This completes the 

 operation. The front side of the packer is let down and the bundle 

 taken out (Pis. XXI and XXII). The burlap strips are saved in 

 the field and at the close of the season shipped back to the nursery. 



Aside from a considerable lowering of the cost, a number of other 

 advantages are claimed for this method; the number of trees per 

 bundle can be varied; one man can pack approximately one-half 

 million trees per day; the bundles are easy to handle; they will not 

 break when thrown around; and they make a better pack for pack 

 horses. 



