24 



spring just at the time that it is desired to set out the plantation^. 

 On arrival, the seedHngs should be unpacked immediately and 

 note taken of their condition. Careless packing and delay in 

 transportation may have injured some of the seedlings so that 

 they are not fit to plant. In this case, claim should be made on 

 the shipper or the transportation company whichever is at fault. 



After being unpacked, the young seedlings should have 

 their roots dipped in a pail or puddle of thin mud. If not plant- 

 ed immediately, the plants should be "heeled-in." This heeling 

 in process consists of having their roots and stems entrenched 

 and well covered with earth firmly packed down over them, 

 care being taken not to cover or injure the foliage or tops of 

 the trees. They should never be allowed to dry out, but in a 

 shady place the plants thus treated may be kept for several weeks 

 if necessary awaiting a convenient planting time. 



Two or three year old seedlings are sufficiently large for plant- 

 ing in most cases, but two year old transplants, that is seedlings 

 that have grown one year in the seed-bed and have then been 

 transplanted for one year's growth in a transplant bed, have 

 as a rule better developed root systems and are therefore better 

 plants for use under less favoable conditions of soil or site. 



METHOD OF PROPAGATION. 



If many thousand plants are to be used by one owner or in 

 one neighborhood, it is cheaper to raise them from the seed. If 

 the trees are to be grown in a home nursery, the seed may be pur- 

 chased, but a large saving may be made by collecting it in the 

 neighborhood, if this can be done. Cones should be gathered 

 during the latter part of August or in September before they 

 begin to open. They may be picked from standing trees, or 

 from felled trees if lumbering operations are being conducted 

 nearby. When gathered, the cones should be spread out on a 

 sheet or floor, where they will be exposed to the sun, yet pro- 

 tected from wind and rain. Within a week they will open and 

 allow the seed to drop out. A thorough stirring will separate 

 the seed ; after which the cones may be raked away. One bushd 

 of cones will yield one-half a pound to i pound of clean seed, 

 which will average from 29,000 to 30,000 seeds per pound. 

 Seeds may be stored over winter by placing them in small sacks, 

 ^nd hanging the sacks in a cold, dry place. 



